Life in the Novitiate

Manish Tigga, NSJ

Novitiate is the time when a person with a desire to follow Jesus in consecrated life comes to deepen his/her deepest desire to follow Christ and he/she grows in this desire spiritually and mentally.  Many young Jesuits admit that they enjoyed and had many unforgettable experiences especially when they were in the Novitiate (that is to say about the time table , the activities in the novitiate, going out for ministries, learning to play musical instruments etc.)

If anyone desires to be a Jesuit, he ought to discern where God is really calling him to be.  This is what we learn, right from the beginning of the novitiate.  It is done through a method for being aware of our feelings and the movements of the spirit.  In the novitiate we are asked to maintain silence both from outside and inside so that we may be aware of our feelings, which will finally help us to grow in our spiritual journey.  “Deepen the inner silence, and find out your deepest desire”, is is what Fr master says all the time.

Anyway, that is about the basics of the novitiate.  Now, let me tell you about my life in the novitiate.  It is really a new life.  It feels as if I am in a new world, where I have a new and big family, where there are many fathers, brothers, taking good care of me.  They all make me feel at home.  But we novices also remember our own parents and family members in our prayer everyday and we also write a letter to them every month telling them that we are happy here (and there is nothing to worry about).

Apart from the spiritual matters, we also learn other things like games (I love playing basket ball, which, by the way, is often called a Jesuit game because it is a very popular game among Jesuits), playing musical instruments, singing, reading, swimming, and so on. But mainly in the novitiate we focus on our prayer life, and our growth according to Ignatian Sirituality day after day by the great help of Fr Master and Fr Socius.  And hoping that one day we would be Jesuits, the companions of Jesus.

The Ignatian Day

Manu Tomy, NSJ

If we look at the calendar we will find many feast days.  But the Christians look at the Ordo to find the feast days of the saints.  Each congregation has its special feast day.  For us Jesuits, the feast of our founder St Ignatius Loyola is a very important day.  This day is not just for us to celebrate and to enjoy among ourselves.  But it is a day to thank God for the work he has done through St Ignatius for us and for the church.

As in every year, we celebrated the feast of St Ignatius this year on the 31^st of July.  A good preparation always makes the feast more elegant and enjoyable.  Our celebration also was well prepared and planned for.  We started our preparation early enough.  One part of the preparation that touched me and many others was the nine days of Ignatian novena talks on the theme, “Ease in Finding God”.  These talks were given by some prominent Jesuits of our province.  I could attend only two talks but they gave me with lot of new information and helped me to understand some of the experiences of St Ignatius. I was also inspired by the eagerness of sisters of different congregations who came to listen to the God experience of St Ignatius.

The feast day Eucharist really put me into a good disposition.  It was through the words of Fr Sajeev, the main celebrant, that I and many others came to know a new face of Ignatius who was joyful and jovial.  All those who attended the Eucharist were invited to be joyful in the Lord and to find him in everything.  I was really touched and moved when I was wished a happy feast day by fathers because I could see the joy as being Jesuits on their faces.

Whenever we have important feast days we will have special time for games.  I was quite ecstatic about the games because that is an occasion when the novices and the juniors play together.  On the feast of St Ignatius, we had a friendly match.  That was a golden opportunity for us to enhance our companionship.

The cultural programme in the evening was a beautiful occasion for us to share our joy with others.  We had prepared a pretty good programme and it was a the joyful faces of the audience and their animated support that made us more confident.  We had over a hundred guests from our neighbourhood, especially from other formation houses.  Well, the audience’s appreciation did not make us proud; but helped us to discover that God can do great things through us.

I will always cherish this joyful day not only because of its external enjoyments but because it is a day to thank the Lord for calling me to be a companion of Jesus and a follower of St Ignatius.

The day we wait for...

Johnson K, NSJ

Every year at the Dhyan Ashram novitiate, the Jesuit novices take their first vows of poverty, chastity and obedience on June 21, the feast of St Aloysius Gonzaga.  We offer these vows to God and promise to enter the Society of Jesus and spend our whole lives in it.  Two of my fellow novices, Rakesh Mondol and Vijaya Raju, pronounced their first vows last June.  It was a day of great joy for all of us at Dhyan Ashram.

That morning all of us were busy arranging and decorating the chapel with flowers and garlands.  The vows ceremony was in the evening.  But there was a feeling of celebration all around already from the morning.  I was really joyful to welcome our guests and to see them walking around in the campus.

The main celebrant for the Holy Eucharist was our Provincial, Fr Jeyaraj Velusamy.  He was accompanied at the altar by the director of novices, Fr Jerome Francis, and the dean of Juniors, Fr Maria Joseph.  Rakesh and Vijay looked so peaceful and happy.  I think there was a little bit of halo around there heads that evening.  It was a sight to see them entering the chapel in spotless white kurta-pyjamas with a red rose pinned near their hearts.

While many religious pronounce the vows during or before the offertory, the Jesuits do it just before the communion, because, for St Ignatius Loyola, our Founder, the Eucharist is the total self-offering of Jesus to his Father and to us.  During the communion, he shares his body and blood with us as a free gift.  So the Jesuits make their self-offering, in the form of the vows, before the Eucharistic Jesus.  There was a solemn silence as Rakesh and Vijay knelt before the Blessed Sacrament and pronounced their vows.

As I saw them taking vows, something stirred within me deeply, which made me all the more eager to offer my own life in an act of self-surrender to God, who chose me to be his servant.  When my companions were reciting the vows formula, I started repeating it quietly in my heart.  I felt a great consolation and joy within me, which, I believe, only God can give.  I felt a little sad to think that I have to wait for another year to offer up my own life to God and to add those precious letters, SJ, to my name.

After the mass, we congratulated the new Jesuits with singing and dancing and many fraternal embraces.  Later at the fellowship table, Rakesh and Vijay got a chance to share their sentiments of gratitude with the gathering.  Our hearts were truly touched listening to them.   The day was like a dream.  Next June 21 can’t come too soon!

The First Probation

Vinay, NSJ

The first couple of weeks in the Jesuit novitiate is a kind of a ‘coming of age’ time.  The new novices are kept separated from the rest of the community, to ponder over their decision to join the Jesuits.  It is a time for them to learn and understand the kind of life awaiting them in the novitiate.  In a way it is also a ‘cooling off’ period that facilitates a smooth transition from the homes that we left behind to our new home, the novitiate.

In the beginning of the Probation, I found it pretty difficult to follow the rules and to discipline myself.  But I learned it pretty fast with the help of the ‘guardian angel’, the good second year companion who was appointed to guide us through these days.  When the classes started, I was happy to hear about what a Jesuit vocation really meant, and was motivated by all that I heard.  I was also really touched by how much the Society really cares of each one of us.

After the first week of the probation, I made a general confession, which gave my heart a lot of spiritual consolation.  The three days of reflection and prayer that followed set the right note for the melody that is to follow for the rest of our two years of novitiate.  I already feel part of this big family.

Our Sunday Ministry

Rintu Mondol, NSJ

In the novitiate, we undergo different kinds of experiments through which we learn many things and gain many values for life. They provide us with experiences with the needy and poor, with sick people in a leprosy centre, with simple villagers, and with street children.  By doing these ministries we develop our spiritual life and gradually build up the foundation for a solid Jesuit life.  Our Sunday ministry is one among them through which we are not only being trained but also tested of our competency and talents.  During the ministry we do very simple and humble work and try to cultivate humility, willingness and readiness within us.

On Sundays the second year novices go to different villages for conducting prayer services for the faithful and for teaching catechism to the children.  It is an enriching experience.  Each Sunday there will be different experiences waiting for us.  We start with the prayer service.  Many people come and attend the prayers.  Feeling butterflies in my stomach, I manage to stand on my shivering legs.  But their way of praying and listening to me brings me a new enthusiasm.  Next comes teaching catechism to the children.  First of all to make them sit and shut their mouths requires a huge amount of patience and then to bring their attention to the Biblical stories is real hard labour.  It looks very simple but I have learnt the hard way that it is tougher than teaching the senior students.

Ministry does not mean the greatest work.  Rather it is the meanest and simple work.  On my Sunday ministry, I enjoy interacting with the villagers, especially their simple way of living, despite all the difficulties.  Their strong faith shows me a new meaning and teaches me many things.