Schoenstatt Shrine

My sister invited me to daily Mass at her parish, St. Vincent Pallotti in Milwaukee, to pray for my dad on the 8th anniversary of his death on July 1st.  Daily Mass at St. Vincent is quite early at 6:25 am, so after Mass I found myself with a little extra time on my hands before I had to leave for work.  I decided to spend that time in prayer in the little Schoenstatt Shrine that is directly behind the church.

The Schoenstatt Shrine is charming but even more so were the hospitable sisters that I found praying their morning prayers when I arrived.  How quickly they had arrived at the chapel following Mass!  I joined them in their prayers whenever I could, such as praying the Angelus, and when they were through they invited me to sign their visitor book, thanked me for praying with them and were very gracious when I asked about taking a few pictures.

This wasn't my first time praying at the Schoenstatt Shrine; I've gone there for adoration from time to time, but this visit moved me in a special way, perhaps because of the kindness that the sisters showed me, or maybe it was because my dad was praying for me as my sister and I were praying for him, and I could feel his love more deeply than ever that morning.

The original Schoenstatt Shrine is in Germany, home of the lay movement's founder, Fr. Kenneth Kentenich, and there are 180 replica shrines throughout the world, including four in Wisconsin. Mass is offered at the Milwaukee Schoenstatt Shrine, 5310 W. Wisconsin Avenue, on Wednesdays at 7:30 pm, and Eucharistic Adoration is held from 9 am-2 pm Monday through Saturday.  To learn more about Schoenstatt visit this link.

Schoenstatt Prayer of Good Intention

All I experience today,

What I say and what I dare,

All my thoughts and all my actions,

What I love and what I merit,

All that I direct and conquer

All my joys and all my sorrows,

All that I am and have,

I give to you as a gift of love.

Use it so the holy stream of grace

Flows richly from this shrine

To win hearts for Schoenstatt

Lead there all those whom you have chosen

That the work we offer to the triune God

May be fruitful.  Amen.

I was impressed that the stained glass window portrays an image of the chapel

Our Mother Thrice Admirable is the centerpiece of every Schoenstatt Chapel-this year Schoenstatt is celebrating it's 100th anniversary so the banner across the altar and the candle in the center are in honor of that joyous occasion

A Little Thrill

It really doesn't take much to set my spirits soaring. I guess I'm too much of a Pollyanna, always looking at the bright side and turning away from despair, but I just can't help it! It's the way God made me I suppose...

Last year at the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee, Archbishop Dolan was celebrating his last Holy Week with our Archdiocese. My son John and I attended the Mass and I was honored to be the representative from my parish to carry our Consecrated Oils from the Cathedral back to our parish. After Mass, I just had to speak with Archbishop Dolan, knowing it would be my last chance to see him before he left for New York. I was standing next to a group of sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary dressed in their bright royal blue and white habits. Archbishop Dolan couldn't get enough of them. He went on and on telling them how beautiful they were, and that they were more colorful than he was. Then he turned to me and asked "Aren't they beautiful?" Of course I had to agree! But when he asked me if I knew them, I shook my head for I did not know them.

But today, that has all changed! We have a new parishioner at St. Matthias Parish and her name is Sr. Helena. She is in the Order of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and she is so beautiful in her royal blue and white habit. She has just moved to Milwaukee from Tanzania and recently joined our parish. As I spoke with her, she held my hand and the warmth from her hand spread through my entire being. Watching her genuflect as she received the Body of Christ and bow deeply as she received the Blood of Christ is what really thrilled me because my parish is known to be very liberal, very few people bow before receiving the Lord.

I have a feeling that her lovely witness is going to move many hearts in our parish and draw us all to a deeper love for the Lord. I suppose I can just go ahead and add my new friend to the list of Praise from yesterday's post, because I am very grateful to God for bringing lovely Sr. Helena to my parish and to my heart.