By: Bro. Rex Navarro

What is lifelike inside the novitiate formation house?

People outside might think that we as novices are living like “carthusians” or “no-vices”. Some have said it’s quite boring it all silence. No television, no internet, no cellphone, no music…how can we survive without all these gadgets? A lot of distractions that take us away from reality, how do we turn them off? How do you hear the stillness of God through all the noise that bombards us?

In this world of immense pressure and breakneck speed, we need to be able to slow down, to calm down and pray. The daily routine of life's demands can easily let us lose sight of the bigger picture. When we focus on the list of things to do, we often miss out on what we could be learning through it all.

The Novitiate is a time of conversion and the novices should have but one desire: to be transformed in Jesus Christ. (E. d’Alzon, E.S., p. 263-264). Novitiate program is forming of the heart-only Jesus.

We live in a structure of daily routine. Very ordinary, nothing really new. Prayer, work, study and silence. The ordinary is viewed as too mundane, simplistic, and boring. But when you know the purpose, why we need silence, why sometimes we close our eyes, then life is not monotonous and boring. We can see so clearly the bigger picture. Every day is a blessing. Every day is a great day when you spend it fruitfully. The novice should be aware that formation begins in the crib and ends in the grave. It’s a long a life-long process. The novitiate is just the beginning. As Fr. d’Alzon put it: “a religious is a perpetual novice”.