"Lord you have called me, here I am"

In the twentieth year of the anniversary of the female branch of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, on October 11, 2008, six sisters asked God and His Holy Church for perseverance in following Christ their Bridegroom by making final vows and ten novices asked for God's merciful love and a share in the Religious Community of the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará by making first vows.

Our Spiritual Father, Fr. Diego Pombo, IVE, and Mother Consolata, SSVM, our Vicar General flew all the way from Italy to celebrate this special occasion with us. They along with our Religious Family joyfully welcomed all the sisters who professed final and first temporal vows. The 2001-2002 Novitiate class, the first big class in the Province of the Immaculate Conception, Sr. Maria Theotokos Adams, Sr. Mary of the Incarnation Creeden, Sr. Mary of the Sacred Heart Gaes, Sr. Myriam Almah Guerrero, Sr. Maria Guadalupana, and Sr. Maria del Fiat Miola professed their final vows and affirmed their disposition to give themselves entirely to God by seeking perfect charity according to our Constitutions. They were presented with the three insignias of profession: the wedding ring, the crown, and the Constitutions.

First temporal vows of Sr. Mary Wisdom of the Cross, Sr. Maria Virgen de Anahuac, Sr. Mary of the Divine Innocence, Sr. Mary of the Blessed Sacrament, Sr. Maria Advocata Nostra, Sr. Maria Virgen de Acahuato, Sr. Maria Mater Corde Affixa, Sr. Mary Joy of Martyrs, Sr. Mary Handmaid of the Lord and Sr. Maria Corona de los Santos were received by Mother Mercy our Provincial Superior. Their white novice veils were replaced by blue veils to signify their total, exclusive consecration to Christ.

Along with other priests of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, his Eminence Theodore Cardinal McCarrick presided over the Holy Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. In his homily, Cardinal McCarrick commented on the vocation to religious life.

The hearts of all sixteen sisters professing vows burned with the willingness to say, “Lord you have called me, here I am" whether they were novices just this past year or six years ago. They heard the Lord call them to be His spouses. Now together they profess vows, to give their lives to the Bridegroom either for this year to come, or forever, for the rest of their lives. Truly this was a moment for the whole Church to rejoice. God loves His spouses so much and His love will always be with them, continually giving them the grace to say yes to His call and without hesitation. The angels rejoice in Heaven because of religious vocations, those that are committed to taking the steps here on Earth towards the glorious kingdom of God in Heaven that is to come.

We thank God for the gifts of our vocations to religious life and the grace to respond generously to His call. We ask our Lady of Lujan for many more holy vocations to the Universal Church and in particular to our Institute Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará and we also ask for perseverance especially to perpetual vows and final perseverance.