Every great journey begins with taking a leap of faith. Our journey together for the past four years in response to God’s initiative in our calling into religious life was like yesterday as the psalmist says “a thousand years are like a day before God” during thecourse of our formation, we experienced deep faith in God, His unconditional love, interior self-awareness, self-knowledge and inner freedom which helped us to respond to God’s call
In our experiences, we received love, we communicate love and radiate love which spread like a fragrance to those we encountered daily. What kept us moving even in challenging moments of our formation was our desire to form a deeper union with Christ our ultimate search. The acknowledgement of our strength, weaknesses and our limitations also helped us to recognize our nothingness and so opened ourselves to the Holy Spirit to transform us. This is in line with the article in the Rule of Taden which says ‘a heart empty of all but God in order to be all for God’.
Our quest to serve God in Humanity in the Congregation of the Daughters of the Holy as consecrated persons was laid open on Friday 11th July, 2025. A day that can never be forgotten in the history our lives and that of the congregation. A day of fulfilment of our desire to follow Christ in Humility, Gentleness, Simplicity and Daring. The Liturgical celebration of our first profession of vows took place at the Daughters of the Holy Spirit Novitiate Formation house Ido in Ibadan. The Liturgy was presided over by Rev. Fr. Peter Adeyemi from Osogbo Diocese. The Priests from different Dioceses, consecrated persons from different congregations, our DHS spiritual family, biological families, parishioners of St Anne Ido and all our well-wishers graced this wonderful celebration and it was a memorable one.
The homilist of the day was Rev. Fr. James Sylvester who used the theme “Listen, do not be DAFT”. In his homily, he encouraged us to listen even in midst of distractions in the world. He equally admonished us to avoid attachment to worldly things or things that do not really matter in our journey. He finally encouraged us to be moderate in living our vows and missions, to be considerate and not asking for too much of everything.
After the homily, we were called out, and the rites of profession gradually took place to the end. After our pronouncement of the evangelical vows, we felt our bond with God was sealed as daughters into the Congregation of the Daughters of the Holy Spirit. We appreciate with great admiration this beautiful and new family which we have joined. This also reminded us of the detachment from the things of this world in order to attach to Jesus Christ the Centre of our lives. Unworthy though we are, yet the grace of God has led us thus far and made us into women who embrace humility, self-sacrifice and commitment, women who are free for his mission of love.
As Mary humbly availed herself and stepped forward in response to the message of an angel, we too stepped forward after the reception of the Holy Communion in humility to receive blessing from God who will accompany us for the missions ahead of us. This was followed by missioning. It was a unique and solemn moment which reminded us of the missioning of the apostles of Christ. During this time, the names of the community each of us was to missioned to was publicly announced. We reminded that we are sent to form the house of charity and to participate with our sisters in the mission of love in our various communities.
During the thanksgiving we rejoiced like Mary who sang Magnificat when God looked upon her lowliness, for God himself has robed us with garment of salvation even though we are not worthy. In conclusion, we thank God for the gift of vocation and the grace of our humble availability to respond to the call of God. With heart full of gratitude, we sincerely thank God the Almighty for His faithfulness in our lives. Our gratitude also goes to Sr. Ann Almodovar our superior general and her council for their immeasurable love and support during the course of our intensive formation. We sincerely thank Sr. Anthonia Ayeni and her team, Sr. Cynthia Azughara and her team and all the sisters in the Vice Province of Nigeria for their care and support. We are grateful to our biological families, friends and well-wishers who supported us during the period of our formation.
We appreciate the gift of our beautiful Charism and Spirituality handed to us by Marie Balavenne and Renee Burel.
Joan ADEGOLA, Agnes AHISU, Blessing DANIA, Diana ENTONU, Rosemary NWAUGBO, Paschaline NYIZOMA, Gift OKPOTO, Rosemary OLUWASHINA and Maureen ONYESO – DHS
Published on 22 July 2025
