SCHOENSTATT OFFICE

Remarks

We take it for granted that our love’s active dialog with God
has a Marian character. Whether we practice this by expressly
living each day with our Mother Thrice Admirable of
Schoenstatt, or are satisfied when our daily life with God takes
on a Marian hue, is a question of personal development in the
life of grace. In either case, we must all come to the point,
sooner or later, when we can say:
“Let us abide in holy triple unity, and thus go in the Holy Spirit
to the Father .”
This little office aims at promoting and securing such a
development. It can be prayed before the corresponding
canonical hour as a preparatory prayer, for it adopts the main
liturgical themes of the Roman Breviary and applies them to
our original world of values. It can also be used separately as
an office in its own right.
The structure of the hours is not difficult to discern. The first
two lines determine the theme and essence of the given hour.
The first verse considers the biblical place, the second
considers its unique realization in Schoenstatt and the third
is a prayer relevant to the hour’s theme.
The preparatory prayer should be prayed before each hour.
When prayed in community, the verses can be prayed
alternately between two choirs [e.g. left and right], with the
first two lines said by a leader and the third and fourth verses
recited by all. The concluding prayer [“O Triune God”] is not
meant to be said after each hour, but only as a conclusion to
the entire office.
Meditating on the office as a whole, one can easily follow the
course of the day in the image of the sun and symbolically
apply it to Christ.
For those who are so inclined, the time between the canonical
hours (about three chronological hours) can be inspired by
the chosen image of the sun or by the biblical place. This will
appeal especially to nature lovers who are already inclined to
follow the course of the sun, and whose symbolic and
religious thinking naturally applies this image to Christ. In this
way, their attention to the course of the sun can be readily
transformed into a living relationship with Christ. In addition,
the references to the various biblical places, along with their
Marian interpretation, can help foster a living relationship
with Mary. The application of this symbolism to our shrine,
when properly understood, can help foster a living relation-
ship with our Mother Thrice Admirable and her shrine.
If a common time is agreed upon, a spontaneous awareness
can develop that our everyday lives are also spent in the
presence of one another and with the [entire Schoenstatt]
family. That can strengthen the sense of community, a matter
of no small importance, especially for those working in the
missions and the diaspora.

Introductory Prayer

(at the beginning of each hour)
179In Spirit I kneel before your picture,
Thrice Admirable, strong and gentle Mother,
united with all who have consecrated themselves to you
and are ready to die for your realm.
180We want to mirror ourselves in your image
and seal our covenant of love anew.
Make us, your instruments, like you in everything
and through us build Schoenstatt everywhere.

Matins

(at midnight)
181Your shrine is our Nazareth,
concealed in the night of our times.
182Immaculate Virgin, you struggle there in prayer,
filled with longing for the dawn of salvation.
There Gabriel speaks God’s request
and your Fiat illumines the world.
183Again I see you quietly speaking your Fiat
and see your light breaking through the night from Schoenstatt,
for God in his wisdom and mercy has chosen it
to be a bright beacon for the world of today.
184Like you, let me always be faithful to the Blank Check
and fight the battle against the ancient dragon.
As your instrument let me always be ready to serve you
and joyfully dedicate my life to Schoenstatt’s mission.
185Glory be joyfully given to the Father
through Christ with Mary, highly praised,
in the Holy Spirit full of splendor
from the universe now and in all eternity.
Amen.

Lauds

(3 am - Introductory Prayer, p. 47)
186Your shrine is our Bethlehem,
pleasing to God through its sunrise.
187There you gave virginal birth to the Lord
who chose you as his Bride and Mother.
In your miraculous fruitfulness
you brought forth the Sun of Righteousness.
188You have graciously established Schoenstatt
so that our times can see the Eternal Light.
From there you want to go through our dark world
as the Christbearer sent by God.
189Jubilantly place the Lord into my soul anew,
so that, like you, I may perfectly resemble him.
Let me be a Christbearer for our times,
that they may shine in the brightest radiance of the sun.
190Glory be joyfully given to the Father
through Christ with Mary, highly praised,
in the Holy Spirit full of splendor
from the universe now and in all eternity.
Amen.

Prime

(6 am - Introductory Prayer, p. 47)
191Your shrine is our Nazareth
where Christ, the Sun, warmly shines.
192This sun, with its clear and radiant light,
forms the history of the Holy Family
and awakens strong and silent everyday sanctity
in blessed family unity.
193Through this Nazareth for homeless times
God wants to prepare salvation for families
and mercifully bestow everyday sanctity
on those who dedicate themselves toSchoenstatt.
194Mother, let Christ shine in us more brightly
and join us together in holy community,
always ready for the sacrifices
our holy mission may demand of us.
195Glory be joyfully given to the Father
through Christ with Mary, highly praised,
in the Holy Spirit full of splendor
from the universe now and in all eternity.
Amen.

Terce

(9 am - Introductory Prayer, p. 47)
196Your shrine radiates into our times
the brilliance and splendor of Tabor’s sun.
197Where Christ, the Sun, reveals his glory
and makes known his victory as once he did on Tabor.
It is good to be there, as in Paradise,
because it is the Holy Spirit’s dwelling.
198Entirely enveloped in the brilliance of Tabor’s sun
as the vessel open to the Holy Spirit,
you work in Schoenstatt as Mediatrix
and mercifully lead us to the Holy Spirit.
199Let us be deeply penetrated by Christ’s Spirit
and richly bless us with eloquent tongues of love,
so that Christ’s glory may shine through us
as it does through you, the Mirror of Justice.
200Glory be joyfully given to the Father
through Christ with Mary, highly praised,
in the Holy Spirit full of splendor
from the universe now and in all eternity.
Amen.

Sext

(at noon - Introductory Prayer, p. 47)
201The sun is shining at its zenith:
we recollect our hearts in Bethany.
202With eager expectation you took in everything
which came from the mouth and heart of the Lord
and became a master of contemplation,
totally given to God in tender intimacy.
203In your shrine you wish to form
an army of prayer in the midst of a barren world,
leading us to love’s highest heights
so that in the battle we remain loyally at your side.
204Help me to learn more and more the spirit of prayer
and always lift my heart to the stars of heaven.
Let me always look on Christ, the Sun,
and trust in him in all of life’s situations.
205Glory be joyfully given to the Father
through Christ with Mary, highly praised,
in the Holy Spirit full of splendor
from the universe now and in all eternity.
Amen.

None

(3 pm - Introductory Prayer, p. 47)
206The sun silently proceeds on its course of blessing
as the Spirit leads us on to Golgotha.
207There I see your motherly heart powerfully renounce
and courageously annihilate each right as mother.
With your only-begotten Son you offer yourself to the Father on the throne
for the salvation of the world.
208In the shrine you wish to form souls
who are always priestly in their life and bearing,
standing as deacons at the foot of the cross
and going the way of the cross with the Redeemer.
209Through my life of sacrifice let me complete—
in keeping with eternally valid laws and the spirit of the Inscriptio—
whatever fullness is still lacking
in the cross and suffering of Christ.
210Glory be joyfully given to the Father
through Christ with Mary, highly praised,
in the Holy Spirit full of splendor
from the universe now and in all eternity.
Amen.

Vespers

(6 pm - Introductory Prayer, p. 47)
211The sun makes ready for the night
and invites us to enter the Cenacle.
212There you implored the Spirit for the Church
who freed her from the scourge of half-heartedness,
guided her to the teaching of Christ
and enkindled in her the spirit of the apostles and the martyrs.
213That is how you want to work in our shrine:
strengthening our weak eyes of faith
so that we might see life as God sees it
and always walk by heaven’s light.
214In this light of faith let me see
how the Father’s love wished to accompany me today.
Let loyalty to our mission be my thanksgiving
for the boundless gifts he has showered on me in love.
215Glory be joyfully given to the Father
through Christ with Mary, highly praised,
in the Holy Spirit full of splendor
from the universe now and in all eternity.
Amen.

Compline

(9 pm - Introductory Prayer, p. 47)
216Silent and tired, the sun now goes to rest
and Sion smiles on us from afar.
217Your dying was an ecstacy of purest longing;
your body never knew corruption.
You reign now transfigured in the “Holy City,”
on Sion, which God has opened to you.
218Through the shrine you constantly direct us upwards
to the eternal Schoenstatt where we will one day praise God.
You show us the transitoriness of the earthly world
until you have led us to things eternal.
219Teach me to live each day so that my dying
becomes easy, as befits an heir of heaven.
Teach me to judge myself each night in such a way
that after death I may see you and God.
220Glory be joyfully given to the Father
through Christ with Mary, highly praised,
in the Holy Spirit full of splendor
from the universe now and in all eternity.
Amen.

Concluding Prayer

(after Compline)
221O Triune God, be eternally praised
for all the great things you have done for us:
for giving Schoenstatt a Mother
and for immersing us, through her, deeply into Christ.
222We praise you because Mary’s life
has given us the norm for our daily living
and brought the splendor of Christ the Sun
so humanly near to us.
223With jubilation we unite all the praise
which burns like flames of love through all creation.
Blessed Trinity, we bring it to you and to your altar
in Jesus and Mary forevermore.
Amen.