Religious | CRI of Dimapur Zone (CRIDimapur)

The Dimapur CRI zone had organized a get together for all the Religious sisters who are young at heart on 24^th November 2019 at Assisi Community, Dimapur. It was an enriching experience for me. I feel proud and honoured to be counted among the religious of sisters young at heart; being a sister has given me the opportunity to many types of people, places, culture and learn from them. On this day too, I not only learned many things but got to know many more sisters and about their Congregations and charism.

The talk of Fr Stanislaus Selvaraj SDB about Canon Law gave me knowledge about the church and consecrated life. Some of his talks reminded me of my formation period, wherein I was asked to focus on saving souls and not of things that are perishable.

The sharing by the sisters about their Congregations and the Charism was another interesting moment which redirected me back to my own vocation and Charism. The action songs and dances led by the Salesian Collage brothers made us alive and active so that we were refreshed to last next session. The culmination of the gathering was the Holy Eucharist which was celebrated by Fr Benny, followed by group photo.

I am really very grateful to Fr Benny the president of CRI Dimapur Zone who arranged this enriching programme for the sisters who are young at heart, I am also grateful to my superior who gave me an opportunity to attend this programme.

Sr. Mhalesenu Marina FSMA

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

Conference of Religious of India (CRI)