Day 2 ~ “CHILD, DO NOT FORGET YOUR MISERY”
On this day we pray for the second pilgrimage grace from the Schoenstatt Shrine, the grace of inner transformation.
Words from Father Joseph Kentenich:
Child, do not forget your misery!
We know what this means. The deeper we grow into God’s heart, into the supernatural reality, the more intensely we experience the distance between the ideal and the reality, the more painfully we experience that we are not only a community of saints but also a community of sinners, of poor sinners. Day after day we have also learned to interpret this very misery of ours as a wake-up call given by the eternal, infinite mercy of the eternal Father God.
When we now say goodbye, we believe we can say with good reason: We will soon meet again! It is not as if we were saying goodbye for good, as if we had to give up each other totally… When we see each other again, we will spiritually eye each other up and say: Did we grow or did we succumb too much to the law of gravity in our nature?
So it is that we are happy and grateful that God brought us together, that we tried to recognize his wish, his intention and that we tried to act accordingly. Lastly, we shall commit ourselves to the goal: “Ascende superius.” [Climb higher.] Higher, upward, still higher and upward until God has accomplished the goal which he had in mind for us from all eternity…
Reflection:
Child, do not forget your misery!
As you greet the Blessed Mother on this second day, once again make room in your heart for the graces she wants to give you. These are the graces which the Pilgrim MTA brings from the Schoenstatt Shrine. This time it is the grace to be inwardly transformed into a living image of Christ.
As soon as we are confronted with Christ’s gospel message of love, kindness, and mercy we become aware of our imperfection, of our misery. How often we fail to give love, kindness, and mercy to others. Further, how often we fail to trust in God’s love, kindness, and mercy. However, we have nothing to fear! In fact, we may not forget our misery, our imperfections. The more we become aware of our misery, the more we learn to rely on God’s power and strength.
In the Schoenstatt Shrine, Mary, as the Mother Thrice Admirable Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt, makes God’s infinite mercy available to us through her motherly presence, and her transforming power. She does not want to leave us in our misery, wanting to hear our constant cries of desperate prayers and petitions. She educates, too! She intercedes for us the divine guidance of the Holy Spirit, who as God, has the power to create us anew, to transform us. We can become new persons if we open ourselves to the grace of inner transformation. We can turn away from sin, from our hardened, unruly ways of choosing our own will, whims, and cravings over God’s will and path, which leads us far from our neighbors’ needs and joys. Mary will help us to develop a kind and charitable heart, a strong, noble, and humble heart, capable of bending toward others in mercy and love.
Do not forget that Mary dwells in her Schoenstatt Shrine as an Educator. If you have quietly struggled for years to free yourself from an addiction or a constant temptation, come to Mary in her shrine. She can intercede for you the grace to know yourself more and therefore recognize where your true weakness and your true greatness are found.
Do not forget that Mary dwells in her Schoenstatt Shrine as an Educator. If you have painfully carried the cross of anxiety and fears, emotional or inner compulsions, come to Mary in her shrine. She is there to intercede for all those who long to move from darkness into light, into the light of God’s freedom, goodness and love.
Do not forget that Mary dwells in her Schoenstatt Shrine as an Educator. If you have become aware of your imperfection and misery, and shamefully recognize your pride and arrogance, your false humility or superficiality, come to Mary in her shrine. She is waiting for you to run into her arms. She will help you walk your way out of a mistaken self-concept into the firm ground of the truthful image of yourself. She will help you climb higher!
Prayer:
Mary, Mother of Mercy, my hope and my home are found in you and in your Son. God the Father reaches out to me with his merciful love through your merciful heart. Take my heart and give me yours. God the Son draws me into the mystery of his redeeming love through your Immaculate Heart. Take my total self and give me your love and your faith. God the Holy Spirit transforms me into a new person through your educating hands. Take my misery and transform me, that I may be created anew. In the shrine, let me find you, Mother Thrice Admirable, as my Educator.
My Queen, my Mother,
I give myself entirely to you,
And to show my devotion to you,
I consecrate to you this day,
My eyes, my ears, my mouth,
my heart, my entire self without reserve,
As I am your own, my good Mother,
guard me and defend me,
As your property and possession. Amen.