Br Paul Noonan Formation Centre, Tamale: Rex (2007-2012), RIP

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Rex (2007-2012), RIP

Those who have been in Tamale over the last five years will have met Rex, the good-looking but not-always stable community dog. Rex’s earthly existence was recently cut short prematurely. Since early this year he was suffering from a worm infestation, and it became increasingly difficult to treat him. He ran away when we tried to wash him or administer medicine, and became savage when we tried to restrain him so the veterinary doctor could examine him. Because of these problems, he was not getting better.

Finally, he bit one of the novices. It was clear that Rex was never going to allow us to care for him properly, so we had the vet put him down. We were sad to farewell him but could see no alternative. We are looking forward to getting a new puppy and making sure that it is well trained from the beginning so that the same problems will not be repeated. Rest in peace, Rex!

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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?”