Reflections - Friars in Novitiate

Their Vocation Journey Continues . . .

                                                                  CHRISTOPHER GEORGE                   

Getting to know my brother Novices has been an exciting time, both enriching and challenging in a way that is spiritually rich.  During the months of June and July, I was able to meet and get to know my future Novice Brothers from all over the English speaking world.  It has been a blessing to get to know them. We have a great group of people, and I can tell that we are all sincere in what we are doing.  Moving into Pre-Novitiate in Kansas, and then four days on the road to drive out to San Lorenzo friary in California required a lot of teamwork and getting to know one another. I have been blessed to be able to grow in the Lord through fraternity and the example of the many people that I have lived, worked and ministered with. 

The last month of Novitiate for me has been one of getting oriented, but we are now in full-swing. The daily prayer schedule frames the day, and there is time for personal prayer, recreation with the other brothers, and attending to the work and maintenance of our friary. I have had a blessed opportunity to be mindful of God through prayer life. My goals here are to deepen my prayer life and to develop habits of prayer and ministry that will serve me as a minister and a person of God. Soon,we will have our Fridays scheduled as a day of ministry in the community, which I am looking forward to.

I have found the Formation staff to be very dedicated and our community life to be graced. Between all the members of our community, friary, and staff there are as many senses of humor as there are people! Lastly, from the friary here in Santa Ynez there are many great views of the hills and a clear sky at night. It has been a blessing to share God's gift of beauty in creation with the other brothers from day to day. I am very grateful to be here.                     

                                                                   

                                                                       ALEX PRADO

 I remember in Postulancy and in Kansas, Michael Greco always telling us, "this is an AWESOME opportunity that unfortunately others in the world don't get a chance to experience."  And, he was right.  This journey has been an opportunity for me to get to know myself a little more and more everyday.  The more I do this, and peel the many shallow layers of my being, I discover a loving conversation going on with the Creator in my soul and conscience.  In the Novitiate, my Novice brothers have become my primary formators on this journey as they challenge me to be myself and to also accept them as they are with the same love God the Father has always shown me - despite wherever I might be on my journey.  I'm still discerning everyday, and I don't know where I'll be 10 years from now.  All I know is that being with the friars has made me into a more complete human being.  I'm sooooooo far from being good or perfect, but I think I've become a better man because of the Capuchins. I'm grateful to them because in reality all I have is my life.

                                                           SCOTT SURRENCY

Before I finished Postulancy, one of the older and wiser friars gently exhorted me to enjoy the Novitiate and to make the most of it because "it's a gift from the brothers."  And while I know in my head - and in my heart, too, when it comes right down to it - that this year is a blessing, it can sometimes feel like a curse.  Being cooped up with twenty-one other novices and our four formators all the time, I am reminded daily - and usually several times a day - of the frailty of the human condition in general, of my own sinful frailty in particular, and of our constant need for God's grace and infinite love and mercy.  Every day presents an occasion and opportunity for growth - whether it be as an individual person, as a friar living in community, or as a follower of Christ trying to engage (and be engaged by) the Church and the rest of the world - and essential to this growth is a life of prayer and reflection.  Despite the more isolated and insulated nature of the Novitiate, it's still quite easy to find distractions and to make excuses in order to keep from getting too close to God.  I've found it necessary, therefore, to take responsibility for myself and for my own formation, realizing that I'm going to get no more out of the Novitiate year than I myself am willing to put into it.  Staying faithful to the Lord in prayer, taking time each day to reflect on Scripture, and getting to know St. Francis better through a prayerful reading of some of the early Franciscan sources helps me to work through the challenges, both external and internal, that I am faced with from day to day.  That is what keeps me grounded and focused on the broader context of what I'm doing here now and why I'm doing it.  It is my hope and prayer to leave sunny California with a fuller and deeper appreciation of just how much this year is - as I was told and as I do honestly believe - a blessed gift from the brothers.