Two sisters, Sr. Maria and Sr. Yolanda, recently made their first vows. One of them recounts the weeks before and the day of the celebration – when they made it official that they are now brides of Christ.
Our first profession took place in February. Before the actual day, we had to prepare ourselves. This was done through the help of Sr. Teressa Zungu, our novice mistress who had been teaching us what religious life and community life is all about. Sr. Fidelis also played a huge role in teaching us our Way of Life which explains the charism, rules and constitutions of our Congregation. As the day of the profession was drawing nearer we felt nervous about the outcome of the day as we made our vows publicly for the first time. We wanted everything to be well organized, so we chose the readings of the Day, selected hymns that we liked for Mass and compiled a booklet. Right before the profession, we attended an eight day directed retreat at Mariannhill. In that time we really deepened ourselves with God and with the step we had decided to take.
The celebration took place at St. Benedict’s Cathedral of Eshowe. The ceremony was led by our Bishop, Rt. Rev. Thaddeus Kumalo. We were very much honoured to have him and six other priests being part of the celebration. Of course, it also brought great joy to see our sisters from the three communities of our Region with us. It was touching to see the senior sisters’ faces filled with joy. This gave us an assurance that we are truly a part of a family.
Our regional mother superior Sr. Assumpta Hadebe received our vows, as we knelt in front of her and vowed to God the Almighty Poverty, celibate Chastity and Obedience. The superior and the novice mistress put on our new black veils, blessed wreaths of flowers which symbolized that we are now brides of Christ and medals around our necks which have the picture of Mother Mary, our model, and St. Francis, our co-founder. The choir sang beautifully and thus made it a joyful celebration. Our families, members of our home parishes, Benedictine Monks and Nardini sisters were there to experience and rejoice that day with us and truly joy was overflowing. After the Eucharistic celebration we all shared a delicious meal together. Afterwards there was entertainment from our children from St. Joseph Childrens’ Home.
Sr. Maria Machi