The Scottish pilgrims at the Madison Shrine

Arrival and the first week stateside

On the 14th of October 2008 the second Scottish pilgrimage to Schoenstatt Milwaukee gathered at Glasgow airport for the journey to the mid west. Our first trip in 2006 had been a major mile stone for the Scottish Schoenstatt family, a sort of coming of age and maturing. With that deeper understanding under our belts we sought to consolidate and build on the earlier experiences. Most of the group were the same as those who made the first trip and four for whom it was a first time.
Michael and Nora Hartley, Ian and Susan Millar, Eileen and John Shalloo, John & Agnes Burns from Glasgow, Karl and Jean Storey from Inverness along with Sr Margareta and Fr Michael completed the 12 apostles.

Our last trip had been in the spring and this one saw us arrive in the middle of autumn with russet and red golden leaves bedecking the trees. Sr Petra picked us up from the airport and took us north through Milwaukee and on to the International Centre at Waukesha. As often happens, the trip in the aircraft had left us all in need of a good night's sleep to allow our spirits to catch up with us.

For those who had been there before it was a chance to renew old acquaintances while for the new members it was a chance to understand all the stories they had heard. The Centre at Waukesha lies in the heart of the rolling Wisconsin country side. The grounds around the International centre sweep upwards towards the International shrine and the sisters' province house. Just behind the province house is a typical American 'clap board' house that had been the original farm house when the property was bought back in the early 1960s. Compared with most European Schoenstatt centres the total land covers a massive 400 acres. Yet for all that the Milwaukee Schoenstatt movement still retains an intimate family based atmosphere built around many of the original family groups who got to know Fr Kentenich back in the 1950s and 1960s.

On the first Sunday of our stay we travelled into the exile shrine at Milwaukee to join the local family for the covenant day celebrations at Holy Cross when Fr Kentenich lived during his exile time. Here we met many more of the families plus the children and grandchildren who have grown up in the intervening years. The Sisters at Waukesha prepared a light lunch by transporting soup, rolls and others goodies ready for the guests. For anyone familiar with parish parochial events in Scotland there was a similar feel. We gathered for the Sunday mass where one of the Sisters revealed the motto for the year a head.
‘Child, be confident, the Father leads‘. The Scottish group were asked to stand just before the Mass so that the rest of the congregation could see and identify us. After that we were treated like part of the family.

As well as being a pilgrimage this was also a study week with several talks held by Sr Petra. She was Fr Kentenich’s secretary during the exile years and had a intimate knowledge of his work and thinking during the period of exile from Schoenstatt in Germany. It was a chance to hear the circumstances of his stay in America and along with the difficulties and suffering, the benefits and joys that came with it.

Fr Michael Savage

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The Home shrine

Sr Petra’s talk on the Saturday after our arrival focused on the fruits of Fr Kentenich’s exile, made a great impression on us. It was wonderful to hear how Fr Kentenich brought such joy to those around him during his years of exile. Fr Kentenich did not spend his days brooding over criticisms and the injustice of it all. He used all these things to fill the capital of grace for others. He said, “If I stand, my people will be able to stand too“!

It is hardly surprising therefore that his time bore so much fruit. The blessed Mother had certainly followed him into exile. Before the end of the exile period which lasted almost 14 years, three shrines had been built. Our small Scottish group of twelve have both visited and celebrated mass in them all.

One of the five fruits of the exile time was the development of the home shrine. It was a great blessing and honour to have a home shrine because of the graces that we are able to receive in our own home. Had Fr Kentenich not come to Milwaukee, this incredible gift to the Schoenstatt family may never have developed. The blessing of the first home shrine took place the 18th of November 1963. During the simple service he said:

“What I am about to say is of elementary importance for the future. Everything which holds true for the original shrine and the daughter shrine holds true for the Home shrine”

This was a monumental development in Schoenstatt’s history and more was to follow.

Nora and Michael Hartley

On Tuesday the 21st of October we had the privilege of being invited to visit the home of Mark and Margaret Fenelon and their two younger sons, Luke and John.plus their standard poodle Schutzie! They are a committed Schoenstatt family.

After a simple meal of pizza salad and coffee or soft drinks we remained sitting round the table while Mark told of of his Schoenstatt life as a child growing up. His father had died when they were all quite young leaving his mother to bring up the whole family of 11 children. It was an awesome task.

As a small boy Mark had met Fr Kentenich on several occasions. Though he has little memory of that time, Schoenstatt was imprinted on his way of life. As a girl Margaret had grown up with a picture of the MTA on her living room wall. She was particularly attached to it.

Margaret spoke of her research in the history of her MTA picture. She had grown up with it hanging on the family living room wall. but she was not sure how they came to have it. As a student she was encouraged to find out where it had come from and the back ground history of the picture. During the same period she met Mark, and also discovered that the picture had come from Fr Kentenich himself. The picture has been with her ever since. She had at first thought of becoming a Schoenstatt sister, but eventually decided to marry Mark.

After they married they moved house several times always taking Margaret's picture with them. During one move the glass on the picture shattered and she was distraught that such a precious heirloom should be damaged. However once she calmed down she was overwhelmed and overjoyed to discover the back of the picture had been signed by Fr Kentenich himself. The brief inscription read: "Mother takes care". What a wonderful gift they had been given. As with any mother and father both Mark and Margaret were concerned for the well being of their children. At the time of writing their son Matthew is in military service and on tour of duty in Iraq and will shortly be posted to Baghdad. The family have asked prayers for his safe return.

Karl and Jean Storey

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Those who Remember

As the days have gone by we are all becoming tireder and tireder. At the same time we all want to hear more and more of Fr Kentenich's words and reaction to the exile. Hearing the stories from people with first hand knowledge is vastly different from reading the same material in a book. It gives a different insight into father's way of thinking and reacting.

It is something special to hear what he said to a particular person on his or her choice of symbol for their homeshrine. One wants to be a pillar, the foundation stone on which the sanctuary of the home will be grown. Do everything out of love from the Blessed Mother especially when it starts hurting. There was the youngest daughter who chose the crown over the picture as she wanted to be a little Queen, be reverent and awaken reverence in the family. Then came the symbol chosen by the father and mother and the other children's symbols. We were writing so long and so hard our hands and eyes were sore.

We also heard from some of the sisters who knew Father. Sr Paulette stands out in our minds. We got to know her as the quiet almost silent organ player who accompanied the morning meditations. When walking around she would cast her eyes down in a demure fashion. When she started to speak to the group about her meeting with Fr Kentenich there was a total tranformation. She moved energetically almost danced about the room as she told her stories, her eyes darting here and there. Once Father told her to write a letter to him on any subject of her chosing, 'It is good to write as thoughts become clearer, he told her. She found this very difficult as her mind went blank. It took several days to put something to paper and now every night she writes her thoughts about the day just past clearly expressing herself. Fr Kentenich also told her to try and be creative. She was musical, so he suggested she write music. Don't copy other people's thoughts, it always better to create your own.. She has continued to do this down through the years. It was his wise honest and trusting nature that has inspired her most

Susan Millar

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Thursday 23rd October 2008

Madison again and the House on the Rock

After morning prayer and breakfast we travelled to Madison and the Founder Shrine for Holy mass. As lovely as the mass was we have to confess that not much of Fr Michael’s sermon remained in our heads with the exception of his response to Sr. Xavera, the founding sister of Schoenstatt in Scotland. This reminded us all of the talk the evening before when Sr. Paulette told us about her early meeting with Fr Kentenich. After a long discussion she left him to return to her apartment, but suddenly realised that she couldn’t remember a thing he had said. At the next meeting she confessed that she couldn’t remember what he had told her, to which Fr Kentenich replied:
“The main thing is, that the main thing always remains the main thing”.
Roughly translated, ‘You always remember the bit you need to remember‘!

After a packed lunch at Madison we travelled to visit ‘The house on the Rock’ near the town of Dodgeville. It is a surreal fantastical creation of a man called Alex Jordan who believed that sights and sounds were the most effective means of stimulating the senses. He wanted his guests to question his creations and come to their own conclusions and turn his world of dreams into their own.

The whole complex was a sight to behold and what an experience. It took us three and a half hours to walk round the maze of exhibits. It could be likened to walking around inside Jordan's mind with all his thoughts and imagination there on display.

However biazzare the comparison, the image of the house on the rock and moving around within someone's imagination stuck with us. The title of the exhibit 'The house on the rock' is a very scriptural allusion and with a little leap of the imagination our trip to America could be seen as a deliberate attempt to enter deeper into the mind and spirit of Fr Kentenich.

As we left the museum the rain started to fall heavily. Poor Sr. Petra had been driving all day and it couldn’t have been easy for her to drive back to Waukesha more than 100 miles away through the dark and on wet glistening roads.
We sang hymns and prayed the rosary to keep us all awake. Except to stop for supper in Madison we continued our trip back home through even more rain. It was an opportunity to place our trust in the MTA, our thirteen guardian angels and Sr Petra, that we would arrive back safely. It took some time but at 10.40 pm we pulled up at the pilgrims’ house.
It had been long and wonderful day for everyone.

Eileen & John Shalloo

(On a more personal level Eileen and John reflected on the circumstances surrounding their pilgrimage.)

When we decided to come back to Milwaukee, little did we know at the time what 2008 would bring for us. Due to John's fragile health there were innumerable hospital appointments and operations. On the Friday before our departure for the USA we were told that John needs a major operation before Christmas. After consulting the various medical professionals, our MTA, Fr Kentenich and Sr. Margareta we decided to bring all the decision making to Milwaukee. Here we wanted to ask Our Mother Thrice Admirable and Fr Kentenich to help us make the correct decision. After receiving a text from our Doctor we have been told the decision will be made on the 6th of November, a week after our return.

On the very first day the American Schoenstatt family had formulated their motto for the year ahead.
'Child be confident, Father leads'
Then on our visit to the Fenelon Family we were all given a card with Father's picture on it and a copy of his signature which was found on the back of their homeshrine picture. The words read:
'Mother takes care'.
The motto and the card had a profound effect on us. Now to a certain extent we feel at peace for whatever lies ahead and the decision we have now made in the light of our experiences here. Along with our Heavenly Father, our father and founder Fr Kentenich and the MTA we have placed our lives in their hands.

"Mary my Mother - do not let go of our hands".

(Waukesha 24th October 2008)

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Relative New Comers

Despite having visited the shrine at Campsie Glen for many years we are relative new comers. We came to Milwaukee not quite sure what to expect in the company of pilgrims who have been here at least once before. This experience of Fr Kentenich in exile has been a huge piece in the jigsaw that is his life. Its message of devotion to God and the MTA is very tangible. The Exile shrine has great poignancy and it is very moving to be here where Fr Kentenich could be in a shrine like his beloved Mother shrine in Schoenstatt Germany. Here he could be at home despite all the turmoil surrounding the reasons for his exile. Our dear Fr Kentenich used his time here to work constantly for his beloved MTA in being an example of fidelity to the Church and a loving son of Mary. We have prayed here as he did, met many Schoenstatt families as he did and enjoyed a great rapport with our fellow Schoenstatters.

It is so encouraging to see so many people coming here to the International Schoenstatt Centre, on weekends or during the day to spend time with the sisters and of course with Fr Kentenich whose presense is always felt as together they honour God and his Holy Mother.

We return home with a deeper view of Fr Kentenich's message and with gratitude to our MTA for making this trip possible. We would encourage many more people to come to this international centre and shrine where our MTA and Fr Kentenich want to help them grow in faith and love of the Church.

John & Agnes Burns. (27th October 2008)

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At the conclusion of our Pilgrimage to the exile places we heard about one shrine that lay within the grounds of a parish in the north side of the city. It had had a chequered history, but had also been in it's time the source of many vocations to the schoenstatt communities. The shrine was referred to as the St Philip Neri shrine and was built by a parish priest who was trying to establish a parish in the area. Over time the local catholic community dispersed to the suburbs and the parish had to close. This left the shrine unsupported. On Monday 27th of October we paid a visit and celebrated mass there.

Fr Michael Savage