By Sister Marie-Madeleine AGONOU
On Saturday, May 3, 2025, there was a joyful atmosphere at Sainte Monique College in Koudougou, Burkina Faso. Indeed, Sister Marie-Bénédicte made her vows in our religious family of the Sisters of the Assumption in the year 2000 — 25 years ago! On this special Saturday, the students of the college, her former classmates, family, friends, and our two communities — Saint Benedict of Ouagadougou and Saint Anne of Koudougou — all gathered to surround our sister with love and prayer. Through the Eucharistic celebration, we wanted to express our deep gratitude to God for His faithfulness to our sister and to give thanks for our sister's fidelity to God. What a grace it is to celebrate a jubilee!
From early childhood, she faced illness — even as a religious — but the love of God proved stronger; her only desire was to become a sister. She was eager to begin formation for religious life.
During her formation, she was deeply moved by the discovery of the Kingdom of God. She longed for Christ to reign in her heart gradually and came to realize that to reign for Christ is to die so that others may live. Following the example of Christ, she chose this verse: “Eternal life is this: to know you” (John 17:3). Indeed, when one knows Christ, one cannot help but have life! Sister Marie-Bénédicte has come to know Christ, she has received life, and she will never let go of Him.
Her religious vocation was born while she was in school. She confided in a sister, saying, “Sister, I want to become a sister.” After saying those words, she felt a deep relief and a great joy filled her.
Dear young women, if you desire to serve God in religious life, have the courage to confide in a sister who can accompany and support you in fulfilling your dream of being consecrated to God.
With Sister Marie-Bénédicte, let us say with conviction: “My joy, no one can take it from me. My happiness, no one can steal it.”
May the Lord continue to bless our sister abundantly. May He reign in her every day, through many sets of 25 years, until eternity.
At the end of this beautiful day of celebration, our sister shared her experience:
“My soul exults, my heart rejoices.” We can never thank the Lord enough for who He is and what He does for us. Yet, He delights when we express our gratitude to Him — not because it adds anything to who He is, but because our thanksgiving brings us closer to Him, as one of the prefaces says. Celebrating my jubilee brought me the joy of expressing my gratitude to God for 25 years of His faithfulness to me. I experienced the exultation of a soul rejoicing in her God. I now feel an even greater desire to belong more fully to Him and I ask again for His blessing to continue “keeping the flame of hope alive.” God deserves to be praised, and I praise Him with all my heart. Seeing so many people gathered around me for what the Lord has done in my life was a deep joy. Thank you to all my sisters in community, in the province, and throughout the congregation for your prayers, support, and accompaniment. May the Lord renew us all so that we may bear even more beautiful fruit in our mission as we follow Him.
Sr. Marie-Bénédicte BIRBA
Original article in French. This translation was done using AI. If you find any grammatical or semantic errors, please don’t hesitate to let us know.