“What is This Place?”
My boyfriend, Josh, asked aloud as we stood before a quaint chapel beside a frozen lake in rural Minnesota last February. He was asking more so in wonderment than expecting a simple response. Schoenstatt on the Lake in Sleepy Eye is a beautiful spot for reflection and respite. The word “Schoenstatt” literally means ‘beautiful place’ in the German language.
The Jubilee Family Shrine dedicated to Our Mother Thrice Admirable is a place where the faithful can come to lay down their burdens before Mary who will present them to her Son, Jesus, on our behalf, thus fulfilling her mantra: To Jesus through Mary. In return, visitors feel a deep peace that pulses through their entire beings. Perhaps it’s the Triune God’s way of responding, “I hear your prayers. I love you!”
Inside the Schoenstatt Shrine in Sleepy Eye. MN
I was first introduced to Schoenstatt years ago while living abroad in Germany. In a quiet valley near the Rhein River is a town called Vallendar. Up in the hills resides the original Schoenstatt community founded by Fr. Joseph Kentenich on October 18, 1914. On that day, Fr. Kentenich, along with a group of young men, sealed a covenant of love with Mary.
Eighteen years ago, I too made my covenant of love with Mary in the Original Shrine. One can associate the covenant of love as a form of Marian consecration with the purpose of inviting Mary “to open new avenues to a vibrant relationship with Christ, to the Holy Spirit, and to God the Father, as well as a renewal of love of neighbor and self (https://schoenstatt.com/about-schoenstatt/marian-devotion/).”
This is wonderfully true, and I’ve experienced how Our Mother takes perfect care of us time and time again. One way that she has accompanied me in prayer all these years is by my request made in the Original Shrine for her help in leading me to a man who exemplifies some of the traits of Jesus and Joseph. He should be pure, loyal, noble, sincere, and upright! He should love God and the holy Catholic Church! And he should love Mary!
I’ve visited various Schoenstatt shrines since my stay in Germany. There are 200 shrines located throughout 35 countries, and four are nearby from Sleepy Eye to Milwaukee. On each visit, I have placed my desire for a God-fearing husband at the foot of the altar, trusting in God through Mary.
Melissa and Josh outside the Schoenstatt Shrine in Sleepy Eye
On Valentine’s Day, I found myself once again at the shrine in Sleepy Eye, but not by my own doing. Josh had arranged a special surprise weekend to go to this place I kept telling him about. He knew nothing of Schoenstatt before meeting me. As we knelt before the altar gazing up at the lovely image of Our Mother Thrice Admirable holding the child Jesus, I received a great consolation that Josh is the one I’ve been praying for all these years.
Trusting in Providence – the protective care of God – and trusting that Mary wants to help her children in every way to enter into a deeper love of God, self, and others reminds me of Fr. Kentenich’s words: “Who has planned my way for me? My Father! Is that enough? Will [not] my Father choose for me, his child, the surest way in life? You must answer this question for yourselves.”
Fr. Kentenich faced this question many times throughout his life as the trials and tribulations of this world weighed upon him. Most notably, he suffered from harsh illness as a young man and almost was denied priestly ordination; he was imprisoned by the Gestapo and went on to spend nearly four years in the Dachau concentration camp. And he was exiled by the Church to Milwaukee when falsely accused of misconduct. In all these forms of suffering and persecution, he could have easily pitied himself. But instead, he chose to love: “How should faith in divine providence come alive? In hope and in love. You must stress this a great deal... and be reminded that faith is informed by love (cf. Gal 5: 6). As it is generally understood, this word is applied to faith in divine providence: It must be living – not only in the mind and somewhat in the will but forming and transforming the whole person.”
Forming and transforming the whole person – Yes, that’s exactly what happens when we invite God into our hearts! He comes in and makes us the “new man” (cf. Gal 2: 20) wherein He dwells. Whatever needs you have – economic, health, spiritual, or other – take them to the Mother Thrice Admirable, the Mother of Grace. She provides for her children.
Let’s pray with confidence these words of Fr. Kentenich:
“The Mother will provide. As Mother of Grace, she will see to it that we become new personalities, a new community. As Mother of Bread, she will take care of my physical needs and my health. As Mother of the Home, she will take care of all other matters. So, I look forward with great peace of mind to the worries and difficulties. Even if we have to await death dozens of times to prove the efficacy of the expression Mhc, Mater habebit curam, the Mother will take perfect care. How are we to be convinced now, when we mention her, that we can overcome the hunger crisis, the life crisis, the health crisis, the refugee crisis? Yes, it has been truly proven when we say Mhc. It has always been so, it remains so today, and it will remain so until the end of our life: Mater habebit curam!”
Melissa Schmid