Sisters of Saint Joseph of Annecy

FIRST & FINAL PROFESSION, Visakhapatnam

~ Sr. Jeenat Jose

Preparation for First Communion

Valerie, who is in charge of parish catechesis, asked us if we would be willing to have the children come and talk to them about our consecrated life. We accepted with joy, and on the 11th of May, the children arrived with their parents who accompanied them, and their catechits.. The community was able to meet the parents and join in the welcome with prayer and songs led by Fr Dominique.

We then moved to our community room where we had re-arranged table and chairs to seat the children on the floor. There were 26 of them plus 5 catechists. After the introduction of the sisters in the Thones community, Sr Monique showed on the world map where the Sisters of St. Jospeh of Annecy live and work, indicated by red pins. She then made a connection with all the different Congregations of Sisters of St Joseph from the same founde,r with a pin in the countries where there are varoius communitie of these Sisters.

Sr Raymonde spoke about the Spirit and the charism of the Congregation with the tilte: "We are called to live love and communion by looking to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, and in all our relationships.

The children were divided into groups, after the presentation, with different sisters and children in each group:
1st group: Sr Jain, Sr Louise Maria and a catechist with the children
2nd group: Sr Monique, Sr Marie Armande, a catechist and the children
3rd group: Sr Raymonde, Sr Anne, Sr Cecile, a catechist and the children
In the groups, each sister was invited to speak about her vocation, her ministry and to share a moment which had touched her life. Then they answered the various questions from the children and the catechists.

After a moment of relaxation we all went to our chapel where we sang songs, and then a child from each group shared something of their group's experience. The catechist read the text of Martha and Mary and made a comment on the aspect of Mary's listening to God and Martha's service and connected it with our life as religious. We finished with the prayer of the consecration to the "two Trinities", which was made simpler for the children.

The meal was taken from the backpacks on the grass with few sisters and Father Dominique, who came to join us. At the end of the meal, there was a ball game with Father Dominique, and then Srs Jain, Monique and Raymonde went to the Calvary statue with them.
They were divided into 4 groups and took part in the following :refelcted on the following :
1) A refelction on the connection and the meaning of the word communion. How does it engage us?
2) The chidren were asked to write – in acircel – the names of people thye were very close to and those they were not so close to, putting themslevs in the centre. Then they were aksed wher they would put Jesus ?
3) Tell a story in which one could say if the people lived in communion or not.
4) The text of Martha and Mary was read.
5) The text of the washing of the feet: When did Jesus do this? What is the meaning of this gesture and what are Jesus' words?
6) Then we finished with the text of the words of the consecration

After a small snack and a group photo, the children and the catechists went to the church to join Father Dominique in order to prepare the celebration of their first communion, which will be on the 5th of June.

Parish pilgrimage – Annecy; May 21st 2022

The new parish in the centre of Annecy to which we belong, has three churches. This year we are celebrating the 600th anniversary of the church of St Maurice which is close to our Convent. For this occasion, the parish team organised a pilgrimage to the place where St. Maurice and his companions were martyred in St Maurice, Switzerland.
This Saint had, and still has, a significant place in our region here in Annecy and across the whole of Europe where many churches are dedicated to him.
The Christian history of St Maurice (formerly Agaune) began around the year 300 with his martyrdom and that of his companions. Coming from Egypt, those Christian soldiers were part of the Roman army. Following their leader Maurice, they refused to obey the Emperor of Rome who asked them to execute Christians. They were killed and buried on the spot.
Around the year 380, the first Bishop of that place began the veneration of these maytyrs which led to the establishment of the Abbey of St Maurice
The tomb of St Maurice
on the tomb of the Martyrs in 515, that is to say more than 1500 years during which the prayer did not cease, a prayer which has evolved over the years but which remains the dynamic centre of the life of the Abbey. Since the 12th century and up until today it is the Regular Canons of St Augustine who continue to provide this service and to accompany the pilgrims in their prayer. The Abbey is a very popular spiritual place.
The monastery itself reveals a long history through the Basilica, and the exceptional treasure which contains very old pieces of great archaeological wealth.
The excavations have brought to light a series of churches as well as the oldest remains of an ancient necropolis, including the tomb of St Maurice.

Verollier chapel   
The second stage of the pilgrimage took us to Vérollier, the place of martyrdom. The journey was punctuated by various « stations » which formed part of the pigrimage.
We saw stained glass windows which represent the saints connected with the history of the Abbey. They remind us of the words of the Gospel: "If the seed that falls to the ground does not die, it remains alone; if it dies, it bears much fruit". (John 12:24)
The forty people with whom we spent the day were, in the most part, familiar faces, whom we had met during the celebrations. Between the picnic and the two kilometre we walked, there were some brief conversations with some of them...
May this be the starting point of more regular gatherings which would be a fount of vitality for the parish church as a whole!
The experience of the pilgrimage to that place took us back to the beginning of the Church and connected us with our predecessors in the faith... May St Maurice and his fellow martyrs accompany us on our journey of faith.

(The participants)