The medallion we wear is a sign of our commitment to God and to a life of service to others: a simple cross, in keeping with the theology of the Church and the second Vatican Council.
The cross resembles the form of a person with outstretched arms, expressing openness to all peoples. The feet at the base of the cross are those of the human person standing firm.
The cross without the figure of Christ reminds us of the mystery of resurrection, central to our faith. The hollowness of the engraved cross symbolises both the interior reality and the mystery of the not yet of God’s promises. The solid circle of the medallion is a sign of fullness of life, to which we all aspire.
On the back of the medallion are inscribed the three initials, NDS: Notre Dame de Sion in French, the Congregation’s original language, and a sign of our unity as a Congregation.
Sisters receive the medallion when they make their first vows.
We also wear a ring, given to each sister on the day of her final profession. The ring is inscribed with the words from Scripture, In Sion firmata sum (Sirach 24:10) – “I am established in Sion”.
In this text, it is personified Wisdom, a woman, who speaks. In earlier Biblical texts, she is universal and abides in all of God’s created works. Wisdom is given a command by the Creator of all things to make her dwelling among the people of Israel. She says “In his holy tent [Temple] I ministered… and so I was established in Zion [Jerusalem].” She has been universal and now she has a particularity as well. She dwells in the universality of creation and in the particularity of Jerusalem.
Similarly, a little later in history, Jesus takes on his particularity and retains his universal significance as the Wisdom of God.
Thus, our ring signifies that we share this double call to the nations and to Israel, to the universal and the particular.