Pilgrim Mother Thrice Admirable

 This picture of grace is blessed and sent out from the Schoenstatt Shrine as a sacramental to “prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it.”[cf. CCC 1670] All those who open their doors and hearts to the image of Christ and Mary may find in this sacred sign “effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained through the intercession of the Church,”[CCC1667] to be themselves at home in the heart of God, experience spiritual conversion and renewal, and reach out to others with apostolic zeal and fruitfulness.

Her title Mother Thrice Admirable reminds us that she is Mother of God, Mother of the Redeemer and Mother of the redeemed. Mary is venerated in all Schoenstatt Shrines under this title.

 

What is the Pilgrim Mother?

 Known also as the Schoenstatt Rosary Campaign, the Pilgrim Mother of Schoenstatt is part of the Schoenstatt Movement, a Catholic Apostolic Movement. With the main objective of evangelizing families and individuals, it reaches out to everyone, promoting Christian values and renewing the life of prayer in homes, schools, and wherever people search for God.

When the image of Christ and Mary is blessed and sent out from the Schoenstatt Shrine, it is similar to Mary who went to visit her cousin Elizabeth bringing the presence of Christ with her. Mary, too, carries Christ into our homes, serves our spiritual needs, and works miracles by interceding for us before the throne of God.

In addition to encouraging the Rosary prayer, the apostolate of the Pilgrim Mother promotes our consecration to Mary. In Schoenstatt we do this through a covenant of love with Mary.

Wherever she goes Mary wants to spread the Kingdom of God by bringing Christ into our lives. If we open our doors to her and to her graces, our homes and hearts will become places of grace, places where God’s presence can be found.

Thousands of people on all continents have already welcomed the Pilgrim Mother. Now the Blessed Mother wants to come to your area, to your parish, into your home. Are you ready to offer her shelter on her journey? Are you willing to be her instrument in bringing Christ’s blessings into our world?

Let us greet and welcome her as Elizabeth did:

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!  And why is this granted to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?”(Lk 1: 42-43)

 

History of this Apostolate

In the Holy Year 1950, when Pope Pius XII called all Catholics to come on pilgrimage to Rome, John L. Pozzobon, a member of the Schoenstatt Movement in Santa Maria, Brazil, received an image of the Mother Thrice Admirable of Schoenstatt to be circulated in pilgrimage among families and homes in the area.

He accepted this task as a mission and took the image of the MTA (Mother Thrice Admirable) on pilgrimage for 35 years. Having walked more than 85,000 miles he brought the image of Christ and Mary to families, homes, parishes, schools, and prisons. He took to heart the words and the message of Father Joseph Kentenich, founder, founder of Schoenstatt (1885-1968).

 

How Can You be Part of This? 

• Contact information for the Pilgrim Mother coordinator on the website or at the Schoenstatt Center nearest you.
• Contact the coordinator if you would like to receive the image of the Pilgrim Mother.
• If you are interested in becoming a missionary, i.e., one who organizes the circulation of an image for at least one year, gather 6 – 10 families or persons who will receive the image once a month.
• You may choose the outreach ministry you would like: schools, nursing homes, homebound, and so on.
• Become acquainted with the Schoenstatt Shrine, its graces, and its history. That will help you share the image and its message of evangelization more effectively.
• Settle on a date and time when you will receive the image and begin rotating it among your group.
• Talk to your parish priest about this apostolate that you would like to begin.

 

For Those Who Receive the Image

• They should give her a place of honor in their homes or workplace, entrust to her their worries and anxieties, trust in her intercessory power, and keep a prayerful atmosphere near the image.
• They are encouraged to pray the Rosary and reflect on how the story of Christ and Mary touches their personal and family lives.
• At the end, thank her for the blessings received, contact the missionary who coordinates the visits, and pass the image on to the next person.

 

Mary brings Christ!

Only if we bring God into our lives and homes will things begin to make sense.  In our efforts to encounter the good news of salvation that comes from Christ, we are surprised, like Elizabeth, by the tenderness of God’s presence through Mary’s visit.

When the image visits our homes and calls to mind Christ’s presence among us, we hope for:

• a deeper love for God
• genuine joy
• help in making decisions
• peace and strength to carry the burdens of everyday life
• inner conversion
• unity for families
• a return to the sacraments
• greater faith commitment
• learning or re-learning to pray
• clarity to recognize our call to a Christian way of life

• trust in God as our Father

• deepening of love for his Mother

 

Take this picture of the Blessed Mother and give it a place of honor in your home. Then your home will become a little shrine in which the picture of grace will mediate many graces, create a holy family atmosphere, and form holy family members.

Father Joseph Kentenich, Founder of Schoenstatt (1885-1968)