Br Paul Noonan Formation Centre, Tamale: Kenya Day

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Kenya Day - 12 December

It is exhilarating to celebrate the national day in a foreign land. We the Kenyans in Tamale Novitiate have been anticipating this crucial experience and finally it is here. Compelled by the spirit of patriotism, we have to fly our flag high and sing the songs our heroes once sang 45 years ago when the country first gained its independence. This is one of the most important national holidays in Kenya observed on December 12.

The holiday formally marks the date of the country’s admittance in 1964 into the commonwealth as a republic and takes its name from the Swahili word jamhuri, which means, “republic”.

December 12 is also the date when Kenya obtained its independence from Great Britain in 1963.Mzee Jomo Kenyatta was the first president of Kenya followed by Daniel Arap Moi, now it is under the presidency of Mwai Kibaki.

Kenya is known for its beautiful tourist attraction sites. It will take me centuries to talk about Kenya but all I can say is “I am proud to be Kenyan and Happy jamuhuri day to all Kenyans.”
(Chris)

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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?”