Br Paul Noonan Formation Centre, Tamale: Compassion, Solidarity, Commitment

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Compassion, Solidarity, Commitment

“I came that you may have life and have it to the full”
….. But many people in our world do not enjoy life to the full!

On the 16th of April, the novices of the three brother Congregations in Northern Ghana namely the Presentation Brothers, the Christian Brothers and the Brothers FIC came together for a day at the CB Novitiate for a workshop facilitated by Br Donal Leader cfc and Br Dennis Claivaz fpm.

Through Power Point presentations, inputs, discussions and role plays we were brought to an awareness of Edmund Rice International (ERI) which through compassion, solidarity and commitment upholds the rights of the child, the fundamental right to education for all, and eco justice.

As we listened and watched in us was awakened …
*the reality that as educators we are agents of social justice and as such should, through a rights based approach, strive to uphold and restore the dignity of the child.
*the awareness that promoting social justice is an essential element of Edmund Rice education
*the realization that we at the grassroots should speak out for justice and empower those without a voice to challenge oppressive structures and to initiate change.
*the fact that silence was not an option in the wake of injustice.
*that Human Rights is the foundation of freedom and that if we want peace we should work for justice.
*that “It is not sufficient to be with the poor, without also engaging in the struggle against poverty.”
*that we are called to move from mere acts of charity and good works to social action and advocacy; from charity to solidarity.
*that we share in God’s dream that all humanity is called to have life and have it to its fullness.

(Jackson, Julias, Casimir)

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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?”