Saturday, May 21st [2005] was indeed a special day for our parish as five families welcomed Fr. Gerold Langsch, and Sr. Danielle, both members of the worldwide “Schoenstatt Movement” into their homes for the blessing of their home shrines. For the Mary Brooks, Steve and Mary Catherine Brooks, Greg and Amy Bach, Stan and Cathy Barczak, and Ralph and Joan Arnsparger families this was the culmination of a period of spiritual preparation which included prayer and study under the direction of Mike and Shirley Schubert, leaders of the movement in the Dayton, OH area. The Schubert’s, other members of the movement, and Fr. Schulte, accompanied Fr. Langsch and Sr. Danielle on their pilgrimage to the new shrines.

The Schoenstatt Movement was begun by Fr. Joseph Kentenich (1885- 1968) near the German village of Schoenstatt in 1914 with the purpose of promoting a “practical faith in Divine Providence in daily life”. Just as Our Lady put her faith in God and provided, along with her husband Joseph, a home for Jesus, so too should the followers of Jesus make their homes into true schools of charity, and places of refuge where family members can be refreshed and renewed by God’s grace in the midst of the world. The movement is now active all over the world and includes priests and sisters who commit themselves entirely to spreading this devotion as well as thousands of laypeople who see the movement as the living out of the plea of the Second Vatican Council for all Catholics to answer God’s “universal call to holiness”.

When a family wants to erect a home shrine, they must choose a name for their shrine, choose a symbol for each member of the family which will become parts of the shrine, and write a family prayer which will be prayed at the dedication and every time the family gathers for prayer in their shrine. A member of one of the families whose shrine was blessed, Andy Bach, (age 18) choose as his symbol “the mortar of the shrine” because, he said, “mortar is a simple thing, made of lowly material. It’s just sand and water and a few other things but it holds the shrine together. I hope I can be like that”. Other members chose as their symbols “Mary’s tears”, “Mary’s smile”, a dove, and even a white flag, symbolizing surrender to God’s will. Elizabeth Barczak (age 12) chose “The glass that covers the painting of Jesus and Mary” because, she said, “I hope that people will be able to see Mary and Jesus right through me, by the way I live my life”.

Schoenstatt shrines come in all sizes. In the home of Steve and Mary Catherine Brooks the shrine takes up a whole room, but in the others homes visited on May 21st it is just a picture of “Our Lady Thrice Admirable” in the dining room or living room of the home with a shelf or table to hold the family members’ symbols. Fr. Gerold Langsch likes to point out that it is not the size or elaborateness of the shrine that is important. What is important is that it is place where the family can gather for prayer or where individual family members can come to pour out their heart to the Lord and his Blessed Mother. “When you get that good report card, and you are so happy, Fr. Langsch told the children, why not bring that report card and place it in the shrine. Mary, your mother, will be so proud of you!” Fr. Langsch then turned to the older children and parents and said, “Or when your heart is breaking, or when you have had a bad day, or maybe even when you have just gotten a traffic ticket, why not bring that to the shrine?”

As your pastor I have to tell you that I was very pleased with the day. It is one thing to talk about the Catholic Faith being the center or foundation of family life, it is another to make this a reality. The Schoenstatt shrine provides a focus and a daily reminder that the family is supposed to be the “domestic church. I am so happy that the Schoenstatt Movement has taken root here and I hope that many more families in the parish will enter the movement and find a place in their homes for their own shrines. It is a real joy for a pastor to be a part of something like this.

For more information about the Schoenstatt movement contact Cathy Barczak at 859-485-6905.