Covenant of Love

My net is filled

2011-09-01T15:45:00.003-04:00

When Peter said to Jesus that he had already tried to fish and that there was no use in doing it again, he (Peter I mean) must have felt or seen something in the Lord that made him stop in his tracks.

Which was the reason why he said that he would do it again, just because Jesus asked him to.
He did, and the results were nets filled with fish.

Now, what I fail to understand is Peter’s reaction next. He was full of fear and told the Lord:
“Please, do not come near me, I am but a sinner.”

Yes, maybe, but if Jesus had decided to help him, there was no reason to fear.
I fail, just as I said before, to understand why Peter was so afraid, but I view this passage as one of great hope.

Because my net may be empty at this moment, but if I approach Jesus and ask Him to help me, He may be willing to send me back to the lake and this time, against all odds, I may be filling it with fish.

In this day and age, fish is a metaphoric way of calling other things, it may be work, money, business, peace of mind. We know what we need, God knows even better.

But this passage of the Gospels, serves us very well, because it reminds us, that if we are doing our part, that is working towards the objective we have set ourselves, we can count on his supernatural help.
Just as He did with Peter.
Nothing without You, and nothing without Me.

But there is a catch, there always is. However, it is a simple one, of difficult, depending on how we view it.

If we want our efforts to end in success, we must be faithful to His teachings and believe that God has our best interest at heart.

In other words, we are asked to have faith.
That is all we need.
Work and have faith.

The rest is in God’s hands.

Let us ask Our Blessed Mother, the Mater of Schoenstatt to grant us that faith that will motivate Our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us the immense benefit of his favor.

A new Shrine for Our Lady of Schoenstatt in Miami

2010-12-05T23:53:00.003-05:00

Presides over the ceremony Bishop Estevez, Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Miami.

Sunday December 12, an event awaited for more than 27 years will take place in Miami, the consecration of the Shrine: The Way to the Merciful Father, dedicated to the Mater of Schoenstatt.

Se consagra el Santuario de Miami

2010-12-05T23:44:00.001-05:00

Este domingo 12 de diciembre, un acontecimiento esperado por más de 27 años, llega a su culminación con la consagración del Santuario Camino Hacia el Padre Misericordioso, dedicado a la Mater de Schoenstatt.

La ceremonia de consagración será presidida por Monseñor Estévez, Obispo Auxiliar de la Diócesis de Miami.

The centennial prayer

2010-10-24T21:06:00.003-04:00

A prayer to get us closer to the Shrine, to our Mother and above all, to God.

Click below to listen to it.

What would the Virgin Mary do?

2010-06-30T11:30:00.002-04:00

In our marriage’s meeting , we decided this would be our goal for the next two weeks:

What would the Mater do if she was in my place?

Imagine any circumstance in your life. It need not be a problem, it may be a decision, a step to take, one that helps provide a contribution to somebody or someone. You know what deserves your attention right now.

As human beings we can give that circumstance a normal, logic and material vision. And according to how this perspective is, so will the results.

In contrast, in Schoenstatt, we give our point of view a supernatural twist, we let the Mater act and accompany us in our decisions.

So we ask: what would you do Mater, in this case?

We then wait for her answer. We listen to her, and we hear her voice very clearly.

And so, the Blessed Mother guides us with love.

Gustavo

I am also sharing with you a little drawing I made of our Blessed Mother.

Practical Faith in Divine Providence

2010-06-15T01:11:00.002-04:00

To view it better click on the page.

Mary's Surprise

2010-04-10T10:58:00.006-04:00

Part 4 of 4

Nothing encouraging was visible on the screen. Only a motionless figure, but the heartbeat did not seem to be there.

But then something happened, just a movement, a sort of jump, and almost as if by magic, the doctor said with a huge smile of relief.

"Look, there is the heart beating."

My wife cried, but this time out of joy, and I joined in her emotions.

That night we sat before the image of the Virgin and thanked Her; we called everyone in the family to tell them that my wife was pregnant. Everyone was pleased with the advent of a new life.

But human beings are forgetful, and with the passing of months, the daily chores made us accustomed to the extraordinary and we forgot the immense gift that the Lord, through the work of His Blessed Mother, had given us.

But the Virgin was not prepared to let us overlook her efforts and was going to remind us ever so gently.

Like I said, we celebrate on October 18 each year, the founding of the Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement, this was the day that Father Joseph Kentenich made his Covenant of Love with the Virgin Mary in the original Chapel in Germany.

For me it was a day like any other working in my office when I received a call from my wife, who only managed to say: "it is time."

I ran away. We arrived at the hospital and the doctor greeted us. I accompanied my wife in that beautiful moment, and after a natural birth, we received in our arms a beautiful girl.

Oddly enough, we had forgotten the miracle of love that had been given to us. Until my wife, with her baby in her arms looked at me for a moment and asked:

"What date is today?"

I replied absently, "Today, I forget, let me see, ah yes, October 18."

Then we realized what had happened. Our daughter had been born, by natural delivery, the same day as the Foundation of our Mater of Schoenstatt's Movement, that Sweet Lady whom we had asked for a miracle.

And so, to keep always in mind Her wonderful work, we named our daughter Maria Bernadette of Schoenstatt.

Thanks Mater.

Mary's Surprise

2010-03-30T21:38:00.003-04:00

Part 3 of 4

We are very impatient, especially when it comes to waiting for something that we really want. Perhaps it was because of the problems we had experienced, because our relationship had been under great pressure, but the fact is that in this baby saw a ray of hope for our future life.

Perhaps that vision might seem selfish, but love can overcome these barriers. So each evening during that week of waiting, we prayed, again and again, to Our Lady of Schoenstatt to grant us the miracle of intercession before God and ask the Lord to give the breath of life to that tiny creature that the doctors insisted had no life at all.

It was not easy to work, sleep or eat during those days, because we did not have the least desire or enthusiasm for any of those activities. Tears sprang quickly and the smiles on the other hand, were almost entirely absent; attempting to describe the anguish of the uncertainty we felt, is beyond the capacity of these words. Yet we had to try to overcome grief and demonstrate true faith.

"If we truly believe in God and the Virgin" we said in one of our many prayers, "we have to act normally and think that our baby is alive, that is what Jesus would do."

And with all our human weakness, we decided to believe and feel that God and the Blessed Mother were going to reach out to us. And so the week went by with us believing that a miracle would come.

And the day came to visit the doctor again; he had his usual professional attitude, preparing the ultrasound machine, while my wife held my hand nervously. We all waited.

Then the image appeared on the screen, but the doctor looked worried. In a whisper I heard him say: "I see nothing yet." I felt the world crumbling down over me, but the doctor decided to insist: "Let me try again."

Mary's Surprise

2010-02-19T15:20:00.004-05:00

Part 2 of 4

We left the doctor's office greatly affected. We decided to go to another one that gave us the same answer.

“There is no heartbeat and there should be one.” They recommended what they called "a cleaning process.” But for us it was to end a life, even if they insisted there was none.

We decided to go to a third doctor, not as famous as the others, but perhaps more humane. He didn’t said anything encouraging either, but my wife ‘s tears convinced him that he should go a little beyond.

He said, "You're young, you will have other children." But the crying did not stop. Then he dared to suggest something different. "Let's do this, we will wait another week. But if at that time there is no heartbeat, we will have to do something to get what you have out of there. In the meantime, pray to God as much as you can." He was convinced that nothing would happen.

We couldn’t do anything else but pray. At that time, and we should have done it before, we remembered our love for our Blessed Mother, especially that little image that we had from a friend, a representation of the Mother of God in a movement which was born in Germany on October 18, 1914. We sat across from her and simply asked for this:

"Please, Blessed Mother, grant us this miracle, that our baby be alive."

Mary's Surprise

2010-01-18T11:52:00.002-05:00

Part 1 of 4

Sometimes couples go through difficult times, we are not an exception and we had one more or less 15 years ago. It was so difficult, that for a time we were not together, I was here and she was there. That, of course, is not the way a marriage should be; when you join your lives, it is to share everything with love and overcome difficulties together.

Love is so beautiful, that it allows you to view the other as a special being, no matter how many defects he or she may have. But, sometimes we get disconnected from love and the ability to disregard defects disappears and leads us into conflicts. That was what happened to us and the conflict almost destroyed the marriage.

Fortunately, the Mater took this situation into her hands taking care of us and making a small light shine in our souls, so that we were able to see love again behind the difficulties. We started to talk again, put God into the problems and were together once more.

And one day to celebrate reconciliation, we took a short trip. The result of this travel was a gift from the Lord:
"I am pregnant" was the phrase that she said in the midst of smiles and joy.

We were happy to receive another member into our family, and as happy as a new couple, we went to see the doctor for the first routine checkup. It was then that we felt the first blow:

"The baby is not alive Madam, there is no heartbeat. The best thing you can do is to undergo a procedure".

Only someone that has gone through a similar situation, can understand the effect of those words, especially if they come from one of the most renowned doctors.

Follow a Spiritual Schedule

2010-01-04T11:16:00.002-05:00

I have many days without writing to you Mater and that worries me, because I used the Christmas break as an excuse to take care of the urgent things and not important ones.

So I should apologize.

How often in life we abandon what we agreed to do because we are supposedly busy. The truth is that we always had time to fulfill our spiritual duties, and if we did not, it was because we lacked method, organization and control over ourselves.

So this year, with the help of the Virgin, we must fulfill the task of building and following a Spiritual Schedule to bringing us closer to God.

We should ask for the intercession of Joseph Engling, one of Schoenstatt’s heroes, who distinguished himself by carefully following his activities to be closer to the Mater.

The Virgin gives us wonderful moments

2009-11-30T16:33:00.004-05:00

The Virgin gives us wonderful moments when we visit her shrines.

I had the opportunity to visit the Shrine of Guadalupe this week and pray a rosary right there in front of her.

I can not describe the feeling you get.

And then I went with my wife to the Shrine of Our Lady of Schoenstatt in Querétaro, two hours from Mexico City.

She gave me the honor of a Mass celebrated for my birthday. And then the choir sang the "mañanitas" and just in the morning with Mexican guitars and voices at the request of Sister Lourdes, who directs the activities in Queretaro.

At night I had a real mariachi, with more songs, not just the "mañanitas". The Mexicans are distinguished by their love for the Virgin and for being excellent hosts.

The Blessed Mother gave me a beautiful and priceless gift.

I share this with my friends because sometimes we forget how wonderful the Blessed Mother is.

And that was not the best, first was the spiritual fullness that She made me feel, the certainty of her presence and concern for each of us.

She is at my side, and yours too if you want.

Interview with Arbishop John Clement Favalora

2009-11-08T11:40:00.002-05:00

The voice of the Virgin

2009-10-22T09:40:00.003-04:00

I wanted to hear you Mater and I couldn't. I thought you were not in the mood to talk, maybe you were very busy and had no time.

But, as so often happens, I was wrong. You never ignore my words, you always respond, it is I who is not attentive to the way of your answers.

I wish I could hear you as Jesus did, the same way the apostles heard you, or as anyone who had the good fortune to meet you at that time. But I realize that you always talk me, in a very subtle way, through different things.

The car that lets me pass if I'm in a hurry. The person who smiles when he sees me concerned, the friend who calls me, the mail that arrives without my expecting it, the joy of good news.

Your voice is very distinctive and very beautiful, I only ask that you give me the grace to be able to hear it.

Talking to the Mater as if she were next to me

2009-10-14T10:47:00.004-04:00

I decided to speak naturally, without pressure, as if I had you beside me Mater.

I felt like telling someone things that were in my mind and there was nobody around me. I had a need and did not know who to speak with.

Then, as always, I felt a little hint, it was a silent thing, but if you paid attention, it could be heard.

It was the Blessed Mother, calling me in my heart and smiling, reminding me that she was there, ready to listen and help.

I told her my things, I prayed for my family, I prayed for other people and prayed for me.

I even did something that until now I had not done. I told her that every time I had something important in front of me, or knew of something important for my family, I would first stop to talk to her and entrust her with my thoughts and actions.

And she smiled.

I felt that the Mater was talking to me

2009-10-08T11:23:00.004-04:00

I felt that the Mater wanted to say something from her image.

That night we were gathered in a group of married couples and each of us had a prayer for something or someone.

But I felt that my prayer was missing something. And it was true, it lacked faith.

Then I understood what the Blessed Mother asked me:

Do you really trust me?

If so, then tell me what you feel and what you need. Remember that I have Jesus in my arms and he listens to me and, moreover, I am your Heavenly Mother and I have great love for you.

At that point I decided that instead of making requests without feeling almost any commitment, the next time I would speak to the Virgin Mary with sincerity.

Your mission in life can make you happy

2009-10-06T09:05:00.003-04:00

My mission in life is doing what God ordained for me, that which makes me feel very happy when I do it and in doing so I honor him, I give glory to Him and cause a smile in heaven, because I am carrying out a task that the Lord foresaw for me since the beginning of time.

When one looks well, we realize that everything we do, the job of cleaning the house and order everything in it, or the papers we review in the office, all of it, from the most humble to the most complicated task, has a little of God in it and the Lord can't be given things amiss.

We work for God, this is an honor and a responsibility, and that's our mission in life, work for the Creator, using the talents he gave us in the best possible way.

And what we do is try to discover these talents, to do that work with real love and work every day for the Lord.

Mater, please help us find our mission in life and do our work with true love of God and great faith.

I guarantee that for those who follow this path, true happiness is very close.

If you want to know more of your mission in life and your personal ideal, go to our website:

http://radioalianzadeamor.com/Idealpersonal.aspx

To pray we must be calm and focused

2009-09-28T09:07:00.005-04:00

To pray, we must be calm and focused and put ourselves in the presence of God.
For some people it's easy to feel the presence of the Lord, but for most it is not. Therefore we recommend:

Adopting the right attitude, a proper position to permit the relaxation of body and mind.

It is true that prayer is grace, but God knows that we are human and we need help, that is, we can learn techniques to feel the presence of God.

Relax, breathe calmly, repeating in your mind the word peace, call the Holy Spirit's presence and tell the Mater to accompany you at this moment of prayer. That way you will begin a journey that will lead to wonderful things.

If you want to learn more about techniques to pray better connect to this website:

http://translate.google.com/translate?prev=hp&hl=en&js=y&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mercaba.org%2FFichas%2FORACION%2Fencuentro_1.htm&sl=es&tl=en&history_state0=

The Lord who calms all the storms

2009-09-22T08:50:00.006-04:00

Lord, when your disciples felt the wind and rain, they were scared.

You told them "do not be afraid" and immediately calmed the storm. Instead of thanking you, they got even more scared and said, "Who is this that even the wind and the rain obey him?".

When you've done wonders in my life, my attitude has not been better than theirs, because instead of thanking you, I wait for the next problem to introduce my doubt.

Forgive me Lord, for disappointing you, instead of saying that if you were able to calm the storm earlier, you can, perfectly calm it again afterward.

Thank you Father, for in the name of Our Blessed Virgin Mary, you calm all the storms.

2009-09-20T23:37:00.003-04:00

Your vocation is your calling in life, doing that which you like best. God gave you the gifts to make that complicated task look easy when you do it.

Maybe fixing that car will look difficult to others, creating that piece of furniture appears to be very complicated, or writing that book may seem like an unreachable goal to the rest of the world, but not for you.

Because God gave you the gifts you need to make your job easy.
Now, all you need is to add is total commitment when doing it, offer it to God and the Mater, that will bring you countless blessings and joy.

How to get the Mater to listen to you

2009-09-10T08:53:00.001-04:00

Getting close to her would be the answer.

One way to do it is to give her a crown of roses every Saturday at 10:30 AM at her house in South Florida.

We must persevere in our work and prayers, but if we like to do it, it is more of a pleasure than work.

Remember that Nilza Figueroa is the coordinator of the weekly Rosary at Schoenstatt House and will be very happy to see you attend and pray to Our Blessed Mother every Saturday.

Apparitions from the Virgin Mary

2009-09-05T16:55:00.000-04:00

We need apparitions from the Virgin Mary, but not those miraculous ones that only happen to special people, we need the daily apparitions of the Mother of Our Lord in each and every one of us.

Let us allow Mary to live in our hearts, let us be like her, follow her example and say like She said: God has seen our humble nature and He wants to do great things with us.

The Lord said to Moses: "you will do great things." And we, through Mary, can receive the same message: to do great things. We only have to ask the Mater to appear in our hearts and to let us work with her.

From a talk by Father Rafael Fernández
Miami, September 5, 2009.

Serving God and the Virgin for more than fifty years

2009-09-04T08:32:00.000-04:00

We had the honor of talking to Sister Elizabeth in Covenant of Love on Sunday September 6, 5:30 PM
Radio Paz, 830 AM or www.radiopaz.org

Sister Elizabeth told us about How to Serve God, and no one better to do it than her, who has been serving the Mater for more than 50 years and had the privilege of being guided to her vocation by our Founder, Father Kentenich.

She spoke in simple words but with a power of conviction that only true faith can attain.
It was a wonderful opportunity to hear how to follow your heart in the path of the Lord.

Today I was talking to the Virgin Mary

2009-08-30T11:55:00.001-04:00

Today I was talking to the Virgin Mary and I was telling her about my frustrations, my anguish, my pains and my fears. In other words, I presented her with a rosary.

But rather than giving her a rosary of prayers and flowers, like a son should offer a caring Mother, I presented her with a rosary of complaints.

Now that I remember what I told her, I can be certain that nothing I said was good, I gave her only complaints.

And now I understand why, looking at her, I felt She was telling me with her eternally sweet voice:

"I had to bear seeing my son die on the cross. Do you think there is a greater suffering for a mother?"

Then I realized how selfish I was.

Not for a moment I thought about her. Before telling all those things, that She wants me to tell her anyway, I should have told her how much I love her and that I know how much She cares for me.

Instead of hugging and kissing her with the love of a son, I only showed her my complaints, as if She was under the obligation of listening and solving all of them.

The Virgin Mary wants to listen to us, She wants us to tell her all that is happening in our lives. But it does not hurt if first we tell her that we love her very much.

It's a simple show of courtesy that will do us a lot of good.

The Mater of Schoenstatt

2009-08-30T11:50:00.000-04:00

Our Beloved Virgin Mary