Crowning the Blessed Mother
during the Pandemic as Queen
On January 11, an idea came to me! So I wrote an email to the German, Italian, Croatian, and Polish speaking contact persons of the Pilgrim MTA in Switzerland and in Lichtenstein.
A call to trust
“Many measures for the corona measures are expected to remain in place through Jan. 24. Thus the idea, an invitation: Again we want to issue a call for trust, for prayer, for a renewed coronation—spiritually or real—of the Mother of God. Proposal: On Saturday, January 22, 2022, we Sisters of Mary responsible for the Pilgrim MTA Apostolate here in the Schoenstatt Shrine in Quarten, Switzerland will pray the coronation celebration of April 15, 2022. (See the attachment to this missive.) Any member of a Pilgrim MTA circle in Switzerland and in Lichtenstein can spiritually join us at this time or at another time. Whoever wants to and is able to come invited to Quarten!”
Positive Feedback Arrives
- Many people sent emails to us: “I have forwarded the coronation ceremony to others.”
- “We will join others in our (parish) Chuch at the same time Quarten prays and we will include ourselves in the celebration.”
- “I printed the celebraton and will gladly pray it at home united with everyone.”
- “A really wonderful idea. Congratulations!”
- “Truly, we trust in the intercesson of the Blessed Mother. Nothing is impossible with God…”
- “I will also pass on this information to the French-speaking contact person in Western Switzerland.”
- And so on.
- One person proposed that the celebration be offered online. Another sent to Switzerland a post card of her crowned Pilgrim MTA.
- And so on.
Nine language groups were connected
At 11:00 am, on January 22, eight Sisters of Mary and a contact person of the Pilgrim MTA in Quarten gathered in the Schoenstatt Shrine in Quarten.
There was a red light for Europe and the Pilgrim MTA from our office “on the way to you,” at the foot of which there is a Swiss and a Liechtenstein national coat of arms. The three images of the Blessed Mother belonging to the three sisters in Quarten who work for the Apostolate of the Pilgrim MTA were on the communion rail and in front of each one was a little crown.
As the bells rang we prayed the “English Greeting.” Then we contacted the nine language groups that are now specially connected with us. Together we wanted to crown the Blessed Mother with the great intention that the pandemic end soon.
To crown means: to give thanks, to trust, and to give oneself
“Dear Blessed Mother, We are gathered before your picture and we would like to bring you what moves us: You know the distress in many countries due to the coronavirus. You know the fear, the questions and the helplessness of the people. Intercede with the Triune God for us. Prove that you are our Mother, our Queen, and be close to the people with your power of love.
As a sign of our great trust in you, together with many people around the world, we want to offer you (spiritually) a crown today. Blessed Mother, to crown you is to give thanks, to petition, and give oneself.”
Silently each of the three sisters gave a little crown to the Blessed Mother and placed it on her picture. We prayed fervently: “Triune God, upon the intercession of the Blessed Mother bring the pandemic to an end soon.”
Great hope and trust
In the afternoon a woman wrote to us: “At 11:00 I was there for the crowning of the Mother of God. I also entrusted to her the petition that we can offer the visits of the Pilgrim MTA in the parish. – Great hope and trust has grown in me. Thank you for your initiative. I am very grateful for the all of the impulses of faith and all of the suggestions that I receive from House Schoenstatt. This is very enriching for me.”