IMPULSES 3/2016 f or Daily Living To Encounter the God of Love Secretariat Father Joseph Kentenich
To Encounter the God of Love Whoever has the longing to really meet the mercifully loving God needs time and patience. The transfer from the floods of allurement in our daily life to the ocean of God s merciful love may take a long time. On the other hand, God often offers precisely at the beginning of such a way something special so that we will have confidence in him. A young woman told us that she had a good relationship with a fellow student that never developed into friendship. Then she continued her studies in Paris, and he in the USA. They exchanged cell phone numbers but did not keep contact. One afternoon, the young woman was sitting in front of a statue of Mary in a church in Paris. She felt the desire to know how her life should continue. She asked the Mother of God to let her know whether she should cultivate a more intense contact with the young man in USA or whether she should choose a different way. Some minutes later, when she was leaving the church, her cell phone was ringing. It was the young man who said that he would like to have more contact with her. Some months later meanwhile they have become friends she asked him what caused him to call her. He said, It was in the middle of a lecture when he felt the inner urgency to call her. If I do not call her now, she will be lost for me. I immediately left the lecture hall, and I called you. The young woman was deeply touched by it; she felt: God is effective with his love in my life. We should savor where God has met us and showed us his love, Father Kentenich said when he was just released from the Dachau concentration camp. He was waiting in a village in the Swabian Alb for an opportunity to continue his trip to Schoenstatt. There he reminded the shaken people how they had experienced the love of God in the midst of the horror of that time: The enemy was at the border of the village. But all ended well. He told the people that they should consider the small and great signs of God s love as given to them personally. He told them that he had done so with the priests in Dachau for 1 ½ years every evening. It had helped them survive the brutality of the camp. To learn to endure the mysterious ways of God The mercies of God often look quite different from what we would like to experience. Father Kentenich reminded the people on the Alb that the people in near-by Ulm who had trusted in the help of
God and the Mother of God were spared from bombs, fire and wreckage. In life, much cannot be explained. We may not judge like children of this world: Lord God, I give you two pennies; you should give me two dollars in exchange, he said. To have faith that God is giving us his mercies is difficult in such a situation. God works in our life with a heavily veiled countenance, Father Kentenich expressed it pictorially. God can often not be understood with his plans. To savor and reflect on his dispensations will often consist in showing to God what we cannot understand and to ask, For what? Then we must ask him to give us some light. In such situations, our relationship with God is in danger of breaking down if we do not simultaneously keep alive the hours when he has gifted us most abundantly. The Russian writer Leo Tolstoy wrote: The reason that you no longer believe in the God in whom you used to believe is that something was wrong with your faith, and you must make an effort to grasp better what you have called god. When a heathen believes in his god made of wood and stops believing, it does not mean that there is no God, but only that he is not made of wood. God is different from what we often think. We must meet him as he really is and encounter him. Water carries To learn to swim in God s ocean of mercies is not always easy. There are incomprehensibilities and suffering in our life. But God will not abandon those who are looking for signs of God s kindness in the midst of painful experiences. It is decisive to persevere, to not become bitter in the midst of hardships, to not give up after setbacks. A Credible Witness Father Kentenich repeatedly pointed out: to savor God s sign of love in our life may become very difficult. But Mary is a good mother; she can help us discover God s mercy also in darkness. When he taught the people on the Swabian Alb this kind of meditation he pointed to Mary and added: That is not said by a young priest in his excitement, but by somebody who just escaped from the hell of Dachau. He experienced how much the covenant of love with Mary secures God s love in most difficult times. The life of Father Kentenich encourages us to get involved with God s love: To swim in God s ocean of mercy should be our task. (Fr. J Kentenich)
To experience God s Love by the Encounter with Father Kentenich Modern man is shaped in his whole being by the experience of God s absence. This atmosphere was typical at the time of National Socialism in the concentration camp of Dachau. Father Kentenich was imprisoned there in 1942 and after the usual formalities came to the admissions block. The senior prisoner, the communist Hugo Gottmann from Switzerland, welcomed him and some others: You may leave the Lord-God at home. Nobody in the camp has seen him. Then he sensed that one of them was not quickly leveled by this opinion. He was this Kentenich, as he called him. He had answered: But perhaps you have seen the devil! That caught the attention of Hugo Gottmann. He kept his eyes on him. What impressed him especially was that Father Kentenich seemed to be more communist than he was: From the first day on, Father Kentenich never took the whole food ration that he could have, but always shared it with others. His admiration of Father Kentenich had a positive result some months later. In July of 1942 he took care although it was a risk for himself that Father Kentenich was not included in the infamous invalidtransport, hiding him and therefore he was not killed. The situation of the concentration camp can be applied in a certain sense to the whole present-day world. Here we also hear: None of us has seen God! We know the cause of this stream; it is the flight from God. Whoever does not want to see God does not even look and therefore does not see him. Does the God of life exist, or does he not exist; does the experience of God exist, or does it not exist? It was true for Father Kentenich as it was true for the Curé of Ars: What they experienced was at first guarded, rather veiled. Gradually the experience and deliberation developed more clearly so that the idea became consciousness or conviction: This is more than
humanness; here we face a real experience of God. Various circles of persons had their experience directly with Father Kentenich. The students in the boarding school of the Pallottines were at first impressed by him. Gradually they became aware that they met the supernatural in the person of this Father, in his speaking and work. It was similar in the concentration camp in Dachau: A Lutheran fellow prisoner who, after living with Father Kentenich, had great respect for him summarized: Father Kentenich disliked letter Christianity. He modeled his faith and theology. In the tensionladen atmosphere and the dark, hopeless and dismal situation of life he took in with shining eyes and sun in his heart the rays of stars in the sky to radiate consolation, happiness and contentment to others. In a short report of experiences, a French priest who also had come to the concentration camp told how he was led to Father Kentenich. He had come without hope and told himself: I will die here. He was depressed when he spoke to Father Kentenich and asked him: Father, do you believe that we will come out of here alive? Then Father Kentenich with radiant eyes had said to him: But August, that is not important. We leave that up to the Mother of God! This encounter was effective. After a while, he was no longer depressed. A testimony from later years: A young student was in a serious crisis of faith, yes, for a long time was unable to believe. He said it was an additional burden and effort to occupy yourself with what people called God and thought that it was easier to live when you did not have to assume that God loved you. Then an encounter with Father Kentenich in Schoenstatt became possible, just a few months before Father Kentenich s death. Somebody had mediated it. The impression of this encounter was: Father Kentenich probably understands a person better than this person knows himself. And when you are with him you become aware of the fact that the very great longing is in us to be able to love God. (Cf Talk of Father Rudolf Mosbach, 1970)
He helps SELLING A HOUSE My brother wanted to sell his house. It was difficult because a tenant had caused much damage and therefore there were additional costs. I gave the whole matter to Father Kentenich. Now, after some months, a good buyer was found who also will take over the tenants who are still living there. Thanks for Father Kentenich s help and also for your prayers. (J.O., January 2016) SEEKING AN APARTMENT It was during Advent in 2015 when I found a picture of Father Kentenich. I looked at it for a long time and read the words: On the intercession of the Servant of God, Father Joseph Kentenich, implore for us the blessing of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and lead us into the motherly heart of Mary. I was waiting already for a long time to get an appropriate apartment in Remigius House. The house is owned by the Catholic Church and is situated in the center of the city. Therefore it is much in demand. I repeated my petition to Father Kentenich on each morning and evening. On December 8, 2015 we were watching the opening of the Holy Year of Mercy on TV the telephone rang. We received the news that an apartment in He Helps Remigius House had become available. On the same day my husband and I could look at it, and we agreed to take this apartment. We had some time because some things in the apartment had to be renewed. The work went on harmoniously. We always had the awareness that Father Kentenich cared carefully for everything. Our three children and one grandchild helped generously. Especially our youngest son was much engaged in preparing the move. Heartfelt thanks, dear Father Kentenich, for your obvious help, also thanks to the Mother of God and all who have supported us with their prayers. (W.O.L, March 2016) QUICK HELP IN SICKNESS On the last day of school, I had to pick up my son from school with chills and fever. I had to build up his hope that three days from now he would be able to fly to Lisbon for the long planned vacation. When his temperature rose on the next day and did not lessen, I implored Father Kentenich for his intercession. On the next day, the child s temperature was normal, and he was able to travel. There was no relapse. I want to attribute
this recuperation to Father Kentenich. I thank the Triune God for his mercy and love, that he bestows through great souls on us who are of little faith. Thank you, Father Kentenich. (C. St. February 2016) Today I want to share with you an answer to prayers. I had promised to do that. I suffered from arrhythmia of the heart and was hospitalized to be treated with a defibrillator. I prayed to Father Kentenich and the Mother of God the whole night before. Two minutes before the doctor wanted to treat me; my heart beat regularly as if nothing was wrong. Everybody was surprised. The Mother of God and Father Kentenich had helped me spontaneously. I hereby fulfill my promise and ask you to publish this answer to prayers. (M.H., February 2016) HELP WHEN TAKING THE DRIVERS TEST During the past weeks I said several novenas to Father Kentenich and the Mother of God. Today I can gratefully redeem my promise to publish the answer to prayers. Last week our youngest daughter passed the drivers test. On the previous day she returned home from her final drivers lesson very discouraged. The instructor had said to her: If you start the car tomorrow as you did today, you will not get the license. On the day of the exam, naturally the excitement was very great and the pressure was almost too much for our daughter. After a long period of waiting, she finally was called to take the test. At the end of it the instructor said to her: This was the drive of your life flawless. All of us were happy that our daughter had passed. We are convinced that the Mother of God and Father Kentenich have helped and our prayers were answered. (I.S., April 16, 2016) STATEBOARD EXAMINATION When I was hospitalized in December of 2015, I got to know a student nurse. She was preparing for state board exams and was very much afraid. She said that if she did not pass, all her studies were lost. I encouraged her and told her to ask Father Kentenich to help her. I explained to her who he was and that he has helped many people in their need by his intercession. I also promised her my prayers. I asked her to let me know whether she had passed the state board exam. On January 30, 2016 she wrote to me that she had passed the test and was very happy about it. Heartfelt thanks to Father Kentenich. (A. B., February 2016)
Published by: Secretariat Father Joseph Kentenich Berg Schönstatt 7 56179 Vallendar Germany Whenever this pamphlet directly or indirectly states that Father Kentenich is a saint it is always the expression of private opinion. The decision of the Church is in no way anticipated. Contact Addresses in the USA: Contact Address in Australia: Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary Mount Schoenstatt W284 N404 Cherry Lane 230 Fairlight Road Waukesha, WI 53188-9416 Mulgoa, NSW 2745 Phone: (262) 522-4200 Australia Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary House Schoenstatt 134 Front Street Rockport, Texas 78382-7800 Phone: (361) 729-2771