By Irene Zosiami
Shillong, Dec 13, 2023: As many as 52 young women from various parts of India recently took first vows in the first religious congregation for women founded in northeastern India.
They vowed to be poor, chaste and obedient in the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians on December 8 in the Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians in Shillong, capital of Meghalaya state.
Sister Philomena Mathew, the congregation’s superior general received their vows during a solemn Mass officiated by Archbishop Emeritus Leo Cornelio of Bhopal.
“It’s a joyful and exalting moment for the congregation. These young women are assets to the congregation, the Church and society as they are highly motivated to live a life of service and dedication,” said the superior general.
She said the entry of the vibrant new members would make the congregation more powerful in changing society through various apostolic and charitable services. “In this digital, highly advanced and globalized world, the ultimate need of people is God. So, true to our motto – ‘Go proclaim the Goodnews’, we hope to become Good News to the poor and needy and proclaim the Goodnews to all people.”
She commended the young nuns’ parents for letting their daughters pursue their inner calling to serve God and people in religious life.
Archbishop Cornelio termed the day as “a great event” and said that a vocation to the congregation is “a call from the Lord in order to follow Him fully.” He also added, “God continues to call everyone and every call is to live fully the life that God has given us and with total dedication.”
Quoting the Apostolic letter of Pope John Paul II, Mulieris Dignitatem, Archbishop Cornelio stressed the significant women’s role in the Church as the guardians of the Gospel message. “Many women carry on the mission and the message of God much more effectively in those areas and among those people particularly in villages, in rural settings where men perhaps cannot do. That is their speciality.”
Observing that the day marked the feast of Blessed Virgin’s Immaculate Conception, the Archbishop prayed for God’s choicest blessings upon all the newly professed nuns through the intercession of Mother Mary.
One of the newly professed, Sister Saphilakmen Sohkhia said, “I feel attracted to live this way of life as I wish to dedicate my whole self in service to the church and the society.”
Reflecting on the transitory nature of life, she said, “The world with all its promises is merely momentary. The ultimate source of peace and happiness is God and hence I wish to seek God and dedicate myself to serving His people which I believe will give me lasting joy and happiness.”
The archbishop commended the occasion as “a testimony of the journey of faith, commitment and love.” Commenting on the abounding challenges in today’s highly consumerist world and culture, the prelate highlighted the life of sacrifice with the profession of vows and said, “The profession of perpetual vows stands as a radical counter cultural act, adding freshness to the society.” He sought to remember “the ultimate purpose of life to seek God above all else and to live in the service of God’s people.”
In today’s world of glitz, glamour, comfort, race for lucrative success and contradicting values to that of the Gospel, the Church had witnessed the manifestation of faith and courageous commitment to God and service in these young and vibrant nuns who dared to tread the path less travelled, Archbishop Moolachira said.
He also said the nuns with their varied cultures, talents and potentials create a rainbow of different hues adding glory and beauty to God and the Church, he added.
The congregation also has 72 women in the second year of novitiate and 66 in the first.
The congregation was founded on October 24, 1942, at Guwahati by Salesian Bishop Stephen Ferrando of Shillong. It is dedicated to the proclamation of Jesus Christ and to the service of people especially those at the periphery. Its motto is ‘Go Proclaim the Good News.’
Begun with just six young women, the congregation now has more than 1,300 members belonging to 75 diverse ethnic groups from India, Myanmar, Nepal, Hawaii, Lesotho. It is committed to serving people of varied cultures with focus on women and children, the less privileged and the marginalized through various social, pastoral, educational and developmental activities.
Its members now serve other parts of India and abroad.
This year, the congregation celebrates the centenary of the arrival of its founder to northeastern India as a missionary and his 100th year of priestly ordination.