Walking together in the course of centenary. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step….” and we the Temporary professed sisters began this journey for the new academic year 2022 to 2023 with our first tri-monthly meeting held on 26th and 27th August 2022 in Auxilium Pali Hill Mumbai.
We were fortunate to have Fr. Fiorello Mascarenhas S.J who spoke on the importance of the Eucharist and how meaningful it becomes when we actively participate in it. He made us understand that Eucharist is an exchange of love between God and us. He stressed more about the words of Jesus, “Do this in memory of me.” He enabled us to understand that the Eucharist is not a passive memory but rather an active memory. He quoted the statement of St. Augustine, “Eat what you are and become what you eat” which inspired many of us. He further led us in an Inner healing session where he taught us the techniques to heal ourselves focusing our attention on the Word of God, medicine for the body, soul and spirit. His sessions invited us to personalize the Word of God and to grow deeper in the Sacraments
In the Afternoon session we had Advocate Mrs. Aileen who shared her experiences on Sexual abuses, Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence on women. In brief she explained to us the articles of the constitution of India and the laws and rights that are prevalent for the women and children. She even helped us understand the marriage act which can be used in our apostolate with the youngsters who seek our help. Her experience and her passion to work for the least in the society inspired us to have a sensitive and compassionate heart like that of our Lord and Master.
The next day we had Fr. Renold from St. Paul’s, who with his beautiful PowerPoint presentation helped us to review the value of Discipleship, inviting all of us to “dare to see what Jesus sees”, “to seek the one whom the heart desires i.e. Jesus” and “to have the fire of the love of God kindling within us” in order to attract many youngsters towards Christ. His punch line was “Your holiness is your Identity Card for the Church.”
The next session was that of fun, laughter and learning where Sr. Pricilla interacted with us trying to know us better and helping us to understand our role in the communities. After choosing the themes for the assignments to be presented in May, we concluded the meet at around 2.30 pm.
We the Temporary professed sisters feel indebted to Mother Provincial, Sr. Meenakshi D’silva for her interest in us. We thank our Vice-Provincial Sr. Pricilla Travasso for organizing a wonderful meet for us with remarkable speakers. This experience was very enriching and inspiring one, for it has indeed filled with zeal and passion to work for the Priceless pearl i.e. the Kingdom of God.