As juniorate Sisters our main mission is our study, which requires responsibility and personal commitment. At Bethany, our community is made up of Sisters coming from 4 different countries: Indonesia, Pakistan, Vietnam, and China. In community with us there are also 3 Italian Sisters. Our diversity is our richness and we consider it very precious in order to discover the true meaning and beauty of consecrated life.
The Covid-19 pandemic has made this year special and has also changed our life-style. Everything came to a halt during the lockdown, yet we continued our ordinary life and became more creative! We attended our courses from home, and thanks to the technology we all passed the exams with good marks.
In July we got the opportunity of spending a week at the seaside at the Torvaianica’s community. The weather was nice and we enjoyed long walks on the beach, some of us improved their swimming skills while others learned to stay afloat. Staying out in the sun on the beach felt really good after so much time spent inside.
We also used our time to learn more about our Saint and Blessed Sisters, with the help of Sr Paola, Sr Chiara and sr Wandamaria we reflected on what they can still say to us today.
Revisiting the history of faith, holiness, courage and simplicity lived by many Sisters before us makes us appreciate their testimony in ways that are always new. Like us they lived in community and had a service, yet it seemed that they had something special which we no longer have. In our reflection we understood that everything depended on their initial motivation, the first “Yes” said with faith and deep happiness to God. We are committed to be faithful to God’s love in our daily life. He is the one who loved us first, and we are called to respond to His love day in day out. This is the only way to be happy.
We all appreciated the time spent between leisure and formation, which gave us the chance of renewing our motivations and return happily to our ordinary life and continue our journey towards holiness. We thank God for all that we lived in summer and also the Sisters who shared with us their time offering us their knowledge and their testimony.

Sr Mitaria H.
“Bethany”, Rome