Contemplative Sisters in St. Louis met with their link Sister to the Congregation, Sr. Mirian Colala, at Immaculate Heart Convent on July 11, 2017. Sr. Mirian spoke with the Sisters about having the courage to go forth as missionaries.
“We are missionaries here, right where we are. You can be in different countries as a missionary through your heart and prayers. We touch the entire world every day through our prayers,” Sr. Mirian told the Sisters.
She also spoke about vocations for contemplative life and encouraged Sisters to pray for vocations.
We are missionaries here, right where we are. We touch the entire world every day through our prayers. Mirian Colala, CGS
Contemplative Sisters pray for international Apostolic Sisters
Sr. Mirian lit a candle. As she passed it around the circle of Contemplative Sisters, she invited each Sister to think about one country they would like to name out loud and pray for.
“Good Shepherd is an international congregation. Our Sisters touch the lives of people all around the world. Some of them live and work in dangerous and challenging places. They need our daily prayers,” Sr. Mirian said.
As the flickering candle circulated and changed hands, Sisters called out the countries France, Brazil, Mexico, Africa, Korea, Lebanon, Syria and Venezuela. Sr. Mirian spoke about the suffering that is taking place in some of these countries and shared a prayer from her office.
As she cradled the candle, Sr. Josephine Fritz said, “We better pray hard because it’s going to take a miracle to fix some of the problems in Korea and other places in the world where our Sisters are missioned. I feel so sad that our Sisters in Korea are sandwiched between two communist countries, China and North Korea. They need our prayers.”
When the Sisters had completed the candle ceremony and their discussion about international missions, Sr. Mirian went around the circle once more and handed each Sister a five decade rosary. The fragrant rosaries had been crafted in Rome and were made from pressed rose petals. Pope Francis
had blessed the rosaries.
Sr. Mirian then led the Sisters in singing the Happy Birthday song to honor Sr. Sarah Tolento on her 87th birthday. They sang the song to her in English, and then in Spanish.
A wonderful visit
“Our visit with Sr. Mirian was wonderful,” said Sr. Dorothy Vogel. “We like to know where all of our Sisters are missioned and hear how they are doing so that we can pray for them,” she said.
Sr. Josephine said, “Our time with Sr. Mirian was very informative. She refreshed our memories about the organization of the congregation. She inspired us.”
Sr. Mirian expressed deep gratitude for being with the Sisters. She said, “I love everything about our contemplative lifestyle and our ministry of prayer. And I love each one of our Sisters. Being with them was a real blessing for me.”
Sr. Mirian is traveling to each community of Contemplative Sisters in the Province and will complete her visits on September 7. Sr. Mirian is from Ecuador. She will attend courses in English as a Second Language in St. Louis before returning to Rome.
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