During these days of the COVID-19 pandemic, many things are uncertain. But one thing is certain: God still calls souls to union with Him. This invitation looks different for each soul, but for some, it comes in the form of a call to the consecrated life. This journey, like much of life, is often circuitous; but when a soul responds with a humble Fiat as Mary did, ‘Let it be done according to Your word,’ the path reaches its goal in what is called Perpetual Profession. In a public celebration of the Rite of Religious Profession, the one called offers a total gift of self to the One who gives Himself in unconditional, uncompromising Love.
On August 18, the chapel at Holy Family Motherhouse in Baltic was the place of this wondrous moment for two young women invited by Jesus to live a life of religious consecration as Sisters of Charity of Our Lady, Mother of the Church. Celebrants of the Mass of Profession were Reverend Michael Bovino, priest of the Diocese of Norwich and Reverend Jacinto Mary, Friar of the Immaculate from the Franciscan Friary in Griswold.
During the celebration of Mass Sister Marie Alexandria, a native of Roscoe, Illinois, professed Perpetual Vows of Chastity, Poverty, and Obedience and promised to practice the works of Charity (a fourth vow) in a spirit of heartfelt simplicity. For the past six years Sister has been in the formation program of the Sisters of Charity, studying the history of the Community, learning the meaning of the vows as lived in this world at this moment in time, while opening her soul to profound prayer in order to grow grace for grace in union with her Divine Bridegroom. She has also been studying for the degree that will enable her to serve in the Community’s ministries. Sister first met the Sisters in Janesville, Wisconsin when she worked in St. Elizabeth Home, an apostolate of healthcare of the congregation.
Sister Veronica Rose, a native of Tolland, Connecticut, was a student at the University of Connecticut when she discerned the Voice of God inviting her to a life of total self-giving for the People of God. She entered the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady, Mother of the Church in 2017. By her profession of Temporary Vows on August 18, a requisite step toward Perpetual Profession, Sister continues her formation in religious life and awaits the day of her complete and irrevocable commitment to God in love.
The two-fold gift of these two Sisters to God and to the Church was accompanied by the celebration of two other young women, Sister Mary Philip Reynette Tamani and Sister Mary Sophia Cawley, who entered the novitiate in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and who progressed to the next steps toward their perpetual consecration to God. The Sisters of Charity rejoice in the faithful response of these four Sisters, and we humbly ask the prayers of the People of God of the Diocese of Norwich for their perseverance in grace.
