One day animation program for the candidates (class xi & xii) of all religious congregations, organized by the regional CRI Dimapur unit on 24 October  2019, at Clare Bhavan Convent, Kacharigaon was a golden opportunity for us to come together as a group and to learn something new and practical, as we are beginning our life as candidates. Rev.Fr. Sabu Chenackal the main resource person brought our attention to the different aspects of religious life and the various ways in which we are expected to build up our lives in order to become joyful and responsible candidates. He highlighted on the importance of being humble. it is humility that makes us great and for that reason people appreciate us. He gave us some examples from the Bible to remind us that God prefers the most humble. (1 Cor:15: 9 – 10, Isaiah 14: 12- 15). Humility should be the strength in one’s own life.
Through this session we learned that to be joyful always as a candidate/religious:

• One should not be succumbed by the thoughts of inheriting wealth and property and fame.
• Not to be proud of our intelligence and we should not regret of our choice.
• We must become persons of prayer: Personal prayer is very important and powerful. We can receive divine touch only through personal prayers.
• Good and sincere confession gives peace and joy within us. To receive the Holy Spirit we need to confess regularly our sins. This point was made clear through relevant examples.
• We need to get rid of our possessions and ego.
• We need to respect and obey our elders.

As a whole the session on “the Joy of being a candidate preparing to enter Religious Life” has made us more alert and listening deeply and enable us to continue the life of a religious candidate. We have gained the knowledge about the various dimensions of religious life and encourage us to persevere in our CALL. Fr. Sabu’s talk was indeed very splendid and helpful to build up our life through personal prayer. Also, it urges us to be humble persons. Sharing of his life experiences and giving realistic examples were very enriching. In his closing session Fr. Sabu spoke passionately on the need to grow in personal prayer in order to be successful in our life as a Religious.
We thank God for this wonderful experience of coming together of all candidate of all different congregations. We are also grateful to the CRI Dimapur Unit  for the effort and hard work put into it, making  it a big success. Thanks to one and all who participated as well.

by Bayabiang Kharbuli, MMS Candidate