On Sunday, January 4, Mary Shin, a novice with the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, made her first profession of vows. The ceremony was very beautiful in its simplicity. It flowed as follows:
Novice Director: "Mary, what do you ask of this community?"
Mary: "I ask to profess vows as a religious within this community."
Provincial (think "President"): "In the name of the Sisters, I am most pleased to acknowledge your request. We praise and thank God for bringing you to this moment."
Priest: "Mary, what do you ask of God and of God's Church?"
Mary: "I ask for God's continued love and the grace to share in the ministry of God's people."
Priest: "Mary, when you were baptized by water and the Holy Spirit and anointed with oil of salvation, you entered into the community of faith and service, the Church. Are you now resolved to deepen your commitment to God by professing the vows of religious life as a Sister of the Sorrowful Mother?
Mary: "I am."
Priest: "In your desire to follow Christ perfectly by freely binding yourself to Christ and giving your whole self as a continuous act of love, are you resolved to live in chastity, to choose a life of poverty, to offer the sacrifice of obedience, all for the sake of the reign of God?"
Mary: "I am."
Priest: (to the members of the congregation): "You have witnessed Mary's request. Do you, the Christian community gathered here, endorse her desire to commit herself, wholly and entirely to God, within the Church through this community?"
Congregation: "We do."
Provincial: "Mary, what you desire is great. To commit yourself totally to God through the profession of evangelical vows is not easy. Only deep and lasting love will make it possible. If you are wondering how you are going to be faithful, have no fear. God is faithful with an everlasting love. Continue to remain open to grow in the desire to deepen the love which we are witnessing today. If you fail, know that God is always near to those who call on God. We unite our prayer with yours.
Priest: God, look upon your servant, Mary, who is resolved to dedicate her life to you by professing the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the presence of your people today. In her desire to serve you, may her life of prayer and service give witness to your presence in our world and help to bring about your reign. We ask this in Jesus' name.
Response: Amen
Mary professed to live the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience for two years. Following those two years, if she continues to believe that she is called to give her life totally to God as a Sister of the Sorrowful Mother, she will renew her vows for a specified period of time prior to making a final commitment.
