mda. “If things happened in similar difficult situations for Joseph Engling, then it also has to be possible for me. And for Joseph Engling, the key thing was his personal ideal upon which he was always grounded,” someone wrote. – “Love and allowing oneself to be led by love, because in the end, love is what counts and remains. Everything else fades, but the love is remembered. That is what took me to Cambrai,” said another. Two people’s testimonies who have had a profound encounter with Joseph Engling in Cambrai, France, where he lost his life at the age of twenty on October 4th, shortly before the end of World War I.
He was a young man at the beginning of Schoenstatt, at the beginning of Schoenstatt from World War I’s trenches when the words, Covenant of Love, still did not exist, but they and the process of the covenant of love were lived. “And the more we followed Engling’s footsteps, the fact became clearer for me: this man has to be your model. Joseph also helped me to find the Blessed Mother and consequently, the covenant of love. The trip to Cambrai has been one of the greatest religious experiences of my life.”
April 2015 marks 100 years since Joseph Engling joined the Marian congregation; he was not present at Schoenstatt’s founding on the 18th of October. Some Schoenstatters, who have experienced him as a spiritual friend, want to present him with a gift on that day – and they invite you to collaborate.
On October 4th, Dr. Alicja Kostka, of the Women’s Federation and Hanna Grabowska, of the Institute of Our Lady, were at a “birthday coffee” for Joseph Engling. On that day, an idea emerged that Dr. Alicja Kostka wants to communicate through the following letter to the worldwide Schoenstatt Movement.
A gift for Joseph Engling on the centenary of his admission to the Marian congregation on April 11, 2015
During a birthday coffee for Joseph Engling at the beginning of the year at House Mariengart, we spoke about the process of his beatification. Professor Joachim Schmiedl, vice-postulator of the process, who recently arrived from Rome, commented on the present work status. As always a challenge exists: a miracle is needed through the intercession of Joseph Engling for the process to continue. On October 11, 2013, during a conversation with the secretary of the process, Zdzislaw Kijas, during the congregation for the beatification, an important emphasis emerged, that I want to share here. In response to his question as to the state of Joseph’s veneration, I (A.K.) responded: “We experience him as a spiritual friend.” The secretary replied: “That is the most important thing!” Based on these words, we went to the birthday coffee with the conviction that Joseph’s true efficacy was in the moral sphere. Joseph inspired and he continues to inspire many people worldwide in their spiritual growth on the road of each person’s original holiness. If he were declared blessed, he would be an example of the modern aspiration to holiness (without excluding the former perspective of reconciliation and of unity of the people). He “experienced” this aspiration in extreme situations, and it was precisely there that he obtained the highest spiritual degree that should be classified as heroic and exemplary for beatification.
As a consequence of these facts, we want to cordially invite you, Engling’s beloved friend, to give him a gift for the centenary of his incorporation to the Marian congregation in Schoenstatt. Please write a testimony: How has Joseph inspired me or inspires me on my road toward holiness? This can be done until April 11, 2015.
If the word, holiness, referring to one’s person or situation seems too serious, think about the words that Pope Francis gave us during the October 25th, 2014 audience: “…those who take the Church forward are the saints…. So, the first favor I ask of you, as a help, is sanctity. Sanctity. Do not be afraid of a life of sanctity. This is what it means to renew the Church.”
According to the Founding Document, we give the Church our aspiration for “holiness in the highest degree possible.” This is how we also see our contribution for the renewal of the Church. The great importance that Father Kentenich attributed to Joseph Engling throughout his life and the outstanding place that he gave him in the entire community rests on the way in which Joseph Engling received the Schoenstatt grace– with all his abilities and strength, but also with his weaknesses and obstacles, and above all with his heart. This was the true and reasonable response to the divine initiative, which Joseph experienced in the small Schoenstatt shrine and in the founder himself. This is a constant example for us, for this reason, we want to express our gratitude to him on the centenary of his incorporation into the Marian congregation. However there is still more; at the beginning of the new Schoenstatt century, we want to respond to this initiative, so that it will be constantly renewed, with the same commitment.
LET US MAKE A GIFT OF IT!
Very freely, write a testimony about Joseph Engling’s importance in your aspiration for holiness or in the history of your vocation.
The following questions are only suggestions; please do not answer them like a questionnaire.
How does Joseph Engling inspire me (or has inspired me) in my aspiration for holiness?
What am I grateful to Joseph Engling for on my spiritual road?
What importance does he have in the history of my vocation?
Where does Joseph Engling’s aspiration motivate me most on my road to holiness?
How does Joseph participate in my day to day? (Do I experience his help? (Where? How?)
What manifestations or experiences of Joseph are truly important to me?
What is the role of the “Joseph Engling act” in my spiritual life (in the life of my community)?
What importance do the people who describe themselves as “a second Joseph Engling” have in my life?
Where does the decisive thing of his holiness rest?
In what can he be a model for the man of today?
Please send your response or your testimonies by April 11, 2015 to:
Dr. Alicja M. Kostka
Am Marienberg 3
56179 Vallendar or your email at: admirabilis2014@gmail.com
When we have many testimonies, we can send them to Rome in a book, with the title,
Joseph Engling’s moral efficacy in the Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement: a response to the question of the secretary, about how his veneration is progressing.
And now the invitation to everyone: on April 11, 2015, we will meet at the night blessing in the Original Shrine.
Give Joseph your testimony – as a contribution for his beatification.
He needs us NOW!
Canonize father – through his holy son.
“You canonize him!”
John Paul II
Cordial greetings from Schoenstatt
Alicja Kostka
Original: German. Translation: Celina M. Garza, San Antonio, TX USA
