Br Paul Noonan Formation Centre, Tamale: Saying Goodbye, Saying Thanks

Monday, November 26, 2012

Saying Goodbye, Saying Thanks

Hazeley presents to Yahaya while Con looks on.

As the novices of 2011-12 moved towards the end of their novitiate journey, it was time to take stock of two years in Tamale, to prepare to leave and so to say goodbye. However, saying goodbye also involves recognizing and giving thanks to those who have supported and encouraged us along the way.

Foremost among these are our workers at Br. Paul Noonan Formation Centre, and on the Wednesday before the Profession roles were reversed. Our workers were the ones being served as the novices prepared a special lunch for them and made presentations to express our thanks for the loyalty, hard work and friendship of Yahaya and Mariam in the kitchen, Gifti in the laundry, and Mohamed and Baba at the gate.

Daniel presents a gift to Mariam.

Language barriers and the usual Ghanaian courtesy prevented us getting frank comments about the somewhat non-Ghanaian food that was presented, but it seemed to be enjoyed. The workers honoured us with their festive dress, and Lewis’s speech of thanks to the workers included some sentences in Dagbani – to the delight of the workers! It was clear from the broad smiles and warm feeling at the lunch that this group of novices and the workers had forged bonds across language and cultural boundaries.

Romano and Madam Gifti.

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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?”