Br Paul Noonan Formation Centre, Tamale: ORIENTED, RECEIVED AND READY

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

ORIENTED, RECEIVED AND READY

Orientation time is over and the core work of the novitiate has begun. On Saturday, February 23, the nine new novices completed orientation and were formally received into the novitiate. They were received on behalf of the Africa Province by the Formation Team – Br. Tony Shanahan (Director), Br. Conrad Cerejo and Br. Titus Kallon.

The reception was witnessed by an encouraging attendance of the other religious from Tamale, especially those in our own parish neighbourhood.

In the photos here we see the novices in the chapel during the reception; Br. Titus presenting copies of the Constitutions of the Christian Brothers to each of the novices; and some of the novices, Brothers and guests at lunch after the ceremony.

Novices In Chapel During Reception

L-R: Emmanuel Nonde, Philip Kwena, Desmond Taboeya and Paul Kakulunda

Novices In Chapel During Reception
L-R: Martin Fofanah, Cephas Bwalya, Francis ToLiman, Lawrence Aglo and Dominic. K. Kargbo

Formator, Br. Titus Kallon (Right) presenting the Constitutions to Novices during the reception.
Looking on is the Formation Director, Br. Tony Shanahan (Second from Right).

Religious around the Parish enjoying the
Recreation and Lunch after the Reception

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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?”