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A day in the life of a Novice |
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It is God who calls to religious life, and also who directs those who respond throughout their lives... The person called is primarily responsible for her own formation, since she alone can freely and spontaneously choose to accept the call and all it implies. (Constitutions 40)
The Novitiate is a time of relative withdrawal and inner quiet during which the novice comes to know and love Christ better through her study of Scripture and theology. It is also a time of initiation into Dominican religious life, and to facilitate this, the novice begins her study of the history, traditions and spirit of the Order and congregation as well as the Rule and Constitutions. (Constitutions 44) |
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Novices share fully in the life of the Community, taking an active part in its prayer and liturgy, meals, meetings, and helping with the ordinary day-to-day tasks that are a necessary part of the common life and maintaining any ordinary household. Community meals are an important time for relating to one another and extending our sharing in the Eucharist into every part of our daily lives.
Because the Novitiate is a time of quiet, during which the Novice enters more deeply into a life of prayer, strengthening her relationship with Christ, and becoming more disciplined in her prayer and study, her days may be more structured than those of other Community sisters. In addition to praying Morning and Evening Prayer with the Community, Novices also recite in common other parts of the Divine Office (Prayer of the Church) as a means of building a foundation for a life of prayer and spiritual reading. Novices also meet individually with the Novice Director on a weekly basis.
In the first year of the Novitiate, Novices take part in an Inter-congregational Novices' Course on subjects common to all religious, including human development, an introduction to the vows, social justice. It is also an opportunity to make friends with one's peers in the religious life. In second year, Novices will have the opportunity to engage in some form of pastoral work. |
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The Novices' daily timetable looks something like this: |
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| 8.30 am | Morning Prayer |
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| Breakfast | |||||||||
| 9.45 am | Office of Readings and time for reflection | ||||||||
| Morning Class (Scripture, Rule and Constitutions, Theology, Dominican life, Liturgy, or Music) | |||||||||
| 12.00 pm | Midday Prayer and Rosary | ||||||||
| 12.30 pm | Community Lunch | ||||||||
| Private study/prayer/reading/assigned tasks | |||||||||
| 3.00-5.00 pm | Phone duty (2 days/week) | ||||||||
| 5.30 pm | Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (Mondays and Thursday) | ||||||||
| 6.00 pm | Supper | ||||||||
| Private study/reading/prayer/relaxing | |||||||||
| 8.00 pm | Compline (Night Prayer) | ||||||||
| Free time | |||||||||
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'May the Lord who has begun this work in you bring it to completion.'
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