About Sr. Columbia Fernandez O.P.
Sr Columbia Fernandez O.P. is a qualified Educator in Commerce.
She also has training in Religious Education and Values Education as well as in Catechetical Leadership.
She has at Kolping SA where she engaged with disadvantaged Youth educating them in Life Skills.
While working with Kolping SA, she did the Assessors Training Course with TEAM CONSULTANTS (Training, Education And Management).
She currently gives Retreats to Parish Groups and Youth Groups.
Sr Columbia obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Theology at the Theological Education by Extension College (TEEC) and graduated in May 2019.
She is also the Vocations Director for the Cabra Dominican Sisters in South Africa and discern with young women a possible call to Religious Life.
She has put together a Vocations team who work closely with me in promoting Vocations for the Cabra Dominican Sisters in South Africa.
She also works in a team with other Dominican Sisters and Brothers in coordinating the Dominican Youth Movement in South Africa.
Sr Columbia is currently doing a Formation course in Cedara in Pietermaritzburg on Formation for Formators.
The aim is to get trained as a Formator in Religious Life accompanying young aspirants to become Nuns in the Cabra Dominican Congregation.
Mission
Philippians 4:13
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am”.
All our ministries regarding Vocation discernment, Youth ministry, Retreats, Catechetics, poetry, music composition, and many other ministries which involves people, helps the people of God to come closer to Him.
The aim of each ministry puts the individual in touch with God and helps them to connect with God on a deep and spiritual level.
It fosters a deep relationship with God at every level of a person’s being.
It helps the individual to grow and reach their full potential as human beings made in God’s image and likeness.
Sr Columbia is also the Chief Liturgist in her covent at St Dominic’s Priory.
She is constantly teaching the Sisters new hymns, either from her own compositions or hymns from other composers.
Sr Columbia also gives Spiritual Direction occasionally to young women who are trying to discern their Vocation.
She has an online presence for young Catholic ladies and gives them spiritual input on Religious Life once a month. The name of her discernment group is called The Samuel Group.
The name of the group is named after Samuel in the Bible.
He heard three times a voice calling him and was encouraged by Eli, the priest in the temple that when he hears this vouce again, he must respond with these words:
“Speak Lord. Your servant is listening”. Sr Columbia is like Eli in this story of Samuel where she helps young ladies to say to God “Speak Lord.Your servant is listening”.
Sr Columbia also helped in a poor parish a few years ago and gave Religious Education to young people.
She slso assisted the choir in that parish and taught them some psalm tones for entoning the psalm on a Sunday.
She also preached at Mass after the Sunday Gospel at the same parish on a monthly basis.