Prayer
Fr. Kentenich described prayer as “the greatest force for education in heaven and on earth.” It holds this power because God creates each human being in His likeness and image, naturally endowed with the sacred capacities of freedom, reason, and love. Each and every time we choose to pray, freely to lift up our minds and hearts to a loving and merciful God, we are exercising these natural, God-given, capacities in three deeply educational ways.
We are reaching out, extending ourselves in an active interior dialogue with the eternal Divine Word that gives light to everyone that comes into the world. We are participating in and being illumined by the joys, sorrows, and needs of all those for whom we offer intercessory prayer. And we are being educated and formed by the Blessed Mother, angels and all the saints as we through our prayers and spiritual readings, choose to invite them to take an active part in our lives.
Prayer is education that spiritually illumines and empowers us daily to live out, faithfully, thoughtfully, and creatively, the most important task God gives to each human being. This is the divine call joyfully to meet the challenges inevitably involved in living out in all contexts of our daily lives the Great Commandment of the love of God with all our heart, and mind, and soul, and our neighbor as our self. This is what is referred to in Schoenstatt spirituality as the task of “Everyday Sanctity”.
Prayer is a form of labor to which we must decide freely to commit ourselves, trusting in and thoughtfully discerning the faithful workings of Divine Providence in our daily lives. As we commit ourselves in our prayer to a holistic synthesis of mind, heart, and will, the Holy Spirit empowers us gradually to mature in prayer, making our life of prayer something beautiful, truly a work of art.
The materials in this section provide diverse and practical examples of the beauty of Schoenstatt teachings and practice of prayer from diverse cultural contexts and individual situations drawn from our Schoenstatt Family around the globe.
Thus, may we be able to begin each new day, even as Fr. Kentenich began each new day, even in Dachau, with the joyful affirmation--
Father, being strengthened,
I can awaken,
anew your love rekindling.
Whether failure or success
comes our way,
our resolve remains,
your love to proclaim.
Amen.
