Meeting of Young Perpetually Professed Sisters

"The Yes of Maturity"

In Bogotá, Colombia, the seat of our Province, from July 25 to 30, we had the grace to share this gathering of young perpetually professed women, whose theme was the Yes of maturity. We welcomed this invitation with joy and open hearts to renew our YES at this particular stage of our lives. We began our gathering with grateful recollection of our vocational history, allowing our hearts to once again reflect on the moments that have marked our lives as Little Shepherdesses.

Over the past few days, we have heard several speakers who have accompanied us on topics related to Opportunities and Midlife Crises: Signs, Causes, and Advice for Facing Them, Religious Consecration: The Yes of Maturity, and the Yes of Maturity in the Thought of Fr. Alberione.

These have been days of prayer, dialogue, and sharing the insights, feelings, and key words that challenged us, seeking to discover what the Spirit asks of us at this stage of life and awakening in us the desire to continue growing as happy and fulfilled consecrated women.

We continued on our itinerary; we had the grace of making a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Chiquinquirá, patron saint of Colombia, to obtain indulgences for the Jubilee Year. At the end of our meeting, we had a morning of personal prayer to summarize these days, looking to the future, and to hope that everything we have received may become a program for life, shaping our life in community and our service in the Church.

We also had the joy of hearing the testimony of Sister Kiara Raccuglia, a missionary in Cuba. Her testimony of love, dedication, and availability to the mission challenged us to give our lives like Jesus the Good Shepherd. Finally, in the Eucharistic celebration, we renewed our "Yes" to Jesus the Good Shepherd, in the presence of the community.

We are particularly grateful to our sisters Mirina and Ana for their accompaniment in this experience, which encourages us to walk faithfully in this process of maturity, centering our lives on Jesus the Good Shepherd, in the reality in which we live, so that we may continue to accompany the people of God entrusted to us.

Sr. Liliana Ramírez, Sr. Milagros Rojas and Sr. Mariel Vargas. sjbp