On May 15, Sister Mi-Kyoung Hwang renewed her vows of religious profession during Mass at Salem Heights, our central house in Dayton. Sister Mi-Kyoung made her first profession of vows in 2021.
In the brief ceremony, Sister Mi-Kyoung proclaimed: “I, Sister Mi-Kyoung Hwang, make to God my vow of chastity, poverty and obedience for two years, according to the constitution of the Sisters of the Precious Blood.”
Sister Joyce Lehman, president of the Congregation, responded: “By the authority entrusted to me, and in the name of the Church, I receive the vows you have taken in the Community of the Sisters of the Precious Blood. I earnestly commend you to God, that your gift of self, made one in the sacrifice of the Eucharist, be brought to perfection.”
Father Angelo Anthony, CPPS, presided at the Mass. “In your relationship with Jesus, He calls you now to consecrate yourself to Him as His beloved,” he said in the homily. “Living the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience are countercultural. They stand as a witness to a life that exists beyond this world. … As St. Paul says, we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us.”
Originally from South Korea, Sister Mi-Kyoung came to the U.S. in 2013 to earn a Doctor of Ministry in Spirituality degree at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. She became acquainted with the Sisters of the Precious Blood after searching Vision Vocation Network — a publication of the National Religious Vocation Conference — for congregations where she could serve in reconciliation ministry.
Top, Sisters Joyce and Mi-Kyoung; bottom, Father Angelo with Sisters Joyce and Mi-Kyoung; Michelle Bodine photos.