Br Paul Noonan Formation Centre, Tamale: Happy Birthday, Vivek!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Happy Birthday, Vivek!

It is yet another day - very bright day indeed and a sign of a new beginning in our midst. The birds are singing their melodious songs in honour of this great day and so am I.

Here is a phrase which comes into my mind as I struggle to depart from my bed; “I feared failure but I realize that I only fail if I do not keep on trying”. Today is the birthday of Br. Vivek, the Director of novices here in our Novitiate in Tamale.

The phrase highlighted above is how I can summarize my entire experience with Br. Vivek here in the novitiate. He has always encouraged us (novices) not to fear making mistakes in life. Through this, I have unveiled the beautiful being inside me. This is just one of the many good insights that I have received from you Brother!!

Thanks for your giftedness and your creativity which is above measure. May God bless you and your family abundantly. On behalf of the Dagombas and the community we say;
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
(Otieno)

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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?”