Sr. Amanda takes first vows by JOE BARKOVICH Posted: Saturday, October, 2, 2004 Sr. Amanda Dudfield A young woman’s first religious profession of vows, September 5, 2004, at St. Mary’s in Welland, was “a day of great rejoicing for the whole church of Christ,” St. Catharines Bishop James Wingle said. Speaking at the profession of Sr. Mary Amanda Dudfield of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Wingle told about 200 onlookers including her parents, other family members and friends, they were experiencing a celebration of “nuptial joy.” Christ’s Church is the bride of Christ, Bishop Wingle said. Catholics, as part of the body of Christ, are members of that spiritual bridal entity. “This is not only poetic imagery, this is the reality of the Church,” he said. Through vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, Dudfield chose to bond herself “to a more intimate following of her spouse, the church’s spouse Jesus Christ.” But Wingle cautioned her to be neither dismayed nor disheartened by secularism’s lack of understanding of her religious vocation. “The demands of your vows, dear Sister, may appear to contemporaries as foolish, impossible to live up to. Do not let this disturb you. You give witness to the whole world, a witness society needed.” Bishop Wingle said Dudfield’s vocation is a living sign of God’s presence in the world through her becoming the “mirror image” of His Son. “Wake up world, look at the fruitfulness of Christ,” he said. But he expressed disappointment about the lack of vocations today. “Vocations seem altogether too scarce,” he said. Wingle said he does not believe God is not calling more people “to this wonderful life.” But it seems that the call to vocations is not being heard, as it once was, in parishes, schools and Catholic families, he said. Bishop Wingle had this advice for Dudfield: “Let nothing ever distract you from He who seeks the love of your soul.” Dudfield’s parents, Graham and Cynthia, who work as missionaries in the Diocese of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, attended her religious profession, as did other family members from western Canada. The Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus have a convent on Edward Street in Welland. They operate a daycare and nursery, make hospital and home visits to the sick, teach catechism and assist in some local parishes.