A new batch of Sisters from 10 different congregations have begun the new academic year 2023-2024. Of these, 13 Sisters are from Sri Lanka while the rest are from different countries. A part of the program was held at Divya Darshana Retreat House at Ampitiya from the 31st of January to the 3rd of March 2023.
The objective of the residential program was to give a holistic approach to the formative process and to in-corporate qualified and experienced lecturers’ expertise for the benefit of the student Sisters.
Living in an inter-congregational community was indeed an enriching experience. The program included lectures, excursions, cultural events, recreation, spiritual guidance, day of recollection, confessions, faith sharing, preparation for the season of Lent, and many other daily spiritual activities.
The Sisters also had the chance to visit holy sites of other religions.
Novices’ Get-together 2023
The annual get-together of the novices was held from the 26th to the 29th of May 2023 at Eymard Campell Retreat House, Hanwella. 83 Novices from 14 different religious congregations participated in the event. Among them 72 were men novices while 11 of them female novices.
The resource person at the program was Rev. Fr. Nishantha Cooray, TOR. The Provincial Superior of the Salvatorian Sisters Rev. Sr. Shiroma Kurumbalapitiya, SDS was present at the program on behalf of the Conference of the Major Religious Superiors. The whole program was positively evaluated by the novices.
The program had different components: liturgical celebrations, input sessions, group sharing, cultural events, etc.
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Spiritual Directors' Training Program
A month-long program aimed at training Spiritual Directors was held from the 1st to the 31st of August 2023 at Tissa Balasuriya Daham Ketha, Andiambalama. Ten sisters from seven different religious congregations followed the program with Fr. S. Rex Constantine CMF as the program coordinator. The participants came from the following congregations: Holy Cross – 1, Perpetual Help – 2, Holy Angels – 2, Holy Family (Jaffna Unit) – 1, Salvatorians – 1, Charity – 1, and the Franciscans – 2. On the final day certificates were presented to participants. The evaluation reflected that the participants have benefitted a lot from this one-month program. The following served as resource persons during the 4-weeks: Fr. Rex Constatine CMF, Fr. Jeyaraj Rasiah SJ, Fr. Roshan Silva OMI, Fr. Justin Chawhan SSS, Fr. Baylon Perera SJ, and Sr. Dhammi Fernando RGS.
Growing Gracefully Into The Golden Years Of Life
A 3-day program called “Growing gracefully into the golden years of life” for religious men and women in the age range of 55 – 65 took place in Tewatte Retreat House from the 17th to the 19th of September. 18 Sisters from different Congregations and one Claretian priest participated in the program. The resource person was Rev. Fr. Roshan Silva OMI, the President of CMRS and the Provincial Superior of the Oblate Province of Colombo. According to the evaluation by the participants, the program was very beneficial and was conducted in a lively way.
