Sr. Cinzia La Calce, sfp “Has it ever happened to you that you feel at the center At the center of everything, at the center of this universe And as the world goes around, let it go around... Has it ever happened that you feel you are elsewhere Your feet firm on the ground but your weightless soul floating You are so much elsewhere that you can no longer come back But you do not care because it is too beautiful to remain In the places and the time where you found your wings, dreams, and heart It has happened to me and now I know traveling.”                                                  [Negramaro, “Has it ever happened to you”]

Sr. Cinzia La Calce

Sr. Cinzia with the Community of Casetta Nova My Experience on March 2

On the day of my Temporary Profession in the SFP family after three months of preparation, with my head in the clouds, and my heart in an upheaval, everything and everybody around me was anticipating the arrival of that important day.  Then, suddenly several days before, I felt celebration in the air: friends, relatives and Sisters were arriving and I realized that now the time is really here.  Joy takes over; fear and disquiet dissipate.

I made the profession just before the celebration with an initial moment of prayer  -- helping me to pause, root my feet firmly on the ground and become more deeply aware of what I was about to live. In gathering the prayer intentions that many entrusted to me, in that moment I immediately understood that what I was about to live was not only the personal offering of myself and my life to God. It involved many and made me a tangible instrument of God’s love.

A moment of celebration

During the celebration, my emotions did not prevent me from living fully all the various steps of the ritual, showing through my smile the joy and serenity dwelling in my heart, and expressing with a firm tone of voice the depth of my desire to consecrate myself to God.

When I read the formula for the profession at the altar, I clearly understood that the promise I was making to God was a solemn covenant, an alliance that had as protagonists God and I. Like the text of the song above, I felt as if I was at the center of the universe and discovered that this could be a pleasurable sensation. I was the protagonist of an extraordinary event: to offer my life to God through serving my brothers and sisters.

With the profession of the Evangelical Counsels in the presence of the people who are dearest to me, I pronounced aloud the intention to want to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, and Mother Frances -- because in this way of life I have found wings to fly, have given a name to my dreams, and have learned to communicate the most beautiful things that abide in my heart.

A festive moment together

Seeing the moved faces of my family members, friends and the Sisters, I realized that, yes, I was at the center of a special event. But around me, making up my crown and acting as witnesses, were the people I love the most.

The party was the occasion to share the joy of this important step, the starting point for a new life: a journey in the footsteps of Jesus, Saint Francis, Saint Clare and Mother Frances.

Sr. Cinzia La Calce