O GOD, MAY MY RIGHT HAND WITHER

568Long have I stood with longing at the holy gates;
today they have been opened wide to me,
today I have been admitted to the family—
a fortune greater than my heart can fathom!
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
569I can think of nothing more beautiful on earth
than to give myself to our family,
to really be its child in body and soul
and to devote to it all my strength.
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
570Others can sing their communities’ praises
and develop there in their own way,
but for me there can be no greater happiness
than to generously strive according to our ideals.
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
571From now on I may wear the brooch.
It shall rejoicingly tell the whole world
that I have been and will remain accepted
in the family for which I was born.
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
572I live in the family which was created
because God chose me for it in kindness.
There and nowhere else on this earth,
can my salvation be so secure.
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
573The Mother has graciously accepted me
and pledged, as only she can pledge,
to faithfully care for me in all life’s situations,
so that, joyfully, I one day see the Easter morning.
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
574Because I belong completely to our Savior and his Mother,
who constantly bend down to me in kindness,
I can heroically fight for true freedom
and daily offer it to God with joy.
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
575In royal freedom I may travel
from place to place when God so wills it,
but I will never abandon the family
that seeks to embrace me with tender love.
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
576I have received a new father and a new mother
and many sisters of noble stature.
I have the right to carry them in my heart
and to find a home in theirs.
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
577What they love and suffer, pray, intend and do
helps me reach the eternal harbor.
Whatever they acquire through loving sacrifice
will also help me one day joyfully sing hymns of victory.
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
578For the sake of their pure and noble striving
the Father seeks to richly fill my soul
and the Mother looks on me with benevolence
because in Christ they go in simple pilgrimage to the Father.
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
579Their courageous march through the currents of the times
will high-mindedly broaden my heart and mind;
the honors which they have honestly won
will increase my family consciousness.
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
580Their heroic and noble striving for sanctity
will give me new incentive day by day.
With them I want to strive for the palms of victory
and sing joyful psalms of love.
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
581My fate is so interwoven with the family’s
that all who praise it must praise me
and all who despise it must despise me, too—
so much must we be seen as one!
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
582Whatever the family does which pleases God
and whoever enters as a new child into its ranks
touches me as if it were my very life—
the family is, will ever be, my second self on earth.
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
583The wrinkles that it has, its flaws and weaknesses,
can never destroy my reverence for it.
I will never allow its humanness
to separate me from my great love for it.
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
584I will always refuse to proclaim abroad
the things which cannot increase the family’s honor.
Over such things I will cast the veil of silence
and atone for them by living my life in holiness.
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
585I will never leave my family’s side
even when it disappoints me.
I want to repay it for everything it has given me
and always urge its efforts to the highest heights.
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
586We will remain unshakably united.
May the flames of family love burn brightly.
With it we want to go into battle and win the day;
it is through us that the family must fulfill its mission.
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
587We who once stood at the altar
will never be the cause of the family’s shame.
The loyalty that we swore at the altar
will stand forever, and no one will be lost.
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.
588I consider it one of the greatest graces I have received
that on the paths of my life
God’s kindness graciously led me to the family—
Oh, that I could give the thanks which that deserves!
  O God, may my right hand wither,
  should I forget you, Schoenstatt.