"With the resurrection of Jesus, God said once again: Let there be light!"

Dear Schoenstatt Family and friends:

As we celebrate with the entire Church the Resurrection of the Lord, I want to wish you a most blessed and joyous Easter. I will remember you as I celebrate the Easter Vigil at our Wayside Shrine in the hope that next year we will be able to celebrate in our own Shrine. May this Easter bring us closer to our goal of building our Schoenstatt Shrine and the first Marian Shrine for our Diocese of Austin.

With my Easter blessing,

Fr. Jesus Ferras, ISP

On Holy Thursday all are invited to join SUM for the Mass of the Lord's Supper at 7 PM at the UCC followed by Adoration in the basement of the UCC, the place of repose of the Blessed Sacrament.

On Good Friday we invite you to join us at 3 PM as we make our 2nd. annual ten-mile pilgrimage from St. Mary Cathedral through West Lake to the land of our future Schoenstatt Shrine. As we make our way through Austin we will share Christ's journey to Calvary with His Mother. Passion Play en route by SUM & SUW (Way of the Cross). At 8 PM the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord with Adoration of the Holy Cross at Shrine site.

No Mass on Holy Saturday. The Church awaits at the Lord's tomb in prayer and fasting, meditating on his Passion and Death and on his Descent into Hell, and awaiting his Resurrection.

On Easter Sunday our traditional Easter Sunrise Mass starting at 6 AM. Festive brunch after Mass. Bring something to share.

May this Holy Week be a time of inner transformation and renewal. Blessed Holy Week for all!

Fr. Jesus Ferras, ISP

Dear Schoenstatt Family and friends:

This is the year of the Shrine! This statement means a lot to us, as we not only feel united with the entire Schoenstatt Family worldwide as we prepare to celebrate Schoenstatt’s 100^th Anniversary, but for us it is the year of the moment we’ve been waiting for a long time ago: namely the building of our own daughter Shrine.

Last summer we embarked ourselves in the Capital Campaign for the Shrine. We said at that time: We are now entering a very crucial time period for the project of the Shrine as we launch the Capital Campaign. The success of this effort will be the confirmation necessary for the leaders of the Movement to know that we are mature and ready to receive the Shrine.

The goal of the Capital Campaign was to raise $650,000. This would cover the costs for the construction of the Shrine, a small welcome house, the parking lot, and the landscaping around the property. It would also cover the cost of the furnishings inside the Shrine such as the altar, the statues, and the tabernacle… many of which are handmade in different parts of the world. Finally, the Capital Campaign would cover the costs of the operating expenses and any engineering or architectural services that might be required throughout the project.

As of today we have roughly $150,000 and to just build the Shrine alone without any of the other components of the project it would take $350,000. There is no way that we would be able to make this a reality by October 18^th 2012 without a committed effort of the whole Movement of Austin.

Just as we did a discernment day to decide on the voice of God that led us to finally decide for Addie Roy as the place for the Shrine in Austin and we received the gifts that allowed us to purchase the land, we now call upon you all to come to our next Discernment day on SUNDAY, MARCH 25^th from 10:00 to 5 PM (Sunday Mass included) in which we will discern if the Movement is mature enough as to commit ourselves to building the MTA a home this year.

Without the effort of the entire Family the Blessed Mother will not have a Shrine. It is up to us all to say yes and to come and discern our future steps in a responsible and realistic way.  Our Bishop has on his agenda October 21^st 2012 as the dedication of the Shrine. We need to confirm with him if this is actually happening this year and we need to know as a Movement if we are committed to build the MTA her shrine this year.

The Diocesan Committee and the Board are ready to give us the information we need to discern, we only need you to come and show our MTA that we want to do our part. At the same time, there is no Shrine without the contributions to the Capital of Grace. I have to say that I am impressed by the response on the Capital of Grace and the hours spent in the Shrine, daughter shrines, wayside shrines, home shrines or heart shrines. It is encouraging to see our COG representation to filling up in the house Chapel. Keep bringing your contributions in every time you visit the Wayside Shrine at Addie Roy.

Again, I invite you to take this invitation seriously for our next Discernment day on March 25^th. Honestly, without a united effort as a family and unless we all feel responsible for this project and see it not just as a project of the Board or the DC we will not have a Shrine this year. It is now the time to act! Nothing without you Blessed Mother, nothing without us!

Shrine on!

Fr. Jesus Ferras, ISP

Movement Coordinator