“Praise the Lord O my soul, all my inmost being praise His Holy name.” (Ps. 103:1)

During the last six months of our tertianship, God has been so good to us; it was a chance to know him, love him and to be with him. With these experiences, we could respond to God whole heartedly on 7th December 2023, as we were eagerly waiting to commit our whole life to God. We the fifteen tertians: Srs Prabha Kullu, Jyoti Kerketta, Shashi Baa, Anshu Bage, Anju Tirkey, Sonia Toppo, Lalitha Cherowa, Lalitha Nagetia, Reema Kujur, Alka Tete, Anima Kujur, Magdali Horo, Anjana Lakra, Sushana Nayak and Binsi Sanga, fully convinced, offered ourselves totally to God for his service. We began the day with a beautiful and meaningful prayer service led by Sister Lilly Mary Pallipurathu. We were moved with unexplainable emotions and felt the hand of Jesus holding us gently. We remained in a recollected mood till all the ceremonies were over, though we were so excited to meet our family members.

The Holy Mass and the profession ceremony began at 9.30 am. It was beautiful and simple yet powerful. We were led to the altar with a beautiful entrance dance by the postulants and hostellers of Nirmala College. The main celebrant was Archbishop Rev. Felix Toppo SJ, Archbishop of Ranchi Archdiocese, assisted by more than twenty priests. Our parents, relatives, and many other religious joined us to us of assure their prayerful support and share our joy. The beautiful hymns and the music performed by some of the student sisters and the hostellers, led by Sisters Magi and Manjula Kullu, were excellent and uplifted our spirit to God in prayer and worship.

The Archbishop’s homily was mainly focused on the three vows of the consecrated life. He said: “Committing one’s life totally to God is a spiritual journey with God which is unique and the most important step in religious life. In the spiritual journey, we have to face several challenges and the impediment may arise, whether it may be spiritual, mental, or physical, it may be from God himself or from the evil spirit. To be united with God, we need God’s grace and strength.” It was inspiring and through this strong message, we feel more convinced of our call.

Filled with happiness and joy and with conviction, we pronounced the three vows and we received the blessed ring from Sister Sushma Beck, our Provincial Superior, with a committed heart, love and faithfulness to God. We are strengthened and empowered to carry out the Charism of our Congregation.

When the Mass got over with the recessional dance we were taken to the stage to celebrate the day. All the SCJMs came forward and wished us with hugs and kisses and garlands. Then we were sent to our family members and they wished us in our tribal cultural way. All enjoyed the delicious lunch which was lovingly prepared by Sister Shobha and her team.

We are indeed very grateful to Sister Lilly who has been accompanying us and the Nirmala College community for all that they have been to us during the last six months. We pray that God may always bless them with all the necessary graces. We are also very grateful to all the SCJMs and all those who have helped us in one way or the other in our life journey. May God bless each one of you.