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“My heart is full of gratitude”
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October 11, 2023Saturday, October 7, was a joyous day for Sister Rency Moonjely, S.A.B.S., Mother Teresa Shelter and Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi staff, Board of Directors, volunteers, friends, and special guests as she celebrated her Silver Jubilee (25 years) of Religious Profession.
Over 115 people helped Sister Rency celebrate this special event with a Holy Mass and luncheon at the Mother Teresa Shelter Multi-Purpose Activity and Therapeutic Center. Mass was celebrated by the Very Reverend James G. Stembler, with Bishop Emeritus Edmond Carmody and Msgr. Seamus McGowan concelebrating. Anita Rivera, Johanna Swetish, and Annie and Daniel Rivera contributed the beautiful music during Mass and Sister Sibi Varghese, S.A.B.S., sang the Indian hymn “Thrikkaikalil Pooja Pandangalil” during the Presentation of the Gifts. After Mass, the celebration continued with lunch and cake.
After completing school, Sister Rency joined the Sisters of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (S.A.B.S.) congregation, and on February 11, 1999, upon completing official formation, she became a professed nun. She said, “I had a special call to serve my Lord by serving the poor, the downtrodden, and the marginalized.”
In 2008, her then Mother Superior asked her to take on a new assignment at Mother Teresa Shelter in Corpus Christi. Sister Rency said she is surprised to have already served 15 years at the shelter. “When I evaluate my past in Corpus Christi, my heart is full of gratitude,” she said. “My office and responsibilities in the shelter were not easy to manage. I had to face different challenges and was given various opportunities for my growth. If you think I have done anything good for the homeless brethren in Mother Teresa Shelter, I would humbly say it was not my merits nor my capacities that worked.
“With Saint Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:10, I would like to confess, ‘But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain.’ God cannot feed his homeless people by himself. He needs the help of me and you. We are all God’s instruments.” Sister Rency feels very blessed to be a part of Mother Teresa Shelter, and the community is blessed to have her.
