Br Paul Noonan Formation Centre, Tamale: Looking back at the month of October

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Looking back at the month of October

This 10th month of the year stands out for many significant events that occurred and quite a deal of work has been done in the Novitiate community. This month has been wholesome, reflective, demanding and life giving.

On the 4th we attended the first profession ceremony of five FMM sisters. We wish them well in their lives of dedictade service to God and all God's people here in Ghana.

The second week saw Br. Richard Walsh, our Province Leader visit us. Br. Richard shared with us on the Provinces ongoing mission shift with the emphasis on the model of ‘the church of the poor.’ We were left to ponder how would we respond creatively to the emerging needs in a changing world keeping in mind the poor who are the beneficiaries of the gospel. I wish to quote Archbishop Helder Camara as we continue thinking on mission; “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they have no food, they call me a communist”

On the weekend of the 2nd week we gathered as the community to respond to the call to celebrate events in life, this time around it was to celebrate the lives of Frank and Chris whose birthdays were on the 11th and 13th of October respectively. Later in the month we celebrated

Paul's 29th birthday.

The community hosted Susan Komis, a lay ordinary woman from USA-Contemplative Outreach(Founded by Fr Thomas Keating) who shared her God experience with the local parishioners. She talked on the spirituality of servant-leadership, The Human condition and Divine Therapy. She also addressed us on our true self and false self which at once became the grammar of the house for sometimes. I am sure all of you have your own remarkable stories which when shared can have significant impact on those listening, keep telling your stories. A few of Susan's phrases stay in mind; ‘Become avid seekers’, ‘Become what you were born for’, ‘It is not everyone who is called to join a Monastery but we all have monastic hearts (all the faithful must cultivate intimacy with God’, ‘When we are seeking God we are seeking ourselves’. She left us also with a question, ‘If you close your eyes and hear the word GOD, where do you look for God? And if God wants to hide where can s/he hide?

On our Day of recollection we pondered on the question ‘What are you looking for?’ Who are you looking for?’

24th October is one of my happiest days as the community joined the Zambians to sing the freedom song, I really felt at home on our National Day. May God bless Mother Zambia, Africa and the entire world.

Once again on the last day of the month we gathered in the evening in the local parish to honor the blessed mother of God by publicly saying the rosary and celebrating the Eucharist.

(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?”