“I have made you father of many nations.” Rom 4, 17
On this feastday of St. Joseph, we also celebrate the name day of the founder of the Schoenstatt Work, Father Joseph Kentenich. We look in a special way at his fatherly charism.
Today’s liturgy introduces us to St. Joseph as a distinctive father-figure. Joseph was chosen to be the protector of the two greatest treasures of God on earth: the Son of God and the Virgin Mary. He was the faithful guardian of the divine child Jesus, but as a father he was also the educator of his Son. In the Holy Scriptures, Joseph appears as a man of silence and availability for God’s plans: he accepts Mary as his wife, flees to Egypt and finally returns to Israel. St. Joseph identifies himself completely with the basic attitude of Jesus. They both know only one word: “Behold, Father, I come to do your will” (Fr. Joseph Kentenich, March 18, 1967)
Father Joseph Kentenich, a gift from God
The fatherhood of Father Kentenich is a gift of God to us. This gift was awakened by his experience as a spiritual director in the Schoenstatt House of Studies and it was developed through the covenant of love of October 18, 1914. He himself experienced the love of the heavenly Father through the Blessed Mother’s educating hands. He transmitted this experience to those entrusted to him.
In the course of Schoenstatt’s history, many people from different nations who entrusted themselves to his guidance have experienced in him a transparent of the heavenly Father. Even after his return to eternity more than 50 years ago, he remains an open door for many to find the way to God the Father.