On Sunday 24 February 2019, the sisters gathered in the chapel at St Joseph’s Convent Kensington (South Australia), and burst into joyous song with “Come sing out our joy to our God.”

They were celebrating the fact that their dear friend, colleague, Associate and Affiliate – Dianne Colborne – was making her Life Commitment as a Sister of Saint Joseph.

The Celebrant for the occasion was Fr James McEvoy, a long-time friend of Dianne’s.

During the Reflection after the Readings, Genevieve (Gen) Ryan rsj focused on the reading from Jeremiah 29 in which God says:

Gen traced the unfolding of God’s plan and call to Dianne by drawing our attention to many occasions and incidents in her life. She told how Dianne started her journey into Josephite life as a very young woman in 1970. Nudged by God’s Spirit, she moved away from the formal journey towards religious life and, in 1971, she came to Adelaide where she lived out her discipleship as a teacher, principal of Catholic Schools and, in due course, a Pastoral Associate in the Adelaide Archdiocese.

As we know, every Religious Order has its charism and spirit. It is difficult to define that charism but once a person is drawn to a particular religious community it is easy to recognise it in her life – especially by those already living it. Long before Dianne made any moves to formalise her commitment, other Josephites recognised our Charism in her.

She is now a Sister with Life Commitment and the Eucharistic celebration during which she professed her vows is still resounding in the hearts of all who were present.

Once the celebrations surrounding her commitment were over, Dianne returned to Western Australia where she is Co-ordinator of a Retreat Centre at Safety Bay, near Perth. There her ministry is one of hospitality and welcome to those who come seeking to deepen their relationship with self, others and God.

View a reflection from the Mass of Dianne’s Life Commitment here (PDF)

View photos from the celebration in the gallery below:

Photos provided by Patricia Keane rsj and Dianne Colborne rsj. Used with permission.