For the parish of augsfeld, whitsun monday has become a traditional pilgrimage day for several years now. So the fub pilgrims and those who came by car celebrated together with the faithful of the PG "at the vine of jesus" and other visitors the festive service for the consecration day of the zeiler kappele. With the dipping of the easter candle into a holy water vessel, pastor michael erhart blessed it. He was pleased that the purchase was made possible by a donation. Now you can also take home holy water from the kappele.
The sermon was given by pastor michael erhart to diaconate candidate andreas hofer in the course of his training. Hofer took up the decree of pope francis, who last year decreed that whit monday as a day of remembrance "mary – mother of the church" should be committed. "Seen together with the kirchweih of our kappele, the three festivals could not be closer together", so the preacher. Based on the scripture passage in which mary learns that she will have a child through the work of the holy spirit, he spanned the arc into today’s time.
He looked at the behavior of josef, who had to assume that his wife was cheating. Andreas hofer asked how we would react today if we were told this story in such a case. In this way andreas hofer thematized the qualities of truthfulness and honesty in the personal sphere, but also in the areas and church.
Andreas hofer was convinced that maria and josef had an open and trusting relationship with each other. Only could have passed this situation.
How open, trusting and honest are we to each other today?? What about these character traits that we need so much?? How often do we experience camouflage, concealment, role-playing, jerking, masking and even peeking?. Hofer wants consistent honesty: in the personal sphere as well as in politics and in the church.
In the church, for example, consistent honesty could look like opening files so that crimes could be dealt with legally. Consistent honesty of the church can also be seen in the recognition and rewarding of the work of volunteers, in which women in particular play a major role.
But consistent honesty is also needed from each of us when it comes to standing by our faith and the church – even in public. Honesty also risks rejection, but in reality it is the most essential prerequisite for authentic coexistence, the preacher said. In view of maria, who lived honesty throughout, and with the help of the holy spirit, this should always be more successful.