Thousands of children from across Scotland descend on the picturesque Schoenstatt Shrine at the foot of the Campsie Hills recently.
The Schoenstatt sisters welcomed 3223 children from 44 schools for retreat days themed on the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Sr Mary Elspeth one of the organisers explained the scale of the event:
“There were approximately 200 children from primary three to seven visiting on any one day over 15 days. It was a massive amount of work but worthwhile. There were schools from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Paisley, Motherwell and the Dunkeld dioceses.” We would start with an introduction Sr Elspeth went on. “All the schools were brought together and told what to expect, then everyone would be split into the different groups and go off for the various activities.” There was a workshop on handicrafts, another with story telling, a scavenger hunt, and a prayer session in the shrine.”

“Then in St Joseph’s house each child was given a booklet about reconciliation which we talked about. Working with the children is rewarding and I think they got a lot out of it as well. Of course we couldn’t do it all ourselves we had a lot of help from workers who came from the Schoenstatt movement.”

This is the fourth time the sisters have hosted a project on this scale. In 2000 the retreat was focussed on the birth of Christ, to mark the second millennium, which 2600 attended. In 2003 the sisters responded to the Holy Father’s call for more focus on the luminous mysteries of the rosary by structuring the programme to suit. A couple of years later the Eucharist was the theme. Over the course of the last four Schoenstatt events 12,000 children have been involved. For Sr Elspeth the most important thing is that the children have learnt about the importance of Reconciliation. “It is one of the most vital things,” she said.
“It is through reconciliation that we learn to understand each other. One of the stories we focus on is the prodigal son. This teaches us that we need to experience forgiveness and that we all need to forgive. We all make mistakes but we can always go back to God if we are sorry. God always forgives us and through God’s forgiveness and love we go on to show forgiveness and love to all our neighbours”

There are plans to do it all again in two years time with the retreat’s theme still up for discussion. “We’ll see if the Pope makes any pronouncements,” laughs the sister.

One thing for sure though, whatever the topic thousands of children will sure to benefit.

Text by Ian Dunn (Scottish Catholic Observer Friday June 8th 2007) used with permission.

Photographs: Paul McSherry, John Shaloo and Fr Michael Savage

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