Lead from the Shrine… Veritatem in Caritate

Our Home Shrine was dedicated on May 18, 2018, under the name Veritatem in Caritate (speaking truth in charity).  For at least a year prior my husband, an entrepreneur, kept saying that he felt we should have a business with the name Veritas in the title.  He wasn’t sure what kind of business, but the name kept returning to him strongly.  As we prepared for our Home Shrine dedication, we began to discern the name in earnest.  Reading the Magnificat for the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Bishop Barron’s reflection jumped out at me.  So much so, that I tore it from the book and have since framed it and placed it on our Shrine.  Bishop Barron quotes Cardinal Francis George saying, “You cannot simply drop the truth on people and then walk away, convinced that you’ve done your duty.  Rather, once you tell your people the truth, you must be committed to helping them integrate that truth into their lives.” 

This simple, yet profound and challenging statement solidified the name for our Home Shrine in our hearts.  I guess you can say we are in the “business” of helping one another integrate truth into our lives. It has been no small challenge to face the truth of our sinfulness and allow Mary to transform us and our relationships.  In our world truth has been distorted and confused by the father of lies. 

As we seek to live out Schoenstatt’s ideal of being new personalities and families for a new world, we take the name of our Shrine to heart as our family mission.  It is not enough to speak truth, to be right about an issue.  We must be willing to go deeper into relationship with others through prayer, edifying words, as well as corporal and spiritual acts of mercy. It begins with self-education and flows out “like ripples in the water” as Fr. Kentenich has said. 

This year’s motto Lead from the Shrine with Trust in Divine Providence and Charity to All   reminds us to look to our Home Shrine first.  Turn to God and Our Blessed Mother first before every decision or action.  What does she tell us?  What is the mission that has been entrusted to us?  Begin there.

Jill and Patrick Mach

Schoenstatt Family League, North Texas