Br Paul Noonan Formation Centre, Tamale: Workshop On Human Sexuality

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Workshop On Human Sexuality

The last week of February was indeed one of the most fruitful, as the CB novices were joined by the Missionaries of Africa aspirants for a workshop on sexuality and human development, facilitated by Fr. Michael. Altogether, 22 young men from different backgrounds were able to air their thoughts, comments and experiences on this sensitive issue of ‘sexuality’.

All along I’ve always thought that sexuality is just about sex. But thanks to Fr. Michael for broadening my perception and proving me wrong. After the group discussions on Wednesday, we had a session on Celibacy & Chastity, questions were raised, debates erupted, anger surfaced, novices challenged each other and the facilitator.

Most of the topics we covered throughout the week, I believe are things we know or are aware of, but take for granted. I was able to understand myself and others better. The most difficult task I would say for most of us was, when we were asked to draw ourselves ‘naked’, but after all we were able to understand the reasons behind the illustrations. Each novice had to do this on his own in private. This immediately remind me of what Fr. Michael asked, “Did you know that God made you unique? Did you know that there is no person in this whole wide-world like you? You are special, because you are one of a kind! So why should you ignore that.

Thoughts, feelings and emotions were the second last day’s topic. We closed our week with a brief session on Stress.
(Jordaan Rikambura)

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What do we want this novitiate to be?

There is a saying that goes something like this: “If we don’t do what we believe in, then we’ll end up believing in what we do”. Without a vision that is authentic and alive to guide our actions, then we can settle for rationalizing the status quo or what is convenient and comfortable.
One of the first things the new team in Tamale did was to spend time beginning to articulate its vision of a novitiate beyond the basics laid down in our Constitutions. Here are some elements of what we came up with:
Novitiate is a journey, a process that involves KNOWING, EXPERIENCING and CHOOSING.
It is an INITIATION into Christian Brother religious life, so a “rite of passage” into a new identity, a time of learning and testing.
Novitiate confronts the novices with the Brother’s vocation as a call to brotherly solidarity and community, not to privilege, status and security.
It involves exploration of the basic values of faith and vocation, and the challenge to embrace these out of personal conviction and free choice.
Novitiate means understanding that a religious vocation makes a claim on the whole of the person and his life, including his inner life, his relationships and his professional activity (ministry). Furthermore, it challenges the novice to see the dynamic inter-relationship of these areas and to learn what their integration means.
Novitiate is a time of DISCERNMENT. The novice learns more deeply who he is, and what this Christian Brother life is. There is a constant back-and-forth movement between these two poles as an answer is sought to the question, “Is this where I am meant to be? Is this the life that will enable me to find my true self in God?”