“We consecrate ourselves to be of Christ and with Christ to eternity.”

Lima, 07/23/14, (Sodalit News – Peru). Thanking God for the gift of their vocation and in an atmosphere of great joy, three sisters of the Marian Community of Reconciliation made ​​their commitments of Full Apostolic Availability. The Mass was presided by His Excellency Carlos Garcia, Bishop of Lurin.

The Mass, which was held in the parish of Our Lady of Reconciliation, was attended by many Fraternas, coming from their existing 18 communities present in nine countries throughout the world. In addition to family members, friends and members of the various associations of the Sodalit Family accompanied the newly perpetually professed.

“Today we do not consecrate ourselves in order to do things in the world. We consecrate ourselves to be of Christ and with Christ to eternity.” There were the words of Bishop Carlos Garcia during the homily Julissa Ravina, Patricia Yaji and Patricia Pollack, the new perpetually professed sisters. He especially thanked the parents of the newly professed for having brought them to the Church through the sacrament of Baptism, “for saying, I place my daughter in this path, along this path I want her to walk, along this path I want you to teach her to be happy forever. And so we are surprised if God touches our hearts, because our parents gave him the address,” he said.

Then, with very emotional and warm words, he counseled them: “Do not cry for the daughter who is going to consecrate herself. Rather take care of the new daughters that you have now. All of themyou’re your daughters,” he said, pointing to all the Fraternas present. “The family does not decrease, rather it increases. (…) And today, as Jesus told Mary at the Cross: ‘Woman behold your son, son behold your mother,’ now I would also like to tell you: Parents, look at these sisters as their daughters, daughters see in these parents your own parents, visit them, accompany them, so that you never lose the sense of family and the bridge of love remains the same, Jesus, who loves us all and wants us all to be all in Him.”

Later he pointed out to the newly professed that “often our consecration, as it cannot be sold, as it is not a market product, is criticized; it is questioned and, as God knows, some want to take it away.” And he warned them also of times of difficulty of which no consecrated person is exempt, explaining that they must “hold tight, firm, because there are strong winds. No doubt there are strong winds in the Church, which sometimes blow the roof off; sometimes they want to destroy the house. It is in these times where you have to cling to Christ.”

For Patricia Pollack, born in Trujillo, Peru, “arriving to this moment of perpetual profession for me means recognizing once again the ever faithful and unconditional love of God for me. Like Mary, my heart breaks into thanksgiving to God for the gift of my vocation as a Fraterna. I can see how throughout these 12 years as a Fraterna, God in his pedagogy has strengthened my heart for this moment through joy and pain. And now this moment seems which seems to be the summit, opens a new stage in my life as a Fraterna.” Pollack studied systems engineering at the Universidad Privada de Trujillo, Peru and currently lives in the community of San Antonio, Texas, USA, where she serves as director of religious education in the parish of Saint John the Evangelist.

Julissa Ravina indicated that this step is “a huge blessing to be able to pronounce that generous ‘Yes’ that I long to live forever.” And she says that she is “very grateful to God for calling me to be a Fraterna and for these 15 years of community life.” Ravina is studying youth education and now lives in the community of Arequipa, Peru where she helps in the apostolic work of the Christian Life Movement.

Meanwhile, Patricia Yaji says that “making my perpetual profession is saying ‘Yes’ to the Lord not only for my lifetime but for all eternity. It means telling the Lord that I believe him, I believe in his promises, that I place myself entirely in his hands and I trust in Him fully. I am not afraid of what He is going to ask of me, because I know that He will give me all the grace I need to respond faithfully,” she said. Yaji has a degree in special education from Universidad Femenina del Sagrado Corazón de Lima. She currently lives in Sydney, Australia where she works in the chaplaincy of the University of New South Wales.

The commitments of Full Apostolic Availability, which these three sisters assumed in perpetuity, were realized on the occasion of the eve of the meeting of the perpetually professed of the Community, which will be held from July 22-31 in the Immaculate Mary formation center in Chaclacayo.