Br Paul Noonan Formation Centre, Tamale: Do not be afraid

Friday, September 4, 2009

Do not be afraid

Like the disciples in the sea, we too are afraid of encountering storms which might be a threat to our lives. In the world today, the greatest fear is the fear of nuclear destruction that could destroy our planet. My heart freezes when I hear of the atomic bombs that can hit the whole world within seconds and reduce it to a formless void, back to where it has tried to come out from over billions of years ago. When I learnt that the earth’s resources have been consumed until there is no more left in the store to keep it going beyond 50 years, I was filled with terror of encountering a major storm, a disaster, a crooked future with no hope. I think millions of people who are on this earth and are aware of these fundamental facts feel the same way too. Our hearts are all crying out for someone to help, like the disciples in the sea. The question remains “who will?”

However there is hope as God himself tells us in Joshua 1:9, “be strong and of good courage, do not be dismayed nor be frightened for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” If we take the words of God seriously, we have all the reasons not to fear. Scripture scholars put it that, the word or message ‘do not be afraid’ appears in the entire bible 365 times meaning we need to have courage all days throughout the year. Therefore let us put all our trust in God. Christ himself calls us close to him in Mt 11:28.

Let us then place all our worries and fears to him in prayer. Prayers of letting go our fears and asking for courage to move drastically towards saving our planet earth and its people, of changing the minds of people from making nuclear weapons to studying about earth conservation, from inventing poisonous substances that contribute to global warming to preserving life and nature, from destruction of the earth’s resources to construction for the future generation, from exploiting and oppressing human race with corruption and injustices to empowering them with knowledge and dignity. This way the world will be a better place for you and for me and for the generation to come.
(Chrispinus)

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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?”