It was indeed a great festivity of faith at St. Benno’s, where I was allowed to say “Yes – forever” , reciting my final vows in front of our Provincial Superior Sr. Rosa Fischer and a church filled to the last seat. It was a wonderful present to me to be given the opportunity to celebrate this festive service within the parish community of St. Benno’s, where I have been a pastoral assistant since autumn 2010. At this place my mission as a Sister Of The Divine Saviour has become concrete every day.

The parish of St. Benno’s had made every effort to make this day a festive and unforgettable one, starting from the many people who celebrated with us, the extra journal with lots of impressions and good wishes, up to the cryptic and entertaining sketches and contributions in the parish hall. Thus we sisters were reminded of the fact that we have not only been living and working in the parish since 1904, but have really become an integral part of the community.

But back to the service: Parish priest Ludwig Sperrer celebrated the Mass with five concelebrants and some of my course colleagues in the deacon and pastoral service. In his sermon parish priest Sperrer referred to the text I had chosen for the invitations: “Strength grows with the way…” He linked the experience that walking along a path increases your physical strength to the passage in the Gospel which tells us how the disciples of Emmaus – after the great disappointment of Jesus’ death – gained new hope through the encounter with the Risen Lord. Thus he encouraged us all to live according to our calling (not only as nuns, but as those who have been baptized).

After that I was allowed to answer the call, “Sister Sara, come!” by once again professing my vows to live according to the evangelical counsels as a Sister Of Niederbronn.

I was truly moved when after the Litany of All Saints, holding the burning candle of my baptism in my hand, I took my final vows and entirely entrusted my life to God after many years of gaining experience of what it is like to live as a Sister Of The Divine Saviour.

After the service a standing buffet was provided in the square in front of the church to give people the opportunity to meet, talk and offer good wishes. The gathering was accompanied by the local band ‘Die Andren’ , who played traditional dance music to entertain us. This joyful day finally came to an end with the Vespers, when we said thanks again and many people did not only sing the Magnificat, Mary’s song of praise, but could be encouraged to even dance in the church.

“Strength grows with the way…” – this is an experience I can already draw on and I wish everybody the same experience – all those who let Jesus Christ lead and accompany them on their way.