Vocation Weekends and Other Events
REFLECTIONS ON FINAL VOWS
On the 25th Sept. Kate Atkins professed her final
vows at St. Benedicts Narrabundah. People came to the celebration
from all over Australia. In this article Kate reflects on what
it means to her to have taken final vows and lets us know about
her story leading up to this great day.
On reflecting upon my final vows I see the first
thing that has stood out for me is that I am extremely grateful
to the Lord for my life and to the Lord for calling me to the
Missionaries of God’s Love. Secondly that I have been loved through
out my life and in each stage of my journey the Lord has blessed
me with amazing people who have reflected to me something of
the love of God and lastly that the Lord has been gracious to
me in answering the first prayer I ever really prayed in giving
me the strength that I have needed throughout my life.
The journey began thirty-one years earlier in 1973 in Port Lincoln in South
Australia I was born into a strong catholic family and my parents became involved
with the Charismatic renewal when I was two.
In 1991 I moved to Adelaide to study and I completed an Arts Degree in Philosophy
and English and a Graduate Diploma in Legal studies. At the end of 1991 I became
involved with a Catholic Youth Group and began to experience God’s Love for
me in a personal way. I also experienced for the first time consciously began
to experience release of the charismatic gifts. I had been praying for God’s
Strength as I realized that I needed more then my good will to live out a Christian
life. God answered my prayer with the gift of His Spirit.
In 1994 I felt a call to join Disciples of Jesus Community and felt that the
Lord was asking me to be open to consecrated life. I spent the following two
years finishing my study and praying about the drawing to consecrated life,
that I was experiencing.
I joined the Missionaries of God’s Love Sisters in Adelaide in1996 when I was
22. and at this time I had the privilege and enjoyed working with St Paul’s
College and working with the young people in Disciples of Jesus Community.
I n 1999 I moved with the sisters to Canberra and spent three years working
with the University of Canberra Chaplaincy team and also began studying Theology
part time by correspondence. I n 2002 I moved to Darwin and had the opportunity
to work with a Marist youth Leadership programme in O’Loughlin College. The
two years in Darwin were very enriching ones as I had the experience of mixing
with different cultures and found the exposure Indigenous cultures to be a
great privilege.
This year we have relocated to Melbourne where we have begun a study house
and this has given me the opportunity to focus on study.
So here after my vows I can say with confidence that my desire is to be able
to be nothing but a good Missionary of God’s Love and live fully the joy that
this life brings.
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