Pilars
Covenant Culture
With the opening of the Jubilee Year, our International Family has discovered that its most valuable treasure is the Covenant of Love. Father Kentenich and the first sodalists sealed a Covenant of Love with Mary, which intimately united them to her, and would ultimately impact their personal relationships and every aspect of their lives. Today, it is us, who like these young men, want to give our Covenant to the Church and society. The 2014 Jubilee Year is an opportunity to be a part of the renewing generation of sodalists that with the Covenant of Love in mind, offers a Missionary Generation of men that infuses their time, their countries and their lives with a new culture.
Our Blessed Mother approaches us and seeks a personal relationship, a bond that awakens our childlike love, our highest ideals, and our longing to transform the world. She invites us to be more like her, welcoming us like her children, transforming our hearts through a process of self-education and sending us as a community of apostles that yearn to set this world on fire. This Covenant way of living, that transforms itself into a Marian lifestyle, cannot be kept within us: it is a present that we have received in order to transmit as a gift, a Covenant Culture. By offering the Covenant to our country, we intimately unite ourselves with its history, its customs and Christian roots, being exemplary cases of the faith of our people. Likewise, the Covenant invites us to purify our local cultures by establishing new attachments in our personal, spiritual, social and family lives. The Covenant of Love that we share as the International Male Youth wants to impact every aspect of the life of our world and our times.
The key aspect of this new culture is its Marian nature that is reflected in several elements. That which we cultivate is marked by the joy of feeling loved and respected. This joy invites us to announce to everyone we meet that they are a beloved child of God. Our society is in great need of our warm personal relationships. Our new culture is characterized by a boldness to start challenging projects, following in the footsteps of Mary on her pilgrimage to visit her cousin Elizabeth. These initiatives unite people in a new way and require our creativity and commitment. A Covenant Culture is visible in the wide range of apostolates within our branches. The God of Life, who is so often forgotten in our times, is a crucial part of the culture we want to develop. Constant and humble prayer provides depth and spiritual sustenance to our times.
Protagonism
At the 2008 gathering in Buenos Aires, Branch Leaders and Moderators expressed their attitude towards the Centennial Celebration of Schoenstatt in the following words: “We don’t want to go just to move chairs around.” Our non-conforming youth is not satisfied with merely being present at the celebration. It wants to play a leading role in the Jubilee Celebration that recalls the history, but beyond that, will orient the projection of the Covenant to the 100 years to come. The Protagonism that Schoenstatt’s Male Youth yearns for has as its purpose to renew and revitalize Schoenstatt. The Schoenstatt Family has constantly renewed itself throughout its history, and our Missionary Generation bursts forth to revamp Schoenstatt by living out the Covenant of Love within the context of our own lives.
This driving force of protagonism is confirmed in the life of our branches and is reflected in our projects and initiatives.
What we do as a Missionary Generation has certain defining characteristics that are common to all our branches across the world:
International Unity
International Unity has always been a desire and a goal of Schoenstatt’s Male Youth, and with the Jubilee Year imminently upon us, we realize that we now share a special unifying impulse to act. As the Missionary Generation, we want to present this as a gift to our Schoenstatt Family.
The International Unity that we aspire for is an opportunity to be united in our strivings to conquer the same ideals. It will allow us to discover our common elements, while enriching us through the exchange of projects and experiences. Ultimately, it will broaden our horizons and make us realize that in every branch around the world there are young men who are living and giving of themselves as selflessly as we do. Our unity shows us that we all make up the Missionary Generation.
It is also our chance to become protagonists of the 2014 Jubilee – leaders in the Church and leaders in society. We have as our common goal to reach 2014 as a united front and to remain intimately united as we move forward into the future.
This unity is sustained by the Covenant of Love, by personal attachments and by the missionary drive that is characteristic of our generation. It is also dependent on the Shrine, which is the fountain of grace where our Blessed Mother dwells and distributes her treasures in abundance. To cultivate this unity, we want to share our experiences through the International Secretariat and the international webpage. As we strive to grow together, it is necessary to ensure national unity within our local branches, always keeping in mind the reality of our own country. We must keep up with current events and be an answer to our nations’ challenges. Everyone must contribute to this unity, and it cannot be that only the branch leaders experience it during national and international gatherings. This is why it is crucial that all members of the Male Youth understand and live out their fundamental role in the realization of our unity.
But we don’t yearn to be solely united amongst our branches. We wish to be united with Mary and with God, to live out the motto “Nothing without you, nothing without us” on a daily basis. This is what will give us the strength and renewal that will keep us moving forward. This ideal is shared by every member of the Schoenstatt Male Youth and the Schoenstatt Family. To exemplify our unity, we call upon the image of the human body: every member has its specific function, yet it needs the help of other members to move as a whole. Similarly, we have our driving force: our love for the Blessed Mother, our Covenant of Love, our selfless passion, the missionary spirit and the life that we share as the Schoenstatt Male Youth of the world.
With the opening of the Jubilee Year, our International Family has discovered that its most valuable treasure is the Covenant of Love. Father Kentenich and the first sodalists sealed a Covenant of Love with Mary, which intimately united them to her, and would ultimately impact their personal relationships and every aspect of their lives. Today, it is us, who like these young men, want to give our Covenant to the Church and society. The 2014 Jubilee Year is an opportunity to be a part of the renewing generation of sodalists that with the Covenant of Love in mind, offers a Missionary Generation of men that infuses their time, their countries and their lives with a new culture.
Our Blessed Mother approaches us and seeks a personal relationship, a bond that awakens our childlike love, our highest ideals, and our longing to transform the world. She invites us to be more like her, welcoming us like her children, transforming our hearts through a process of self-education and sending us as a community of apostles that yearn to set this world on fire. This Covenant way of living, that transforms itself into a Marian lifestyle, cannot be kept within us: it is a present that we have received in order to transmit as a gift, a Covenant Culture. By offering the Covenant to our country, we intimately unite ourselves with its history, its customs and Christian roots, being exemplary cases of the faith of our people. Likewise, the Covenant invites us to purify our local cultures by establishing new attachments in our personal, spiritual, social and family lives. The Covenant of Love that we share as the International Male Youth wants to impact every aspect of the life of our world and our times.
The key aspect of this new culture is its Marian nature that is reflected in several elements. That which we cultivate is marked by the joy of feeling loved and respected. This joy invites us to announce to everyone we meet that they are a beloved child of God. Our society is in great need of our warm personal relationships. Our new culture is characterized by a boldness to start challenging projects, following in the footsteps of Mary on her pilgrimage to visit her cousin Elizabeth. These initiatives unite people in a new way and require our creativity and commitment. A Covenant Culture is visible in the wide range of apostolates within our branches. The God of Life, who is so often forgotten in our times, is a crucial part of the culture we want to develop. Constant and humble prayer provides depth and spiritual sustenance to our times.
Protagonism
At the 2008 gathering in Buenos Aires, Branch Leaders and Moderators expressed their attitude towards the Centennial Celebration of Schoenstatt in the following words: “We don’t want to go just to move chairs around.” Our non-conforming youth is not satisfied with merely being present at the celebration. It wants to play a leading role in the Jubilee Celebration that recalls the history, but beyond that, will orient the projection of the Covenant to the 100 years to come. The Protagonism that Schoenstatt’s Male Youth yearns for has as its purpose to renew and revitalize Schoenstatt. The Schoenstatt Family has constantly renewed itself throughout its history, and our Missionary Generation bursts forth to revamp Schoenstatt by living out the Covenant of Love within the context of our own lives.
This driving force of protagonism is confirmed in the life of our branches and is reflected in our projects and initiatives.
What we do as a Missionary Generation has certain defining characteristics that are common to all our branches across the world:
- Free and loyal commitment. Our Male Youth gives all or nothing for its mission and its members. It is never mediocre, for it is well supported in the ideals that we continuously strive to discover and live out fully. It also assumes responsibility and fulfills it extraordinarily and passionately. Our Male Youth is masculine: “It knows what it wants, it wants what it knows and it does what it wants and knows.” (FK)
- Community and Service. Our protagonism involves every member putting in his contribution in a cohesive and selfless way. We are a young family that is enriched by the creative involvement of every member of the group; this strengthens our commitment. We are protagonists because we serve others and know how to live in community.
- Ambition and Humility. Our Male Youth does not want to limit itself but incessantly strives for more. We strive to place our trust in the Blessed Mother who guides us with her humble yes to a great mission.
- Coherence and Identity. Our Male Youth cultivates an awareness of local and national ideals and its own self-awareness and charisma. It endeavors to grow in self-education and to be loyal and coherent to that lifestyle in every aspect of its existence. What message does it proclaim? It wishes to give testimony of what it lives, the Covenant of Love, and to reflect it in its traditions, relationships, everyday life and apostolic projection.
International Unity
International Unity has always been a desire and a goal of Schoenstatt’s Male Youth, and with the Jubilee Year imminently upon us, we realize that we now share a special unifying impulse to act. As the Missionary Generation, we want to present this as a gift to our Schoenstatt Family.
The International Unity that we aspire for is an opportunity to be united in our strivings to conquer the same ideals. It will allow us to discover our common elements, while enriching us through the exchange of projects and experiences. Ultimately, it will broaden our horizons and make us realize that in every branch around the world there are young men who are living and giving of themselves as selflessly as we do. Our unity shows us that we all make up the Missionary Generation.
It is also our chance to become protagonists of the 2014 Jubilee – leaders in the Church and leaders in society. We have as our common goal to reach 2014 as a united front and to remain intimately united as we move forward into the future.
This unity is sustained by the Covenant of Love, by personal attachments and by the missionary drive that is characteristic of our generation. It is also dependent on the Shrine, which is the fountain of grace where our Blessed Mother dwells and distributes her treasures in abundance. To cultivate this unity, we want to share our experiences through the International Secretariat and the international webpage. As we strive to grow together, it is necessary to ensure national unity within our local branches, always keeping in mind the reality of our own country. We must keep up with current events and be an answer to our nations’ challenges. Everyone must contribute to this unity, and it cannot be that only the branch leaders experience it during national and international gatherings. This is why it is crucial that all members of the Male Youth understand and live out their fundamental role in the realization of our unity.
But we don’t yearn to be solely united amongst our branches. We wish to be united with Mary and with God, to live out the motto “Nothing without you, nothing without us” on a daily basis. This is what will give us the strength and renewal that will keep us moving forward. This ideal is shared by every member of the Schoenstatt Male Youth and the Schoenstatt Family. To exemplify our unity, we call upon the image of the human body: every member has its specific function, yet it needs the help of other members to move as a whole. Similarly, we have our driving force: our love for the Blessed Mother, our Covenant of Love, our selfless passion, the missionary spirit and the life that we share as the Schoenstatt Male Youth of the world.