On October 16, in the Church of the Provincial House in Peekskill, a great joy was experienced: the Perpetual Profession of Sr Lisa Grace. The sisters gathered for this event, were able to taste the "goodness" of the Lord and the strength of His love that continues to love, to call, to send his consecrated women to the Church and to the world through our religious Family.

We thank Sr Lisa Grace for her generous "yes" and let us listen to her words expressing what she experienced in the day of her total self-giving to the One who has always chosen her.

“If I could describe my experience of Saturday, October 16, 2021 in a single word it would be “joy.” Joy is what I especially thank Jesus for, what I remember most about that day. His unfailing love, tenderness and faithfulness that came into my heart as I gave myself completely to Him through perpetual profession of vows of obedience, poverty and chastity overflowed and left me with a profound inner assurance, a confidence that He will always direct my life and will never leave me alone, even though my own weakness and life’s inevitable changes seem to complicate things.

Since then, I have realized, “This is what St. Francis meant when he spoke of God’s true and perfect joy.” Father Thomas Kreiser, who celebrated the Mass in the Chapel of St. Margaret of Cortona at our Provincial House in Peekskill, New York, reminded me that this vocation is a gift to the entire Church. He also referred to Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins in Matthew’s Gospel, chosen because it spoke to me of the importance of awareness- the “oil” I must have to persevere so that the love of Jesus’ Sacred Heart can be shared.  And so I must constantly choose conversion through prayer, silence, a spirit of collaboration and gratitude.

I thank God for showing me His face in the sisters, our faithful Lay Associates and so many other people He has placed on my path. I hope, more and more, in the words of Fr. Gregory, to “learn to do good…and then leave the rest to Providence.”