Greetings from the Tertians in India

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We, the seven tertians from the Assumption and Visitation Provinces, wish all of you dear Sisters, a very fruitful and healthy New Year 2023. We are eager to share with you some of the wonderful experiences of our tertiate. Prior to the formal commencement of the tertiate, we were fortunate to attend four months of theology course at St. Peter’s Pontifical Seminary in Bangalore from June to October this year.

We began our formal tertiate here at the Visitation Provincial house, Bangalore, on November 27^th, with a very meaningful prayer service conducted by dear Sr.M.Sujita, our tertian directress. At the end of the prayer service, we were accompanied by seven of our elderly Sisters, our ‘wisdom women,’ who would be our special companions and prayer partners during our tertiate.

Our various classes enlighten and strengthen us in our vocation. Studying once again our congregational history under the able guidance of Sister Mary Kripa, our outstanding historian of the province, helped us enter fully into the wonderful journey of our beloved congregation, from its birth in Coesfeld to the present day.

In keeping with our founding charism and in response to the repeated call of Pope Francis to go to the peripheries, we had a month of periphery experience. Seeing Christ in the hurting persons and responding with compassion is the call of our time. We were divided into three groups and for a month we lived among the elderly, the handicapped, and the children of prisoners and ministered to them. This experience was indeed very challenging, but rewarding as well, as we lived the spirit of compassionate encounter and caring with those most in need.

Ever since the formal tertiate began, we have been fully immersed in the in-depth study of our Constitutions. We are privileged to have Sr. Mary Sujita as our directress who is a living Constitutions!  We study article by article and spend quality time reflecting on each article, sharing our insights among us, and praying with it to make the Constitutions an integral part of our way of life and mission. Videos on our Constitutions by Sister Joan Marie Recker, SND and the personal reflections of our dear Sister Mary Sujita make us better understand its beauty and depth as well as the utmost importance of each article. Now we can truly say that we love our Constitutions!

We had a great opportunity to attend four ZOOM sessions conducted by Sister Mary Karuna on the themes of Ignatian Spirituality, Discernment, and Psycho-sexual integration. We are so grateful to Sr. M. Karuna for the very relevant and valuable information and insights that she so happily shared with us.

During the months of January and February, we are attending an Inter-congregational Tertians’ Program, at the Ignatian Spirituality Center here in Bangalore.  At the conclusion of our tertiate program, we will have the privilege of making the one-month Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius under the guidance of the Jesuits.

We continue to prepare ourselves through various classes and activities, but above all by spending quality time in deepening our spiritual life. We are truly privileged to have a whole year of well-planned preparations leading to our Final Commitment. Our sincere thanks to dear Sister Mary Ann Culpert, Sr. M. Tessy, Sr. M. Chetana, the Sisters of Patna and Bangalore Provinces, and to all the sisters of our worldwide Notre Dame family for being companions on our journey in Notre Dame through your prayerful support. Kindly continue to pray for us so that our FIAT will be total and prophetic like that of Mary, our Mother and patroness.

Tertians: Srs.M. Shruti, Christina Kiran, Athira, Josephine, Ansi, Sushma, and Anima