Br Paul Noonan Formation Centre, Tamale: Farewell to Prince

Friday, September 4, 2009

Farewell to Prince

24th July 2009 was a day to remember among the novices as it was the day we celebrated the birthday of Prince and bade him farewell too. Prince spent three weeks at home before flying to Ireland, the land of St Patrick and Blessed Edmund, where he will attend a one year course on formation.
The day began with the farewell morning prayer. During this prayer session the novices gave very touching experiences that they had with Prince for the last six months.

Such comments could be heard: “when we came here I never thought of bidding farewell to Br Prince …for the time I have been with him it was like orange to me and now it is time through what you stood for and said, to lemonise ourselves
The formation team was not left behind; they recounted how difficult it was in the initial stages to set the ball running, how through patience and perseverance Prince has greatly contributed to the formation program especially in giving the novices an African based formation.

The evening was the climax of the whole farewell, the ever vibrant social committee graced the occasion with a sumptuous meal. This occasion was attended by the Choggu community, representatives from Kanvili R/C teaching staff and a handful of friends that Prince had come to know during his stay here. It was here that music and dance filled the air, dance and jubilation for Prince’s accomplished mission, dance and cheers to relieve the hardened hearts that had refused to accept Prince’s moving on.

As Br. Prince the son of the soil is moving to Ireland where ‘waru’ (Irish potatoes) and carrots will be permanent occupants of his stomach, we from the novitiate community wish him every blessing and ask the spirits of Katonga, the spirit of Jok, the spirit of Nyasoye, the spirit Mulungu and the spirit of our African fathers to be with him always. (Nicholas)

It is had to say bye to you but the challenge is there to be faced and I think it’s for the good of our growth and preparation for you to respond creatively to the emerging needs of this changing world.

Many thanks Br Prince for the brotherly presence amongst us, what you are and were and for sharing your insights with us for a short time especially your advocacy for us to be in touch with our roots (African Spirituality and ministry life).
The Tamale Novitiate community wishes you all the best in your parley and my hope is we keep each other in thoughts and prayers. May your study be refreshing and empowering and may you come back invigorated to continue the mission in formation of liberation of the poor and the universe.
You will be remembered always! Just to say the most important two words in the world- Thank you! Asante Sana! Zikomo! Dankie! Tenki!! (Sydney)

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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?”