29 May 2023
“The God of silence beckons me to journey to my heart where he awaits me”
With great eagerness and enthusiasm, we the 25 junior sisters from the provinces of Madurai, Angamaly, Trichy and Tenali reached “God’s own country” Munnar, Kerala, South India on 03rd May, 2023. We were excited with the magnificent creation of God in Munnar. We began the programme with the meaningful Eucharistic celebration with the theme “Called and Consecrated” and were welcomed with sandal paste and kumkum. The community at Munnar witnessed the event.
On 04th & 05th May, Sr. Mercy John dealt on the topic “Religious life and the discretionary use of media based on canon law”. The focus was on the salvation of the soul is the supreme law. The evangelical vows and consecrated life in communities were explained. We were made aware of the challenges between the real world and the virtual world and different types of media addictions. Guidelines for re-orienting self, re-ordering communities and moderate use of media were given. The following day was the experiential sharing on the paschal mystery while living our community life which made us feel one with each other and composed in prayer. All of us sensed the upholding hand of God in our struggles and enriched by the unique experiences of everyone.
On 06th & 07th May, we continued with the inspiring presentation of Family Annals Volume I, II, III, IV & V, quotations of Mother Claudine Echernier and Biblical verses with life experiences.
From 08th to 12th May, 2023, Sr. Catherine from the Province of Trichy handled the session on “An integral approach towards Psycho-Spiritual formation for the formees”. Being aware of inner self and the core Spiritual experience was highlighted. The originality of the soul is love, compassion, forgiveness, mercy, gracefulness, blessedness and tenderness. It was a good reminder to be always connected with the higher source in order to be charged and energized. The explanation about rational and irrational belief systems, to be aware of the first thought of the day, inputs on conscious, subconscious and unconscious levels, four kinds of thoughts like -High frequency thoughts, Negative thoughts, Neutral thoughts and Waste thoughts were of great source for effective living. Giving priority for God through the following means-Promoting life, preserving life, conserving life and protecting life were insisted.
Healing the inner child was conducted to get healed of our inner wounds. Visit to Nirmala Society was an eye opener to witness the various activities our sisters are involved. Prioritizing mission from personal agenda, original nature of the soul is love, forgiveness, peace, compassion, blessedness and power were constantly reminded.
Sr. Amalorpavam Louis instilled in us the habit of reading. Each of us made effort in sharing book review included with life experiences through PowerPoint presentations which in turn stimulated us to become good readers for a purpose. Some of us had the privilege of joining the community sisters to participate in the festal Eucharistic celebration of the sub-station.
“Kenotic Spirituality and Women Empowerment” was dealt by Sr. Metti Amirtham from 14th to 18th May. What is meant by self-emptying for Jesus and how to practice it in our life and very specially in our communities, mastering the pedagogy of the Cross “The Crossian way’’, Crossian way of carrying the cross victoriously through awareness, acceptance, evaluate and examining one’s life, owning one’s own cross, letting go, reprogramming and moving towards a new direction, woman construction of society is through family, culture, religion, education and media, key issues of women are child abuse, child labor, child marriage, infanticide, feticide and malnutrition were the key points of the session. Questions for reflection followed by screening of a Tamil movie ‘Yashoda’ with the theme women empowerment were part of the session.
A day of outing to Echo point, Top station, Mattupatty, Yellapatti and Rose garden made us raise our hearts in wonder at the bountiful creation of God in nature. Hence 19th May gifted us with an unforgettable memory. Sr. Leela Devasiya guided us on the theme “Mission consciousness in the Spirit of our Congregation” on 20th May. It was an eye opener for us to imitate Christ passionately and to follow Him with full freedom. St. Francis Assisi said “Always proclaim the word of God, if necessary use words”. This session stimulated our thirst to be a missionary disciple in proclaiming the kingdom of God to all especially at the peripheries. The Mission dimension of Spiritual and Social helped us to feel proud of our Consecrated life for the Mission. The Mission is the divine initiative in our vocation, gratuitous gift and an invitation. It was a reminder that we should be a maternal womb of mercy. At the eve of this session we had visited 35 families in the village and shared our inspiring and challenging experiences during prayer. We were evangelized by their faith and the spirit of the hard work.
Sr. Reena Raphael shared her missionary experience at Latin America, and Sr. Rani Joe enlightened us on the topic JPIC-Addressing the issue of Injustice to Human being, Nature and Animals and our responsibility in caring for the common home on 21st May. 11 of us had a day of recollection prior to the renewal of vows on 22nd during the Eucharistic Celebration followed by dinner and entertainment with variety performances.
The program came to an end with the evaluation of the entire renewal program. Sharing of the experiences strengthened each of us to move forward with new vigor and vitality. We expressed our gratitude to the Sisters of the community at Munnar, Sr. Lisa Xavier and the formators for the successful conduct of the programme at Munnar.
“Carry forward the work of Christ under the leadership of the befriending Spirit” - Perfectae Caritatis
We began our journey with the spirit of becoming a missionary disciple of Christ, desiring to be the partakers of establishing the reign of God in today’s milieu.
Sr. Rose Mol Province of Angamaly
Sr. Anbarsai Province of Madurai
Sr. Deepika Province of Trichy