Sister Denise Montagne, IHM
October 29, 2016Celebration of the Final Profession of Sister Denise Montagne, IHM
Denise Montagne's Final Profession
Request after Sister Jean Louis testifies my readiness and invites me to perpetual profession:
Sister Ellen, Sister Jean Louise and Sisters,
“God you have called me, I come to do your Will.” This has been my prayer to our loving God every day since I joined our Congregation.
Since the day of my first profession I have asked of God to bless me with a faithful heart, with love to embrace the needs of this world, with wisdom and knowledge to help me bring the Gospel with all my being. I have tried to follow Jesus with the IHM Spirit and Charism offering myself entirely to God and God’s Kingdom as a Sister Servant of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Supported by our sisters in community to be a faithful daughter of Mary, with a joyful and loving spirit of service to the people of God, relying on divine providence and responding to the changing needs of the times, I have walked together with them in a joyful, loving, hospitable and self-emptying spirit. Our Church has taught me and guided me in this journey of consecration, to serve God’s people with a pure heart, with selfless intention, offering myself to the spiritual needs, and has helped me to become a disciple sent to be a clear and understandable prophetic witness to the presence of God to the world.
Today I come with a humble heart and spirit, and of my own free will request of you, my sisters and the Church that I may profess vows of Chastity, Poverty and Obedience as a Sister Servant of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the rest of my life. It is my intention and desire to live according to Gospel principles and the spirit of the IHM Congregation.
Sister Denise Montagne, IHM
October 29, 2016
Welcome by Sister Ellen Maroney, IHM
On behalf of all the Sisters of IHM, I am delighted to welcome all of you to our IHM Center home for the celebration of this very special moment in Denise’s life as a Sister, Servant of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is a special moment for all of us as well. As we look around this chapel, we see a snapshot of Denise’s life: her family, and her many friends, sisters, students, and those who have shared her life’s journey and who have come from places far and wide to be here for this moment.
Today, we celebrate the commitment of this woman whose passion for the consecrated life has led her on a journey from Lima, Peru, to Philadelphia, back to Peru, and finally to the Scranton IHMs.
But it is her journey of deep inner self-discovery and grace that has led her to this day, this moment, and for which we are filled with joy and gratitude: gratitude, Denise, for your trust in God when our world seems enveloped in uncertainty and darkness; for your commitment to join with your sisters to embrace a life of radical interdependence in order to bring about God’s dream for this beautiful, yet wounded world; for your willingness to steep yourself in prayer and contemplation of the God who loves you and sustains you always; and gratitude to our God who has called you, nurtured you, and patiently waited for your “Yes” with a love beyond all measure. Today, you witness, not to the glitz and glamour of passing fame or fortune or to superficial relationships, but to an authentic, honest, and deep vision of love and service for the good of all, especially the most vulnerable in our world. Your willingness to search for beauty, goodness, and truth and to gently help your students and others find their own inner, true selves is a clear sign of the depth of God’s grace working in and through you.
Denise, your journey has taken you to many places and you have touched, and been touched by, many hearts. As you wrote in the prayer in your booklet: “Filled with God’s grace, my Lord strengthens me, embracing my being with…tenderness. Favored by love, in love I will walk – with trust and with truth, God’s light will guide me.”
With the Leadership Team and all your IHM sisters, I congratulate you, Denise, and promise you our love and companionship today and always. And now, let us continue our celebration with your profession of faith!
Pictured L - R: Sister Kathryn Kurdziel, Director of Formation, Sister Denise Montage, Sister Ellen Maroney, IHM Congregation President, Sister Mary Persico, witness and Sister Fran Fasolka, witness
