On the eve of our New Entry into IAN (Inter Asian Noviciate), we started our day of prayer with the Lord, which had a meaningful and challenging theme entitled “You are not an Accident”.

We had a special opportunity to take time to reflect and to spend the day with the Lord by deepening our appreciation of our own lives and the gift of our vocations. It was said that my birth was no mistake, my parents may not have planned me but God did. He was not at all surprised by my birth. In fact, He expected it.

Long before I was conceived by my parents, I was conceived in the mind of God. He thought of me first. He planned the days of my life in advance, choosing the exact time of my birth and death. The Holy Scripture says, “You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book”. God never does anything accidentally, and he never makes mistakes. He has a reason for everything he creates.

This was a wonderful opportunity to appreciate and to cherish the gift of our vocations and the wonder of our beings. We felt God’s goodness to each one of us. With this inspiring reflection we were so happy and our desire was deepened to give ourselves to the Lord. We found more meaning in our lives and the joy of giving ourselves to the Lord. We spent the day in prayer and experienced deep silence everywhere. We were completely in union with God with the guidance of Sr. Fatima our novice mistress.

The theme was so relevant for our entry into the Novitiate. Sr. Fatima enlightened us with her inspiring reflection together with some Scripture passages which enabled us to deepen our appreciation that everything that happens in our lives is according to the great purpose and plan of God for each one of us and every event is planned by God. “Yahweh called me from my mother’s womb, He pronounced my name before I was born” (Is: 49/1).

The words of the Psalmist and the reflection given by Sister Fatima deepened our conviction of our call as SCJMs. We were inspired to allow God to continue transforming us into his image and to be open to him and to allow him to pour himself on us.

Our chapel was beautifully decorated with a display of the words “ I have called you by name, you are mine ”. We had a very meaningful liturgy, conducted by Sr. Fatima and Sr. Jamila. During the prayer service we were given the uniform and came dressed up with the new uniform. Each of us received the Holy Bible, the Constitution and the Cross. Then we offered a symbol of ourselves with a meaningful prayer.

At the end of the prayer service, we were led to the dining room, accompanied by our two professed sisters and our two senior novices. They congratulated us and expressed their best wishes for a happy and a bright future. Finally we had grand dinner and recreation. This was an unforgettable day in our lives here in IAN.

Our group consists of seven, from different countries:
Two from Rwanda
Two from Vietnam
Two from Delhi
One from Pakistan

Janviere, Trâm, Thành, Roma, Esther, Tamanna and Jobita entered the novitiate on May 5th 2019.

Thank you and may God bless you.
( First year novices.)

From left to right: Jobita, Thành, Roma, Tamanna, Sr. Fatima, Janviere, Trâm, Esther