Br Paul Noonan Formation Centre, Tamale: The Spirituality of Transparency!

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The Spirituality of Transparency!

When I joined the Brothers in 2008 my main aim or focus was to be a Brother, nothing else .Then I met these senior brothers, we call them formators, who told me “don’t even think of becoming one, think of realizing your vocation, be open with yourself.” Eh? This was cruel wasn’t it? What I learned they were putting across for me was to be transparent with myself. No, no! Excuse me here, let me pronounce the word aloud let it fill the air with noise, and my soul with its meaning, because in it there is health and life, spirit and innocence.
Transparency, whatever it is perceived to be let it be, whatever I think of it let it be known, whatever I feel about it let it be felt. Yes, to be transparent with one’s self is to face reality which keeps on knocking at our door whenever we are with our inner selves.

At my personal level, transparency with myself helps me to understand the Nicholas in me; hence I’m able to understand my companions. It is better if I cry once in truth than if I laugh a thousand times with lies. The hard nut to crack here is this: it takes courage to let myself be myself as

I am more than I let myself see myself and be seen by others.
This lesson: the reward of the transparency is the peace of mind just as contemplation brings peace to mind. Truth alone gives rest to our hearts, transparency brings self identity.

(Nicholas Linus K' Minandi)

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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?”