Stay home! Pray the Rosary! Crown the Pilgrim MTA!
With this simple threefold admonition we can contribute so much to our world in crisis.
We have missionaries in all corners of the USA some affected directly or indirectly by the coronavirus. At this time, we want to do our part and cooperate in the best way we can. The steps are simple:
- Stay home!
- Pray the Rosary!
- Crown the Pilgrim MTA!
A Crown for a Crown
In Schoenstatt’s history , as Father J. Kentenich liked to put it, the Blessed Mother has always given us “a crown for a crown.”
This is why in this time of insecurity and precaution given the coronavirus rapid spread across the land, we turn to our Mother and Queen and crown her. A crown for another “crown.” The crown on the Blessed Mother’s brow for the “corona” virus! On March 25, everyone is invited to give our “yes” to God to the new and painful circumstances and crown the images of the Pilgrim Mother for:
- so many lives affected
- people not being able to go to work
- health care employees at risk
- health system at the brink of collapse in some areas
- faithful people remaining steadfast in their faith when fasting from the Eucharist
- families taking the time to actually remaining together and treasuring the value of family life
- businesses in decline
Most of all, we offer our crowning that people may return to God! The Blessed Mother is here, among us in the image of the Pilgrim Mother to intercede this grace for us.
About Crowning
Father Joseph Kentenich, the founder of Schoenstatt, attached a crown to the picture of the Mother Thrice Admirable and Queen of Schoenstatt in the Original Shrine, for the first time, on December 10, 1939. From then on Schoenstatt members have offered countless crowns, fashioned in various designs out of different materials, to the MTA in homes, work places, hospital rooms, conference halls, classrooms, and churches. Many members of the Apostolate of the Schoenstatt Pilgrim Mother have also crowned the picture of the Pilgrim MTA in the past.
Each coronation act has a timely meaning for the person or persons who offer the crown. Sometimes the crown symbolizes an urgent petition. For example, in 1942 when Father J. Kentenich was in the concentration camp at Dachau, he and his followers secretly offered the Blessed Mother a simple crown as the “Bread Mother” during a time of severe starvation. Almost immediately after that, the camp officials changed their policy and permitted the prisoners to receive food parcels through the mail. In faith, these men attributed this change to the crowning event.
Today, we want to unite across the nation and prepare to (re)crown our images of the Pilgrim Mother on March 25. (If you don’t have your image of the Pilgrim MTA with you, you can also crown her spiritually.) Join us by doing three things:
- Stay home!
- Pray the Rosary and offer it as a contribution to the capital of grace. You can join in also in praying the prayer Hold the Scepter In Your Hand (Heavenwards, p. 130).
- (Re)crown your image on March 25!
If you need wooden crowns for the image of the Pilgrim MTA and or the new flyers of the Rosary with the meditations written by Father J. Kentenich, contact us soon: pilgrim.mta.usa@gmail.com.
