3 August 2015 was a remarkable day in the annals of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Novitiate, Bellefonte – Shillong wherein we saw the highest number of novices with the entry of the 18 new novices.

In a simple yet meaningful ceremony the eighteen young girls were received into the novitiate by Sr. Isabella Suja, Provincial and entrusted them to the care of the Novice Mistress, Sr. Rosa Pyngrope. The novices enacted the scene of the vessels that boasted about their qualities and capabilities but finally the Master chose the clay pot, which allowed itself to be moulded and shaped according to his designs. Taking the lesson from the vessels, the novices want to assume the characteristics of the clay, which is pliable in the hands of those who are entrusted with the mission of forming them to become authentic Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. Sr. Isabella too gave a nice reflection on the theme “The Potter and the Clay”. With determination they expressed their desire in a song “We are vessels of Clay” composed by a Pauline nun, Sr. Caroline Duia.

The ceremony took on a moving note when the Novice Mistress along with the Novices knelt down in front of the Help of Christians entrusting the Novices to her maternal care. This was followed by a personal greeting to each novice. At the end of the service they were being congratulated by all present; the Sisters and novices from Bellefonte and the Sisters from the neighbouring communities.