Schoenstatt Movement
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Schoenstatt Movement (german Schönstatt) is a Marian devotion founded in Germany in 1914 by Father Joseph Kentenich. Fr. Kentenich saw the movement as being a means of spiritual renewal in the Catholic Church. The movement is not—even though this is the literal meaning of the word schoenstatt—named after the German words for "beautiful place", but after a small village close to the town of Vallendar near Koblenz in Germany. Schoenstatt emphasizes a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, upholding her as a perfect example of love and purity. Schoenstatt seeks to invite the Blessed Mother (and, hence, her divine Son, Jesus Christ), into the home by establishing a spiritual Covenant of Love with her[citation needed]. It encouraged its members to have the faith and purity of children, and to think of Mary as their mother.
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[edit] Quotes
Schoenstatt "wishes to be understood as a universal vision, comprising time and eternity, this world and the next, the economic, social, ethical, political and religious needs of all people, including the dispossessed, the millions of masses… It wants to help redeem the world not only from its earthly sufferings, but also from sin and from its alienation from God. It tries to do this under the guidance and in the school of Our Lady by applying the original principles of Christianity in a new way to restore the disturbed relationship between the individual person and society, the person and business, the person and technology, and the person and social advancement." ― Father Joseph Kentenich [1]
"Hail Mary, for the sake of your purity, keep me pure in body and soul. Implore for me deep self knowledge and the grace to persevere and remain faithful until death. Give me souls, and keep all else for yourself.
Amen"
[edit] Today
The Schoenstatt Movement is today present in many countries besides Germany, especially in South America and India. Many groups have been formed within the movement where people can join anything from loose groups with sparse meetings to religious orders. Counting everyone that belongs to any group of the Schoenstatt Movement, there are today more than one million people involved[citation needed]. Schoenstatt places a great emphasis on the family, and youth especially are a important part of the movement. There are hundreds of Schoenstatt youth groups throughout the world.
[edit] Focus
Central issues are the ideas based on that which Josef Kentenich founded the movement in 1914, including Christian personality development, orientation after ideals, and community.
A central point in the movement dynamics and faith is the devotion to the Shrine, based on the first shrine in Schoenstatt where the movement started with a special devotion to Mary and of which there are dozens of replicas around the world.
[edit] Apostolic Actions
The movement is involved in several apostolic actions, including missionary work, charity, education and other projects.
[edit] External links
these sites are not encyclopedic
