RETREAT IN MERU: from 14th to 23rd February
We began our retreat on Friday evening in the company of our Regional Superior, Sr Felicidade and her vice, Sr Florence. Our retreat guide was Fr Joseph, a Jesuit.
It was a beautiful and profound moment in which we experienced the love,mercy and faithfulness of God in our vocational journey. We prayed with different themes, that is, how to find God in nature, the community life and responsibility, going back to our call, the passion of Jesus and inner healing.
During this time, we had personal meetings, daily input and eucharistic celebration. All these helped us in healing and in discovering the deep presence of God. We were invited to have courage of conversion, the spirit of beginning again and that of going ahead in the Lord.
We would like to thank the community of Meru for the warm welcome that we received, through meals and a conducive environment, that helped us in our prayers and reflection.
We thank God for his providence in all that we have lived during this time. We thank our Regional Superior, Sr Felicidade and her counsellors in the name of the Institute for organising and facilitating this time of retreat. We thank all the sisters for accompanying us with their prayers.
RENEWAL OF VOWS AND THE WELCOMING OF THE NEWLY PROFESSED
On March 23, 2025, we participated in the renewal of vows of eleven of our sisters: Sr. Monica Mulalu Ndunda, Sr. Tsiyon Kochito Alemu, Sr. Angelina Mbuya Njagi, Sr. Deborah Mudele Soki, Sr. Hildah Obonyo Masereti, Sr. Mourine Akoth Otieno, Sr. Purity Mutono Kitonyi, Sr. Rebecca Kemunto Nyakundi, Sr. Stella Joseph Mwinuka, Sr. Theresia Steven Mutila, and Sr. Waida Peter Kisoma, in Meru after the annual retreat.
The Holy Mass was presided over by a Jesuit Priest, Father Joseph, who encouraged the sisters to be steadfast, happy, and women of fiat, like Mary. After the Holy Mass we shared lunch, a moment of fellowship with the sisters of the Meru community, and thereafter we left for Nairobi.
On March 25, the feast of the Annunciation, we joyfully joined the sisters of the Regional house in Nairobi for the celebration of this solemnity, during which Sr. Teresa Awino Masudi, Sr. Betty Nalweyiso, Sr. Grace Kemunto Nchore, Sr. Lucia Alfred Mgaya, and Sr. Susan Njoki Nduma renewed their Yes to the Lord.
The Holy Mass was presided over by Father Zachary Kariuki, IMC, Regional Superior for Kenya and Uganda. He encouraged the sisters to cherish their vocation as a treasure, a gift from God that is to be welcomed with gratitude and thanksgiving.
During the offertory, all the junior sisters expressed their dedication to the Lord with the symbol of a lit candle, which each placed at the foot of the altar. After Holy Mass, we shared a meal together. We lived the day joyfully with gratitude to God and enjoyed being together.
On 30th Sunday morning, we welcomed with great joy the three newly professed sisters: Sister Anne Kalondu Nthiwa, Sister Telesia Nthambi Mbithi, and Sister Winnie Joan Naanyu Letiwa who shortly arrived from Italy after the celebration of their first vows. In the evening, we welcomed them with celebration and the cutting of cake in the presence of Sr Maria Conceiçào (DG), thanking God for the gift of our young sisters to our Consolata family.
THE PILGRIMAGES
The Lord in his goodness has given us the opportunity to visit several places that are significant to us, as an Institute, which helped us to deepen and understand more of our being and appreciate our existence.
March 26th, Nyeri
Upon arrival in Nyeri, we entered the Cathedral of Our Mother Consolata, where the remains of Our Blessed Irene are present. There, we stayed with Our Mother and prayed for all of you and for the Institute at large. The graces and blessings we have received are so many! We visited the Mathari Chapel where the relic of Blessed Irene is present in which we participated in the eucharistic celebration. Sr. Lucy Karweru of the Nyeri community welcomed us with so much love and joy, in which she offered us lunch.
Later on, we proceeded to Gikondi, a historic and sacred place where the first community of our first sisters, along with our Blessed Irene lived serving the Lord through his people. Seeing this holy place with our own eyes made us reflect deeply on the greatness of the sisters’ love for the mission and for the Lord, and on the beauty of the missionary vocation. It encouraged us to love our vocation more, which is a gift from God, to love the mission the Lord has entrusted to us, and to be faithful to the end. Their dedication inspires us to love and serve with the same ardent generosity.
March 30th, Nazareth
We both visited our elderly sisters and our younger sisters in the formation house. In the formation house, we were welcomed with great joy. We spent good time together, enjoyed a lovingly prepared lunch, we encouraged one another, and we were filled with hope for our religious family.
In the afternoon, we spent time with our elderly sisters who welcomed us with great love. We shared time together enjoying snacks and dancing. We felt at ease with them, and they were happy to be with us and enjoyed our songs and dances. On this occasion, we met a group of young people called Allamano Children Hope alumni, who came to give thanks to the sisters for the support they received in past years and which has shaped them in their lives.
On our return, we had a stop over at the Consolata Shrine, Nairobi, where we visited the Lord in the Adoration Chapel, bringing all the needs of the entire humanity in the presence of the Lord.
April 5th, Tuthu
Tuthu is the place where the first IMC arrived and celebrated their first Holy Mass in 1902 and henceforth stayed. We were welcomed by our brother priests in their house and later went to the shrine to pray the way of the Cross. Father Brambilla shared with us the history of that place with great joy and zeal followed by the Holy Mass, celebrated by Fr. Chrispine.
He highlighted the beauty of the mission and our responsibility to carry it forward with fidelity and commitment. After Holy Mass, we had lunch and returned home filled with joy, gratitude, and enthusiasm for the mission.
THE THEME: I WILL GIVE MY SPIRIT TO THOSE WHO ARE UNITED WITH ME!” St. Allamano
The days of our formation meeting were days of blessing and grace accompanied by these words of Fr Founder St. Allamano. The topics offered for our ongoing formation were The Consecrated life, Our Identity, The Community life etc.
All these helped us to deepen our consecration and our call to the mission. We were invited to a life of prayer and sanctification of self and others, to give witness to our identity as Consolata Missionary Sisters and living community life and the family spirit just as our Founding Father desired.
These topics were enriched by sharing our missionary experiences and discussions. We were filled with joy for having received so many blessings from our Holy Father Founder.
We concluded with a moment of prayer as a family in the presence of all the sisters, we received blessings from our sisters who promised to pray for us. May our Mother Consolata continue to accompany us in our lives and give us the strength and courage to always begin anew and go ahead in the Lord.
