“New beginnings are always scary, but they’re also exciting”. Friday, January 27th 2023, the feast day of our patroness St Angela Merici was indeed an exciting and joyous day for the Sisters of Italian zone as we commenced UFLA with four members for the first time in Italian zone. They are: Ms. Fortunata Romagnosi, Mrs Glenda Nuqui, Mr. Rolly Nuqui and Mrs Susanna Anile.
“New beginnings are always scary, but they’re also exciting”. Friday, January 27th 2023, the feast day of our patroness St Angela Merici was indeed an exciting and joyous day for the Sisters of Italian zone as we commenced UFLA with four members for the first time in Italian zone. They are: Ms. Fortunata Romagnosi, Mrs Glenda Nuqui, Mr. Rolly Nuqui and Mrs Susanna Anile.
“Well begun is half done….” goes the saying. You cannot be great at the start, but you have to start to be great. So, making a beginning is important - Ramkumar Gupta.
We began our new apostolate at Santa Maria Maddalena community, Monte San Savino with the prayer service conducted by Sr Leena Kishori the coordinator of Italian zone. The participants were welcomed to the prayer service in an Indian traditional way with Aarti and Tikka (applying kumkuma and chandana). Sr Mary Sarojini welcomed the Sisters and the participants with her charming and gracious words. Thereafter the animator of UFLA Sr Jacintha P. D Souza explained their desire to join UFLA and then they were accepted as Ursuline Franciscan Lay Associates by Sr Leena Kishori, which was symbolically done by lighting the lamps and placing them on the altar as a sign of their self-offering to God. Then the formula of contact period/admission was read out by each candidate pronouncing their names and signing the form in the presence of the Sisters of three communities. The Rosaries and the images of St Angela Merici with a special prayer was distributed to the candidates and they were so delighted to have them.
St Angela Merici says: “Do something, get moving, be confident, risk new things, stick with it, get on your knees, and then be ready for big surprises”. With grateful hearts we remained before God for the gift of St Angela Merici to the church and to us Ursulines in particular through whose intercession we received the blessings and grace to begin UFLA in Italy. We thanked God for the zeal and desire of UFLA members and their families. With love and gratitude, we felicitated and wished them the showers of blessings of God by singing the hymn “The showers of blessing”. Each one of them was greeted with a flower pot and concluded by a festal meal.
I express my heartfelt and sincere thanks to Sr Mary Sarojini and community for their interest to contact UFLA members and for motivating them to join our Lay Association. Hats off to you dear Sisters. May God bless us and help us to get moving with confidence to risk new things each day like our Patron Saints, St Angela Merici and St Francis of Assisi and be true channels of peace to the broken world of today.