A Novitiate Class

Sunlight streams into the spacious novitiate room at the end of the retreat corridor as the novices gather to await the arrival of the Directress.

When she enters they greet her with “God be praised!” and all sit down in a semi-circle to pray and dedicate this time to the Lord. The spontaneous invocation varies at each session and flows from the heart.

The current novitiate class may be on the Introduction to the Devout Life, the Conferences of St Francis de Sales, the Constitutions of the Order, the Vows, St. Margaret Mary’s life, or Scripture.

Slowly, paragraph by paragraph, we read the work aloud, taking turns in a meditative fashion to absorb the deep meaning, and then pausing to discuss what we have understood, following the inspiration of the moment as the conversation proceeds to envelop our personal experiences and profound sentiments.

With some works, the text is read privately before class, and the class time involves a discussion with prepared questions and/or personal insights.

These classes hopefully bond our novices spiritually and intellectually and give the Directress the opportunity to get to know them better. There is a mutuality of sharing between  Directress and novice.

Salesian Spirituality is “caught”, not “taught” and we honor our Founders by our meticulous focus on their works with the hope that their teachings become part of our soul, with the Holy Word of God from the Scriptures that we pray.