The vocational testimony of Sr. Krupa
I was born into a deeply Catholic family, but as a child I had never thought of becoming a missionary. However, some of my aunts and cousins were living the consecrated life, and through them I began to discover the beauty of this choice. They never asked me to enter the convent, but every time I saw them, I noticed a special joy in their eyes. Even though they did not have many holidays, whenever they came home we were all happy to see them again — and I would wonder where that joy came from. So I began speaking with them about it, asking myself questions, and little by little I discovered that their happiness sprang from a life given to Jesus and to others.
That discovery touched me profoundly, and in 2016 I decided to enter the Missionaries of the Immaculate. I did not yet know much about missionary life, but step by step I learnt the beauty of living not for myself, but for others.
Knowing One’s Own Limits, Trusting in Him
There have been many challenges along the way. But I have always felt that the One who called me is faithful. One of the greatest difficulties was coming to know myself, accepting my limitations and learning to love others just as they are. While I was studying our Constitutions, I often asked myself: “Will I truly be capable of living this life?” But in that very moment, the Lord taught me something precious: to trust in Him. It is not I who must do everything, but He who accomplishes His work in me. And so, little by little, I learnt to leave everything in His hands.
It also weighed on me to leave my country and my culture in order to undergo formation together with young people from other nations. In the beginning it was somewhat difficult. Everything was new: the language, the way of life, the customs, the culture. I missed my homeland, but at the same time this experience became a great opening of the heart. Living with sisters from other countries, I learnt to welcome and to share, to see the positive in every culture. Every people has its beautiful sides and its more fragile ones, but everything depends on how one looks: if you are ready to see the beauty, you discover God in every diversity.
This experience taught me that mission begins right here: in living together, in understanding one another, in caring for one another.
A “Yes” That Answers Another “Yes”
During the homily of my first profession, Father Luca said: “Before you, it was Jesus who said yes.” Those words touched me profoundly, and they continue to accompany me. My “yes” is a response of love to that first “yes” which Jesus said for me. For me it means offering myself completely to Him, allowing myself to be guided and trusting that His love will make my gift fruitful, even in the small things of everyday life.
For me, being a missionary today means giving Jesus to others. Our Constitution states that the first missionary is Mary, for her mission was to bring Jesus to the world. My mission, too, is this: to give Jesus, through my life, with a smile, with gestures of service, with love. Being a missionary today means doing everything with joy and with love, even the simplest things, knowing that every gesture done out of love speaks of Him.
A Word to Young Women
I would like to tell young women that life is beautiful when it is given with joy. As Father Piero Vismara of PIME says: “Life is beautiful when it is given with joy.” Living for others, loving without measure, is what gives life its truest meaning. Do not be afraid to say your “yes”: it is precisely there that the greatest happiness is found.
Sr. Krupa Thomas, Hyderabad
