“…when we live in permanent union with Jesus Christ, we spread the perfume of the Lord around us…” Father Theodore Ratisbonne On the day of the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and also the day that the Church celebrates religious life, we – Andrea, Maria, Nancy and Lúcia made our first commitment by vows in the Congregation of Notre Dame de Sion. The celebration took place at Ein Karem’s chapel at the convent of the sisters and brothers of Sion in Jerusalem, and Fr. Carlos NDS was the Presider. “The walk of Joseph and Mary to bringing the child to be presented helps us to think about the journey of those two years that you did until you got here. You Maria, Nancy, Andrea and Lucia are sent to be light among the nations. Because we receive our call from God and therefore part of God’s plan in history, our being Sion is not static, Sion is an action. You have had the chance to experience the novitiate here – it …

Ein Karem, Friday, 02 February 2018 Time passes quickly and God’s promise to send rain in due season does not visit us often, or is it that human beings by their life style have caused extreme changes to occur in our climate throughout the world? Christmas celebrations and New Year wishes filled the last days of December and the first days of January. In our last preparation sessions, we were asking and searching in the Constitution and the Formation directory to understand the Role of the Stage II Formator and the Role of the Accompanying Sister. Writing our living will and organising our return to our home base was also part of the first days of January 2018. Formation in the Congregational Novitiate is not about necessarily returning to one’s home country but to be prepared to be sent to any country where Sion is present, so Maria`s first community after her vows on February 2nd will be Ecce Homo as she continues to stay for another 3 moths to learn basic Hebrew before she …

Today we celebrate the feast of Mary and Joseph, presenting Jesus in the Temple, as in accordance with the law. Others were also involved in this presentation too, such as Simeon and Anna, who pronounced Prophecies on Jesus and his mother. History tells us about the feast: This Feast of the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple on February 2nd became the celebration of the World Day of Consecrated Life established by John Paul II in 1997. Today on the combined feasts of the presentation of Jesus by Joseph and Mary in the Temple, and of consecrated life, I would like to present to you the four women who, during this last two years, prepared themselves here in Jerusalem for their consecration within the congregation of Our Lady of Sion. Andrea Chacon Carmona from Costa Rica, Central America Lucia de Fatima Alves Nogueira from Brazil, South America Maria Odor  Malau  from Indonesia, Asia, and Nancy Mena Fernandez from Costa Rica, Central America During these last two years, we the Novitiate Formation Community, (Sr. Colette, …

“But of Sion it will be said, ‘Everyone was born there,’ her guarantee is the Most High.” (Psalm 87,5) On January 20th, we had a beautiful mass at Ecce Homo. Fr. Rafic Nahra from the Kehila Community (Hebrew Speaking Catholics in Israel) celebrated the mass and Fr. Carlos NDS, Fr. Jose Maria NDS and some other priests concelebrated. We, the Contemplative and Apostolic Sisters, the Brothers of Sion, volunteers and friends of Sion felt a great joy in thanksgiving for one hundred and seventy-six years since Mary´s sign to Alphonse Ratisbonne at St. Andre delle Fratte Church in Rome. We also thank God for the life of Br. Cristóvão Oliveira Silva NDS and for his journey in the congregation, since he made his perpetual vows on this day in the congregation of Our Lady of Sion. Mary was a woman of wisdom, silence and courage, who carried the word of God in her womb and who today invite us to continue walking and being a witness of the love of God wherever we are. Father …

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” Psalm 119,105 The Spanish-Portuguese Biblical Program began on Saturday 6th January with seventeen students from Spain, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Brazil attending the course. This program is coordinated by the Brothers of Sion who are also teaching in it. They also have Anne Catherine NDS and other professors from abroad presenting. The focus of the course is to offer students an experience of being in touch with the land, and with the people of the land. It is very important to understand the historical and the theological contexts in which the bible was written. It digs more deeply into interpretation and understanding of the bible, enabling students to live our faith more authentically. Some of the specific objectives of the program are to: renew the knowledge of the Bible in the land that it was born; discover the roots of Christianity in the Jewish Tradition that shaped the religious experience of Jesus, his disciples and the early Church; know better …