Schoenstatt Movement
Schoenstatt…
a place, a movement,
a family, a spirituality,
a new way of life.
Schoenstatt – A Place
Schoenstatt is a religious center, a place of pilgrimage, a shrine dedicated to Mary. The first Shrine-located in Germany near Colbence on the Rhine-became Our Lady’s place of grace in 1914. Throughout the years, many such shrines have been erected across the world, each of them an exact replica of the Mother Shrine. They are the spiritual centers of the international Apostolic Movement of Schoenstatt.
Schoenstatt – A Movement
The Schoenstatt Movement is a special kind of spiritual community, offering a place and support to any Catholic searching for spritual growth and apostolic activity. It comprises people of all walks and states of life, of all ages and cultures. It has expanded internationally into more than 28 nations. It cannot be compared to a club, an association or guild, or to any work-related or special interest group. It has an image of its own.
A Movement of Moral and Religious Renewal…
It takes up the most important task facing the people of our time: the moral and religious renewal of the whole world, in the spirit of Christ, according to the teaching of our Catholic Church.
A Movement of Lay Apostolate…
The main body of the movement is formed by lay people who work in conjunction with priests. Together they serve the universal apostolate of the Church in the world today. By their striving to sanctify each day, they hope to fulfill the challenge of Vatican II, “to consecrate the world.”
A Movement of Education…
Education and spiritual formation of each person are necessary in order to render the apostolic endeavors fruitful. Schoenstatt offers specific methods of education which help us to reach the final goal of our catholic living; self-education should bring about the inner renewal of each person, the formation of a new person in a new society.
A Modern and Necessary Movement…
Schoenstatt has come into existence in our time, for our time and the coming centuries. While anticipating all that is new and valuable, it is firmly rooted in the tradition of the Church and human life. It is new in the way it establishes groups and builds community life. It is new in its education and formation, in its customs and apostolic work. It is new in its juridical place within the Church. It is a very necessary movement in a time of dissolution when all traditional values and forms are questioned and in a time of transition beyond compare. It is a God-given sign and means for solving the manifold tasks of our age.
A Marian Movement…
Schoenstatt was founded as a work and instrument of God through Mary. Mary was chosen to be the associate of Christ in his entire work of redemption. As his mother and the Mother of all the redeemed, she continues to fulfill her task of giving birth to Christ in our time, of bringing him to all peoples and helping to establish his kingdom.
The Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt, chose Schoenstatt for an original task and with a special spirituality and message for our time.
Schoenstatt – A Family
Schoenstatt is a family-like movement which unites individual persons in a natural-supernatural family. The spiritual father of the Schoenstatt family is the founder of Schoenstatt, Father Joseph Kentenich, who cares for his foundation for all times. The covenant of love with the Triune God, with the Mother Thrice Admirable of Schoenstatt and with each other, secures family unity. The shrine of our Lady is the spiritual home and center of the Schoenstatt family. Throughout its blessed and fruitful history, the Schoenstatt family has experienced God’s guidance and a powerful inbreak of grace, as well as a heroic surrender of the people to God in loving response to his gifts.
Schoenstatt – A Spirituality and Message
Schoenstatt’s spirituality gives inspiration and direction to all those who search for inner renewal:
- a living and practical faith in Divine Providence
- a life of everyday sanctity
- an instrumentality
- a covenant of love with the Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt as a means to realize one’s baptismal covenant with the Triune God.
Schoenstatt’s message and great gift for our Church and time is the original covenant of love which has grown out of a living, practical faith in Divine Providence and finds expression in a deep mission-consciousness and fruitful apostolate.
Schoenstatt – A New Way of Life
Schoenstatt offers a way of life which affects every aspect of one’s life and one’s relationship with others. It does not demand saying certain prayers, participating in certain activities, and/or attending meetings and gatherings. But, Schoenstatt does want to stimulate the practice of self-education and secure each person’s striving for perfection. It offers monthly discussions on the spirituality of Schoenstatt and its application to daily life, to questions about the Church and problems of our time. Usually, people of similar calling join together in small group units (8-10 people or 5-6 couples) and receive spiritual enrichment and ideas for their practical striving. Annual retreats, days of recollection, summer camps, family picnics, and other activities are also offered. The saintly lives of Schoenstatt members, especially that of the father and founder of Schoenstatt, prove that Schoenstatt is a new way of life, leading to the height of sanctity.