First Profession of Sister Maria Rose OP
This past Saturday, Sister Maria Rose of the Crown of Thorns OP professed her first vows, consecrating herself to the Lord in this way of life for three years. It is a momentous occasion in each sister’s life when she first pledges herself by vow to remain faithful to the One who has Himself promised faithfulness to her.
It is our custom that the sister who is to be professed reads the first reading at the Profession Mass. There are several options for each of the readings, and Sister chose a reading from Isaiah, a beautiful text:
Hear then, O Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. Thus says the Lord who made you, your help, who formed you from the womb: Fear not, O Jacob, my servant, the darling whom I have chosen. I will pour out water upon the thirsty ground, and streams upon the dry land; I will pour out my spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing upon your descendants. They shall spring up amid the verdure like poplars beside the flowing waters. One shall say, “I am the Lord’s,” another shall be named after Jacob, and this one shall write on his hand, “The Lord’s,” and Israel shall be his surname.
After the Gospel is read, the Sister prostrates before the prioress.
Prioress: “What do you seek?”
Sister: “God’s mercy and yours.”
The homily follows this brief questioning. Fr. Lynx Soliman, the principal celebrant, gave a beautiful homily tying the image of poplars beside flowing waters from the first reading to Sister Maria Rose’s vocation as a cloistered nun.
After the homily, the prioress questions the Sister regarding her intention to make profession:
Prioress: “Do you wish to make profession
according to the Constitutions of the Nuns of the Order of Preachers?”
Sister: “I do wish it, with the help of God and yours.”
Prioress: “May the Lord bring to perfection what he has begun.”
“I, Sister Maria Rose of the Crown of Thorns,
make profession and promise obedience
to God and to Blessed Mary and to Blessed Dominic
and to the Master of the Order of Friars Preachers
and to you, Sister Mary Martin de Porres of Jesus,
prioress of this monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary, Summit, New Jersey,
and to your successors according to the Rule of Blessed Augustine
and the Constitutions of the Nuns of the Order of Preachers,
that I will be obedient to you and to your successors for three years.”
After the profession, the newly professed sister’s scapular is then blessed by the celebrant, and she receives the black veil with the words:
“Accept the sacred veil by which you may be recognized as a
house of prayer for your Lord and a temple of intercession for all people.”
The prioress and novice mistress replace the white veil of a novice with the black veil of a professed sister while two beautiful chants are sung by the choir:
“Veni, sponsa Christi, accipe coronam, quam tibi Dominus praeparavit in aeternum.”
Come, Spouse of Christ, receive the crown which the Lord has prepared for you from eternity.
“Posuit signum in faciem meam ut nullum, praeter eum, amatorem admittam.”
He has placed a seal upon my brow that I may admit no other lover but Him.
After the conclusion of the Mass, Sister Maria Rose headed to the sacristy to sign the book of Profession, which is then signed and witnessed by the celebrating priest, the prioress, and two additional sisters. With the next three years of her life duly signed away, Sister then went down to greet her guests at her reception in St. Dominic’s Hall. While none of her family was able to attend due to ongoing COVID border closures (Sister is from overseas and her family is spread across South Africa, Australia, and England), a friend from the US was able to attend along with numerous friends of the monastery, our confessor Msgr Guenther, Fr. Lynx Soliman, and Sister’s seminarian prayer partner, Deacon Matthew Gonzalez. Many more friends and relatives watched the profession online through the livestream.
The full Mass can be watched HERE: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bCDHbLEN0E
