14 December, 2020
My heart and my soul ring out their joy to God the living God! was the echo on the lips of our beloved celebrants for this year. Four tertians; Sr. Maria David, Sr. Doris Gali, Sr. Veronica Ezeakam and Sr. Anne Nwangumah professed the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience but this time around, they pledged to live and die in it.
For the Silver Jubilarians; Sr. Chika Eze and Sr. Justina Ugwu, these past years have been a loving encounter with the Lord. The Lord has carried them on eagle’s wings and loved life into them.
Representatives of SHCJ sisters in the African Province, families & friends of our dear celebrants, the Priests, Religious and lay faithful joined us to witness the auspicious event of this year.
On the Eve of the D day, we had a beautiful and symbolic prayer ritual. The tertians took turns to share their experiences of Online tertianship as pioneer graduands. Amazingly, they were enriched deeply by the various sessions they had.
For our jubilarians who have persevered all these 25 years, prayer and visits to the Blessed sacrament constitute the backbone for a fulfilled Religious life.
The ritual of transition from initial formation to ongoing formation for the tertians were equally powerful.
On the day of the event, Saturday 21st November, 2020, we converged at the magnificent edifice; the Holy Child College Chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, South West Ikoyi, Lagos Nigeria.
His Eminence, John Cardinal Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja came all the way from Abuja to officiate the Mass of the Profession and Jubilee. In his homily, he likened religious life in our part of the world to the new Israel depicted in the scriptural readings for the day’s feast, the presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Indeed, the gift of vocation strikes a note of joy that fills our hearts today. The reception after the Mass was simply a merry feast.
Unto the Lord be the glory, great things He has done. May He continue to sustain in his love our dear sisters Maria, Doris, Veronica and Anne and our Silver Jubilarians; Sr. Chika Eze and Sr. Justina Ugwu.
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