At the end of each pilgrimage, what a joyful moment to belong to the Potter! Wonderfully moulded during years by God, we proclaim: “Great is the Lord, most worthy of praise and His deeds are beyond measure” (Psalm 145:3).

We were supposed to make our first profession together with the three Vietnamese Sisters who were getting ready for their final profession. We were looking forward to celebrating together with them our commitment to the Lord as SCJM. We expected that on the beautiful day of our first profession, our families and friends would join us in celebration and thanksgiving. We tried many times to travel back to Vietnam, but unfortunately we could not go, because of the travel restrictions due to the pandemic. We really felt upset about it.

In that situation, Sr. Lucy Jacob, our Superior General, gave us the permission to make our first profession in IAN. The IAN community discussed, planned and organized everything for the celebration. We experienced the joy, team spirit and gladness of each one of them in all these activities. Their hard work, effort, and energy-sharing enlivened us.

We cherish and appreciate the meaningful evening prayer service on 14th October with the image of “The Potter and the Clay”, and especially the celebration on 15th October 2020. The Eucharist was presided over by Fr. Alvin Chavez, our parish priest, and concelebrated by 3 religious priests from neighboring communities. Our vocation is a treasure gifted to us by God. We are called to bloom wherever we are planted and to joyfully bear witness to God’s mercy and love.

We enjoyed the beautiful and meaningful decorations of the house, the food, cultural program, etc. It was a joyful day, though we missed our Sisters and dear ones in Vietnam. The community is our family and all the religious and guests present are our fathers, mothers and siblings. The appreciation, wishes and encouragement of every one gave us a deep joy. Their loving presence was a blessing for us.

We are really thankful to God for our vocation and to all the Sisters and junior novices who made our profession day a memorable one for us. We would like to express our deep thanks to each of them, especially to our Sisters from Legaspi community, who joined us for the occasion, despite the long journey, the dangers and difficulties on the way. We ask God to shower His choicest blessings upon them and grant them the graces needed to accomplish Jesus’ mission on earth.