On Sunday, May 16, we had our May Crowning outdoors in front of the Father Kentenich Hall. Over 200 people participated in the celebration of the Holy Mass, the procession, and the offering of the flower crown. With a prayer beautifully formulated by the diocesan coordinators, Ed & Teri Sanchez, the Schoenstatt Family crowned the MTA as Queen of Unity. With this title, we wanted to remind our queen of one of the greatest needs of our people in our time, and also remind ourselves of the coronation ceremony of the MTA that took place fifty years ago in August 1971 in the House Chapel of the Retreat Center.
Father Pushpa presided over the Holy Mass and Deacon Henry Reyes served. Inspired by the readings for the feast of the Ascension, Father Pushpa directed our attention to the men looking on after Jesus’ ascension. We, too, are meant to wait for the coming of our Lord in his glory. But we are called to do so in a spirit of service and attentiveness to the needs of our brothers and sisters, who also need the presence of God in their lives.
Father Pushpa mentioned how “In the month of May when we honor the Blessed Mother, we honor our mothers, too. Mothers have a special attachment to the needs and desires of their children. Men are able to grasp the needs of the children only after the children can verbalize them. But a mother is so tuned to the needs of the children that they can recognize the needs of the children before they can express it… That is beautiful! The same beauty is meant to come into our lives. Jesus tells us: “Go and proclaim the good news to every creature! Ascension is God’s presence among us!”
Father Pushpa reminded the Schoenstatt Family, that as a Movement, our purpose is to bring the presence of God into the world. “We are called to help others become aware of the presence of God.” We do this through simple and humble service to one another. For example, “When we hear about Father Kentenich and how others experienced him here in Milwaukee, we notice how he was able to listen.” This was Father Kentenich’s way of giving on the presence of God and of his attachment to the Blessed Mother.
Each one of us is called to remain sensitive to the presence of God and to remain available and attentive to the needs of other people. Father Pushpa continued reflecting on how the more we become “aware of the promise of our Lord every moment of our lives, we also become aware of the needs of others.”
During this month of May, as we live out of our motto, Lead from the shrine, with trust in Divine Providence and charity to all, we want to become signs of God’s presence in our world, just as Mary was, and we want to be ready for the second coming of our Lord after his ascension into heaven.