Rituals & traditions

Ritual

Ritual is an activity that presents a series of symbolic actions used in a religious or other ceremony as part of prayer and or worship. A ritual pertains to the performance of prescribed form of actions related to a function of religious nature (rite), e.g. a ritual of the profession of vows, of consecration of virgins, of ordination to priesthood or episcopacy, of baptism, confirmation

Tradition

Tradition is a custom or way of doing that has existed for a long time among a particular group of people. A tradition expresses values underlying behaviours. Tradition is a set of beliefs or customs that a group expresses with consistency by action in their lives. Tradition can be cultural or religious. Tradition is what makes beliefs and values real and visible in the life of a group. A tradition is handed on from one generation to the next among the members that believe and live for the values underlying the tradition

Our Institute’s Rituals

Observance/Practice	Description
Observing Easter Triduum	From Holy Thursday to Holy Saturday vigil Mass, strict silence in the community, fasting on Good Friday, individual prayer, and not praying as a community to attend to the suffering of Jesus in His Passion during the three days.
Profession rite	Use of burning candles to represent the light of Christ who must be present and kept alive through the life of virtue in the individual and in the world by the life of one being consecrated. Prostrating before the pronouncement of final vows as a symbol of total self-giving through death to self. Singing “Veni sponsa…Come bride of Christ”, translated by the late Sr. Cecilia Nyangoma: sung before pronouncing the final vows, symbolizing the eagerness of the one responding to belong to Christ alone.
Holding a vigil of prayer when a member dies	Holding a vigil of prayer when a member of the Institute dies.
Ringing a mourning bell	Ringing a bell in a special tone/sound of mourning chime to inform the community of a member’s death and immediately assembling in the chapel to pray for the deceased.
Making a novena before special celebrations	Making a novena before the celebration of special days: Feasts of our Patron Saints as mentioned in the Directory pg. 195 par.3.
Holding Holy Hour on First Fridays	Holding Holy Hour on First Fridays to honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Community functions	Attending community functions of meals and praying together.
Wearing a crown of thorns during final vows	Wearing a crown of thorns by one making final vows, symbolizing one’s readiness to carry the cross of Christ until death.
Confession	Going to confession once a week in the formation house and every two weeks for the professed Sisters.
Closing meal time with a prayer/song	Closing meal time after saying the Thanksgiving prayer with a prayer or song to Our Lady, “We fly to you O blessed Virgin….. Sub tuum…”.
Ending a retreat	Ending a retreat with “Deogratias, Thanks be to God” in response to a superior’s intonation of “Benedicas Domini”.
Special devotions	To Blessed Virgin, Our Lady of Good Counsel, St. Joseph Husband of Mary (19th March), Immaculate Conception (8th December). Every community to the Holy Spirit through keeping the 9 days of intense prayer with the Church before Pentecost and when reciting “Come Holy Spirit….” before any community activity and to patron saints of every community. Every devotion is marked by a period of prayer (novena), High Mass on feast day, and a good meal. On the day of Saint Joseph, domestic workers of casual labor are given a day off to celebrate with us.

Sound tradition of our Institute

Some of our Institute’s traditions have become outdated and discarded by the congregation’s General chapters and others by liberal, ignorant and misguided members. A sound tradition is that which is vibrant, resonant with gospel teaching and able to energize to lead into an action that expresses a value or a virtue of religion, e.g. Faith, Hope and charity. On the other hand obsolete or outdated traditions must be discarded to free the human spirit of faith

Tradition	Description
Wearing daily	A crucifix on the chest A veil A ring on the left third finger for the finally professed
Tridium observance	No ringing of bells or drumming, no talking: three days of Holy Week, ending with the Mass of Holy Thursday until Vigil of Holy Saturday.
Election of General Superior	All nearby sisters assemble to congratulate the newly elected Superior General.
Holy Thursday meal	Served by the superior of the community.
Spiritual conference	Securing a spiritual conference from a priest/speaker often once a month.
Personal responsibility	Individual reporting to the superior or the community about what has been lost, broken, or damaged by one’s hands.
Representation by superior	The superior, including the Superior General, represents and speaks for the community to the outside world.
Approaching the superior	Explaining one’s personal needs to the superior and getting approval for their realization.
Response to transfer	Joyous response to a transfer or new appointment by saying “Deogratias” when the superior announces it face-to-face.
Spiritual growth reminders	The superior reminds community members of the need for spiritual growth.
Fasting reminders during Lent	Occasional reminders from others to fast, especially on Fridays, with little food served and “something” the community is fond of kept away.
Mother General’s travel	Providing a private vehicle and driver for Mother General’s official travels.
Short spiritual readings	Short spiritual readings from the Bible, Constitutions, or other sources before breakfast and/or lunch.
Catholic action on Sundays	As a community, doing Catholic action/family visits every Sunday.
Honoring Sunday	Refraining from manual work, except cooking, to mark Sunday as a day of prayer.
End of the year ritual	Community gathering on 31st December to evaluate the year and perform a ritual of reconciliation.
Saying the Angelus	Saying the Angelus at the strike of the bell wherever one is, e.g., in the fields.
Mid-day and night prayers	Breaking the day’s routine with recollection before lunch for mid-day examination of consciousness, and doing similarly at night prayer.
Monthly visit to the superior	Monthly visit to the superior to discuss one’s work, health, and relationships in and outside the community.
Public fault proclamation	Proclaiming one’s fault in public every Friday.
Wearing blue attire	Wearing blue attire without lace, with the dress/skirt long below the knee.
Manual work attire	Free to wear “akatambara” while in the fields or doing manual work.
Sweater color restrictions	Acceptable sweater colors but no yellow, red, brown, or green.
Parents’ involvement in final vows	Parents accompany when making steps to pronounce final vows, standing by as witnesses.
Community meals and prayers	Eating and praying morning and evening together, and meditating as a community.
Daily visit to Blessed Sacrament	Making a daily visit to the Blessed Sacrament for at least 15 minutes.
Wearing white attire on feast days	Wearing white attire on the Congregation’s feast, including at funerals.
Community readings	Reading together the Constitutions or other material from the Superior General.
Separate community chores	Having separate chores within the community, such as ow’abagyenyi, omubiiki, ow’abarweire.
Visitor distinctions	Separating what fits visitors from outside and within the community by way of utensils, bed sheets, basins, etc.
Reserving seats for the Superior	Reserving a seat everywhere for the Superior, including in the dining room or chapel.
Sisterly conversation	The superior designates time for sisterly conversations regarding the apostolate, vows, and community living.
Time of sleep	Honoring and keeping the time of sleep/retiring as agreed upon in the community’s timetable, with silence observed after night prayer until Mass the next morning.
Bow to one another	Bowing to one another whenever members meet (lost due to frequent talking).
Superior general’s spiritual direction involvement	The superior general responds to sisters’ earnestness in seeking spiritual direction and assures them of the best available spiritual guidance.
Silence in sleeping quarters	Maintaining silence in sleeping quarters and corridors for a prayerful atmosphere.
Monthly recollection	Holding monthly recollection by the sisters in their communities.
Caring for the needy	Caring for orphans and the needy, not necessarily related to community members, through food, clothing, or school fee assistance.
Community timetable	Setting up a community timetable for sharing chores and leadership in community prayer.
Exclusion of electronics from bedrooms	Excluding radios, TV, and noisy electronics from bedrooms, and playing them in common areas.
Recreation time	Demanding recreation time in the community for everyone for a certain agreed-upon time.
Updating Institute’s language	Updating the language from vernacular to the national language, English, opening opportunities for girls from non-Runyakitara speaking regions.
Protecting novices	Protecting a “no mixing and talking” policy with the novices by both the superior of the Mother House and the Novice Directress.
Preparation for final vows	Genuine preparation of junior sisters for final vows during school calendar and every August holiday for three consecutive years before they make their vows.
Special bedroom for Mother General	Reserving a special bedroom, bed sheets, and blanket for Mother General, even if she does not visit in the year.