Sister Christine's Journey to Final Profession

As promised, I'll continue to work backwards! A big highlight for me this year was Sister Christine Ma's Final Profession. The following is an account of her journey to this special day.

On March 25, 2010, Sister Christine Ma, MSBT professed Perpetual Vows as a Missionary Servant of the Most Blessed Trinity at the Community's Motherhouse in Northeast Philadelphia.
Sister Christine was born in Hong Kong, and is the youngest of five children. She came to the United States with her mother and sister when she was ten years old. They were soon joined by her father and brothers.
Sister Christine's parents were originally from mainland China. Not allowed to have a Bible in China, Sister Christine's mother, Sun Tai, said that when she arrived in Hong Kong the first thing she would do would be to obtain a Bible, and then she would choose a religion. Sun Tai was drawn toward the Catholic
Church. Eventually, Sister Christine's father, Yim Kwai, and other family members also embraced the Catholic Faith.
After about twelve years in Hong Kong, in order to have a better future for their children, Yim Kwai and Sun Tai decided to immigrate to New York.
Sister Christine received a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Pace University in New York. Before entering the Missionary Servants she worked as an accountant for the City of New York.
Sister Thomasmari Gore, MSBT, a Trinitarian Sister who was a campus minister at New York University, regularly met with a group of women, one of whom was a friend of the future Sister Christine and invited her to join the group. Sister Thomasmari later invited Christine to meet the Sisters who lived with her on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The Sisters were also involved with the Trinita Summer Family Life Program at the Congregation's mission in Connecticut. They invited her to be a volunteer the following summer. This program offers inner city families an opportunity to be away together in a joyful atmosphere and to explore ways to improve their family relationships. Having enjoyed this experience so much, she then volunteered for a year at St. Joseph Pro-Cathedral in Camden, N.J. where she worked as a computer lab teacher. At a mid-year retreat for volunteers one of the Sisters asked her if she had ever considered Religious Life. That Sister's question sparked something in Christine which led her to explore religious life, and especially the Missionary Servants.
To pursue her new vocation, Sister Christine spent a year of discernment in Pensacola, FL where she lived and worked with the Sisters in Catholic Social Services. Other years of her Formation included parish ministry in Rock Hill, SC, prison and nursing home ministry in Mobile, AL as well as parish and school ministry in Kingston, Jamaica.
Sister Christine just completed a program for Clinical Pastoral Education at Albert Einstein and Holy Redeemer Hospitals in Philadelphia.
Sister Christine is grateful to be called to live her entire life glorifying the Triune God as a Missionary Servant of the Most Blessed Trinity. Sister Christine with her family

(Portrait photo by Carl Casella, Phila, PA)