Maria Province Meet

When our Holy Father Pope Francis the man of fire, who plays the role of thunderous Old Testament prophet, announced the Year of Consecrated life with the motto “Wake up the World,” the news was greeted with much joy though it was not clear how the year should be celebrated.

Maria Province Day

The year of consecrated life offers us an opportunity to celebrate our religious gathering in a meaningful way on 19th September 2015 at Ponmeni. Wherever Consecrated people are, there is always Joy says Pope Francis. It’s true. A jubilant atmosphere prevailed in Ponmeni. All our Sisters reached the venue very early.

With the melody of hymns floating in the air, our Congregation flag was unfurled by Rev. Mother Reginal, the Superior General and pledged our respect to our flag. A solemn procession holding lamps in the hands started from the entrance of the pandal and reached the altar at 9.30 am. As the core objective of celebrating the Province get together was to strengthen our relationship with our Lord and with one another we praised the Lord Almighty for showering His graces and Mother Mary for guiding every step we have taken. What a heavenly experience to be in the presence of the Lord! Then we relished the charm of Madurai Jigarthanda.

The Holy Mass was inaugurated at 11.30 by lighting of the lamp. Warm welcome was given with the traditional kumba aarathi. The Eucharistic celebration was officiated by His grace Antony Pappusamy, the Archbishop of Madurai, Rev. Fr.J.Jeyaraj V.G., Rev. Fr. Maria Michael V.F., Rev. Fr. Augustine, bishop’s secretary joined. The Archbishop inspired us in his homily that the year 2015, a year dedicated to consecrated life is a splendid time to rediscover the original splendor of religious life. The liturgy was flawless and well organized and was perfected by a harmonious choir. Rev. Fr. J. Jeyaraj V.G. appreciated our wonderful service to the underprivileged. At the end of the Eucharistic Celebration Rev. Sr. Maria Antony Prakasi greeted all the dignitaries. At 1.30 we relished the delicious agape as one community and had a gala time with each other.

Soon after the Holy mass, the venue transformed into celebration ground for the felicitation function. We gathered again at 2.30 pm. Rev. Mother Reginal and the former Provincials were welcomed to the stage and honoured with traditional ponnadai and mementoes. The pioneers and former provincials Rev. Sr. Ubo, Rev. Sr. Canisius, Rev. Sr. Odillo Pushpam, Rev. Sr. Patris, Rev. Sr. Maria Alphonsal were appreciated who put their heart and soul for the development of the province. Mother Reginal’s words led to the journey of personal and community reflection. It was an invitation to scrutinize the horizons of our lives and going back to the springs. Mother directed us to the same concept when she addressed us through PowerPoint presentation. Thanking her for her relentless effort for betterment in every aspect of our life.

Variety entertainments were given by Akkalmadam, Anbagam and Ponmeni students. Vote of thanks was proposed by Rev. Sr. Margaret Mary, our counselor. The summit of the day was the Province Anthem “Malligai poonthotamana Madurai Nagar Koodivanthom” which gave a fitting conclusion to the celestial events.

The celebration was lively and full of life. What happiness the sisters felt in just being together sharing our joys! They do believe that our Province get together helped us make our life more relevant, more transforming. It was very moving and deeply inspiring for all those who were present.