Updating Religious Profession

SISTER JEROME MARIE, O.S.F.

"Father, accept us. We are yours."

Guided by the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of Vatican
Council II and its directive that certain elements of the liturgy "not
only may but ought to be changed" (#21), the members of the pro­
fession class of the School Sisters of Saint Francis, Milwaukee, Wis­
consin, with the encouragement of Mother M. Francis Borgia, O.S.F.,
undertook the task of revising the community's existing profession
ceremony. They hoped to replace it with one of greater simplicity
and unity, one with firmer liturgical and scriptural foundations, one
which would better express their attitudes and understandings. To­
gether they have made a beginning upon which future classes may
build, a beginning which they are eager to share with others who
may be similarly concerned with the rite of religious profession.
Throughout the discussions and writing of the new ceremonial
three norms of Vatican II guided all decisions which were made:
first, texts and rites are to express more clearly the holy things which
they signify; second, Sacred Scripture is of paramount importance in
celebrating the liturgy; third, the rites should be short, clear, and
uncluttered by useless repetitions (Constitution, #21, 24, 34).
In keeping with these directives, a Bible service on the eve of
profession marked the formal close of the novitiate by the laying
aside of the white veil. This separation of the veil ceremony from
the profession service was intended to strengthen the continuity of
the profession rite itself. At this vigil, members of the professed
community joined the novices in song and in a special prayer for
those about to be admitted to profession. In response to the request,
"We ask for the veil, a symbol of our dedication to Christ and of
our joyous acceptance of our responsibilities as consecrated religious
women," the black veils were blessed and distributed. A reading
from the priestly prayer of Christ (John 17), a homily, and three
psalms completed the brief ceremony.
The profession ceremony itself, on the following morning, was
based on the conviction that the offering of one's life most fittingly

286 SISTER JEROME MARIE, O.S.F.

 takes place at the offertory of the Mass. The Mass of Religious
Profession opened with an entrance procession in which the novices
were joined by the concelebrants and other members of the clergy,
and at the offertory the celebrant and novices began the dialogue
preliminary to profession.
"Daughters in Christ, what do you ask?"
"We ask to vow poverty, chastity, and obedience in this Fran­
ciscan community so that we may be publicly dedicated to the worship
of God and the service of men."
"Are you firmly determined to be faithful in this dedication?"
"Yes, for we can do all things in Him who strengthens us."
"May God make you worthy of his calling and fulfill with power
every good purpose and work of faith, that the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and you in him according to
his grace. And may he make you increase and abound in charity
towards one another and all men, that he may strengthen your heart
blameless in holiness. May the God of peace himself consecrate you
through and through, and may your whole being, spirit and soul and
body, be preserved sound to greet the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. He who called you is faithful and will do this" (II Thess.
l:llf.; I Thess. 3:llf., 5:23).
Immediately after this prayer each novice in turn came forward
to pronounce her vows, and then remained with the others around
the altar as the celebrant responded: "Beloved Sisters, if you remain
faithful to your consecration, I promise you life forever with the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."
Thus the prostration which followed assumed the dimensions of
worship—man laid open to his creator in complete need of his help.
It echoed in the action of the whole body what had just been said
in words, and signified the young woman's complete surrender to
Christ of a life of worship and service until he comes again in the
fulness of glory. As the choir concluded the singing—"You have died
and your life with Christ is hidden in God.... When Christ, your
life, shall have appeared, then you shall appear with him in glory"—
the newly professed rose to speak together their affirmation: "With
us Christ's love is a compelling force; this is the conviction we have
reached. If one man died on behalf of all, then all of us have died.
Christ died for us all, so that being alive should no longer mean

UPDATING RELIGIOUS PROFESSION 287

living our own life but his life Who died for us and has risen again.
Amen/'
Here the consecration-prostration sequence reached its conclusion
in the "sealing" of the contract, symbolized by the reception of the
ring. The simple, 7/Lord Jesus, bless these rings, that through your
power these young women who receive them may be faithful to
their consecration,77 was the only blessing retained in the revised
ritual. The giving of the ring was accompanied by the bestowal of
the blessed candle and the injunction, /7Accept this candle as a symbol
of Christ, who says to you, 7You are the light of the world.7 77 To
this the Sisters added their Amen with the words, /7We are confident
that he who has begun this good work in us will bring it to com­
pletion. Therefore we press on, hoping to lay hold of that for which
Christ has laid hold of us.77 The celebrant, responding in the name
of the Church, begged God to make strong the love and trust of
his people.
A representative of the class then sang the petitions of the faith­
ful. Still bearing their lighted candles, the newly professed left the
altar to participate in the offertory procession. They were accom­
panied by their mother superior and mothers provincial, who carried
not only the gifts for sacrifice but also the vow papers, which were
placed on the altar.
It seemed fitting that at this high point in their Christian lives
the young women share in the chalice of Christ's blood as well as in
his body. Their communion under both species bespoke the totality
of Christ's self-gift to them and their gift to him and to his Church.
As they ate and drank together in believing love to proclaim the
one life of the new covenant, they could gather strength to live what
they had petitioned earlier: "May our Father accept us and send us
that his kingdom come and his will be done."
To these young women, the ceremony thus completed expressed
what profession means to them. In no way, however, do they pretend
to speak for every class. Rather they would hand on to others their
beginning, hopeful that it may inspire them to speak, originally and
creatively, the Spirit within them.

288 SISTER JEROME MARIE, O.S.F.

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