The hour has come to be Mary in the middle of the world.
The situation of today’s world motivates us to take over this mission! “This is the hour of Mary!” Father Joseph Kentenich, our founder, taught us this. Just when there seems to be no way out of existing circumstances, God has determined the time is here for Mary to come upon the scene. She wants to contribute to the salvation of the world by leading everyone up to Christ.
Beauty lies within
More than 350 women and mothers from the League came together from different states of Brazil. Competent professionals in their work areas: university professors, lawyers, nurses, in short, they came from a wide range of professions. According to the motto: “The hour of your love has come: Let there be the little Mary!” the mothers, led by female doctors, discussed controversial current topics: abortion and gender ideology. Together with the Sisters of Mary who were present, they were schooled under the guidance of Sr. Mariane Galina, the regional leader of the Women’s Branch, in the Schoenstatt spirituality and they took a position on these currents.
With renewed zeal, they decided for their mission, as a living monstrance to be authentic women, Christ-Bringers for their environment. “Because this preserves the beauty and importance of being a woman, the courage to be different, to live the beauty of the woman, a beauty that lies within and comes from within,” says Esméria da Silva Paula, Cerquilho. And she concluded that it is necessary “to be formed by God to be Mary in the midst of the world and that begins at home”.
Lily of the Father, Tabor for the world!
The more than 200 young professionals, students and high school students, who had gathered at their congress of the Schoenstatt Women’s Youth, had already developed this ideal and theme and formed their opinion about it. They wondered what means the Schoenstatt Spirituality offers them to counter the often controversial situations that challenge them in everyday life and …
How to be a youthful saint today?
Sr. Elisa Maria Silva spoke about it “from heart to heart”, in an analogy between the Apostolic Exhortation “Gaudete et exsultate” from Pope Francis and the teachings of Father Kentenich about Everyday Sanctity. She presented the educational means of Schoenstatt: the spiritual daily schedule and the particular examination as concrete aids for refining and enhancing one’s own individuality. The testimony of the young women showed how these means help them to live more fulfilled lives as women and how this meets the reality of the girls present.
“I take from this meeting a greater enthusiasm to live purity, self-knowledge, the desire to become more like Mary, to bring her closer to others, and to help them experience the love of God,” says Adryelle Lima, Confins / MG.
The final event was the sending out of the 14 young women and youth sisters who will attend the World Youth Day in Panama. There were about 600 women who, in the presence of many other group members in the shadow of the shrine, discovered in the charisma of Father Kentenich their source of joy and personal enrichment. All united in the same mission: Like Mary, to be authentic women for our time!
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