It Takes a Village to Make a Religious Sister
Sr. Melanie Reyes, MSBS compares her vocation story to Jesus’ call of Nathanael. Just as the apostle was led to Jesus by Philip, Sr. Melanie attributes her entering the order of the Missionary Servants of the Blessed Sacrament (MSBS) to several people in her life who have tirelessly borne witness to Christ.
Among the people who played a critical role in her spiritual growth is her mother, whom Sr. Melanie said always had a disposition of trusting in the providence of God. She also credited her catechist, Mrs. Cecilia Ramos who truly exemplified Pope Francis’ call to catechists: “… constantly to go forth to others out of love, to bear witness to Jesus and to talk about Jesus, to proclaim Jesus … because the Lord does it: it is the Lord himself who impels us to go forth.”
Sr. Melanie went on to recount her journey with two priests who were significant influences in her life. The first priest, she said, took great pains to celebrate mass with people living in remote areas, going by boat from village to village. He constantly sought to be with the people, and it was this witnessing by the priest that spurred a young Melanie to love the faith more. Later, another priest would introduce Sr. Melanie to the MSBS order and inspire within her what she considers an awakening to religious vocation. This priest went on to become a student in Sr. Melanie’s Canon Law class, which she sees as an opportunity to thank him.
After joining the order, Sr. Melanie continued to meet individuals who were models of holiness. She described Sr. Rosa who in quietly going about her daily routine of prayer, mission work, and serving those at the convent, gave Sr. Melanie a better understanding of MSBS’ mission, which, simply put is to spend time with people. Finally, Sr. Melanie spoke about the current superior of MSBS, Sr. Rosanna Favero who is a tireless missionary, always working on knowing and responding to the needs of the people, and one who always has the capacity to see light in every situation, especially the difficult ones.
The MSBS congregation is focused on mission animation and cooperation. They are present in several countries, including the Philippines, Italy, Myanmar, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The formation towards becoming a fully professed religious takes around 14 years, and includes the stages of aspirancy, postulancy, novitiate, and juniorate prior to taking perpetual vows. Sr. Melanie shared that while her initial years of formation may not be typically considered mission work, her particular mission during that period was to offer the difficulties and struggles she faced for the good of others, and to be available for the needs of her community.
Sr. Melanie is also a licentiate in Canon Law and teaches at the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines. She shared that teaching was initially outside her comfort zone but is something she went on to do as she gives all that she is to the mission. She added that teaching helps her to realise that the mission of all religious is to be an extension of the love of God to others.
Sr. Melanie shared her vocation story to a group of parishioners at the Following the Habit event held on 6th July 2019 in SCIC. (by Kathlin Ambrose)
