May 15, 2019

Greetings from the Confidentia Shrine!

“Bring flowers to the fairest, bring flowers to the rarest …!” With this and similar songs in honor of the Queen of May we offer our love to the Blessed Mother during these thirty-one days of grace. Devoting one month of the year to the Blessed Mother is a universal custom of the Catholic Church. In Schoenstatt it has taken on a unique character through the ‘May blossoms’ with which Joseph Engling strove to prove his love to the MTA. His longing was to prepare a bouquet of flowers for her as lovely as the loveliest blossoms of spring! Above all, he desired to turn his soul into a beautiful garden of Mary!

How did he do it? He made a plan: Every day he wanted to bring Our Lady roses, the symbol of love and esteem, by acts of surrender to her; by increasing her honor; by reading about her, and by making efforts to speak of her. Likewise, he collected forget-me-not of faithfulness in your service by fulfilling his duties as perfectly as possible. The violet of humility and modesty inspired him to honor the Queen of May by accepting corrections patiently, forgiving offenses, and obeying cheerfully. Last but not least, he collected lilies of purity by guarding his senses, by fostering silence, and praying for purity before Holy Communion. In a single month, the thirty-one days of May 1916, Joseph Engling was able to collect 1712 May blossoms for the Queen of his heart!

Many of us will have the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to the Confidentia Shrine during May. How many May blossoms will you bring to our Schoenstatt Queen? Let us unite in noble competition to honor her with many signs of love and devotion in gratitude for her faithfulness from her shrine during the past sixty years.

We are looking forward to welcoming you,

Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary

• The Shrine is open from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
• Restrooms are open

Our store is open during the following hours

• Tuesday through Sunday
• 10:30 am – 12:00 noon
• 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
• 4:00 pm- 5:00 pm
• On Mondays the store is closed!

For more information for the use of the house, please contact the new administrator of our retreat center:

• Sr. M. Jacinta Brunner by email: houseschoenstattlamar@gmail.com or by cell phone: 361-695-0677.
• Store number: 361-729-7638
• Please note:
• the number 361-729-1868 is not yet a functioning number for our house,    but unfortunately it still appears on most caller id’s. If you want to reach us by land phone, it is necessary to use the number 361-729-2019.

“Thanks, a thousand thanks to you, to God shall be now and for all eternity.”

Fr. Kentenich