Sister Rose Nyambura—Final Profession
by Sister Deenan Hubbard

Sister Rose Nyambura's Final Profession
June 8th 2002
By Sister Deenan Hubbard

People in Molo, Kenya have been planning, anticipating, speaking in sparkling tones of the coming day…. and here it is at last: The day when Sister Rose Nyambura Githuka proclaims before her Sisters, her family, the whole of the people of God her commitment to live in chastity, poverty and obedience as a Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word, for the rest of her life.

The mamas of the parish have been cooking all night. The novices and postulants have the church all decorated. The flowers are in place. The altar is set. The dancers are dressed and ready. It's 10:30 a.m. on a clear and sunny Saturday morning on the hill outside St. Mary's Parish church in Molo.

People are gathered in the Church…. it begins…. the liturgical dancers from the outstation in Turi, and the parish and the Sunday school students, the parish youth, the Catholic Women who lead the singing and certainly add to the building spirit of the celebration, bring Sister Rose, her brother and mother, the Sisters, the Clergy (13 no less) and finally the Bishop in procession into the church. Now everyone in the church joins in the singing. The dancing, the singing, the drums, the kiamba, the clapping…. it's actually fun to process in!

The clergy and Bishop reach the altar and our Eucharist commences. Sister Rose's brother reads the first reading. One of the postulants leads the responsorial psalm, another postulant the second reading and the deacon reads the Gospel. Sister Jane Francis Gatiti, as the mistress of ceremonies, stands before the community and explains the Profession Rite.

Sister Olive Bordelon calls Sister Rose forward and her brother and mother present her. Sister Olive asks Sister Rose what it is she requests and Sister Rose declares her desire to make her Perpetual Vows impelled by her faith and desire to live for God alone. Bishop Peter Kairo, Bishop of the Diocese of Nakuru, preaches on living one's life for God.

Sister Rose is again called forth and is asked if she is ready to make this lifelong commitment. She responds: “Yes, I am!” She kneels before the altar and the assembly chants the litany. And then, Sister Rose stands before the assembly, and with her hands cradled in Sister Olive's hands, she vows for life, chastity, poverty and obedience as a Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word. She and Sister Olive ceremoniously sign her act of profession on the altar.

Sister Rose kneels and the Bishop prays the prayer of consecration over her. He blesses her ring and Sister Olive places the ring on Sister Rose's finger, the symbol of her commitment and the assembly raises its collective voice in great jubilation. The Sisters all come forward to welcome, embrace and congratulate her.

Oh, the singing! The clapping! The whistles! All demonstrations of the joy the entire church felt for Sister Rose's dedication of her life to the Incarnate Word.

The remainder of the celebration was filled with more singing, more dancing, more spirit, all in Kiswahili, Kikuyu, Kalenjin, Teso and even English expressions.

Before the final blessing, Sister Rose introduces her mother to the assembly. She explains that her mother was her first teacher and that most of her best virtues and qualities are because of her mother's nurturing. Her mother has such a sweet, proud smile! Then Sister Rose introduces all the CCVIs that gathered for the occasion, from the Mama Mkuu (Sister Olive) herself, to the postulants.

The celebrating continues outside with a sharing of all the special foods characteristic of a Kenyan feast; nyama choma (roasted meat), potatoes, chicken, beef, chapaties, rice, cabbage, carrots…..hmmmm, so good. More dancing and singing by all the different choirs and dance groups and even a couple of skits by the youth accompanies all the feasting. Different groups present Sister Rose with so many wonderful gifts.

Sister Olive is honored with the gifts of a beautiful wood carving of a mama and baby elephant and a kiondo (basket), which, by the way, she knows how to carry in true Kenyan fashion.

And then there is the cake ritual. Agnes, one of the postulants, made three beautiful cakes. She created the decoration on the cake to say: “Serving with gladness.” Sister Rose, good Kikuyu daughter that she is, feeds her mother the first piece of cake. In Kikuyu tradition at a great celebration, the mamas pray over the cake and sing a hymn of thanksgiving while the honoree cuts the cake and feeds the first piece to a person of great importance in their life. Then everybody gets a very small piece of the cake.

And so, our first Kenyan Sister Rose Nyambura Githuka's Perpetual Profession of vows has commemorated the charism and deeper enfleshment of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word from Houston!

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