He is Risen, Alleluia!
Easter is a time of rejoicing of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ that, He died and rose again in order to bring new life to the humanity. We are also inspired by the words of Pope Francis during Easter time. “The grace of God washed us of our sin and we took on Christ; Every time Catholics receive the Eucharist, They are united with the Servant Christ in obedience to his commandment to love as he loved.”
As we celebrate Easter 2020, finally the world is united. In the midst of loss, suffering, something incredible is happening. We are noticing the bonds of the human family. As we live in isolation we all have become one. This year is completely different, and our celebration of Paschal Mystery is different, more inspiring and credible.
In the history during the Holy Thursday two events are very important for us: washing of the feet and the Last supper. As believers, the washing of the feet is the symbol of humility. We began our celebration by washing of the feet of one another in the community and with meaningful liturgy of forgiveness and love. The other event is Last Supper. Jesus share His love with his disciples by breaking of the bread as a symbol of love and unity. It was inner joy for us to prepare the food for our homeless sisters and brothers in the street who are most abandon once in this Pandemic and above all sharing with them. The smiling face of our marginalized brethren brought joy and happiness to us. In the afternoon we had online Mass celebration.
Good Friday, recalls how Jesus “Transformed the greatest iniquity into the greatest love” with his sacrifice of life on the cross. Through the suffering of Jesus we are saved from the sins. As one family in Christ we reflected the “Seven last Words of Jesus”. This reflection was not from any book or internet but sharing our own personal experiences of life which brought us more closely to one another. In the afternoon we had “Veneration of the Cross” online.
Easter vigil of Holy night, we are renew again our baptismal Promises through Water and candle. So the water is the symbol of washing again our original sins and the light is the symbol of newness. We celebrated our Easter Vigil Mass online; we are grateful to our Bishop Honesto of the Cubao Diocese.
Easter Sunday is the day of resurrection of Jesus Christ who rose from the death. This day we kept apart as our Sorority day. It is very memorable day for us. In the morning hours we made a tour to Myanmar, Vietnam, East Timor, Philippines and India sharing our cultures, our home town and our very dear families. It was indeed very enriching experience to know and understand one another more deeply. In the afternoon, we had international food preparation and cultural dances. We also were encourage and enlightened by the word of Sr. Fatima Pui who gave inspirational message. We were also privileged one that we could make a video call to our Mother General Sr. Raquel Gill and extend our greetings.
We are grateful to our Formators who allowed us to experience this year differently. We also thanked this Pandemic time that made us more united, loved and creative.
Prepared by Dionisia, Madalena and Sara
Asian Continental Novitiate New Manila, Philippines
