Jesuit magazine (4-11).indd - The New Orleans Province of the ...
Jesuit magazine (4-11).indd - The New Orleans Province of the ...
Jesuit magazine (4-11).indd - The New Orleans Province of the ...
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testing and experimenting:<br />
A scientist who has an idea that he wants to test runs to<br />
his laboratory. <strong>The</strong>re he applies various tests to see whe<strong>the</strong>r<br />
his initial idea was a sound one. Some people use <strong>the</strong> laboratory<br />
analogy to try to explain <strong>the</strong> novitiate experience, and in<br />
many ways a “lab” is an accurate analogy for this first stage in<br />
<strong>Jesuit</strong> formation.<br />
When a man enters <strong>the</strong> novitiate, he has a good idea that<br />
God is calling him to become a <strong>Jesuit</strong> – he has discerned and<br />
spent many hours in <strong>the</strong> application process being interviewed<br />
by <strong>Jesuit</strong>s, doctors and even a psychologist – but he has never<br />
lived as a <strong>Jesuit</strong>; he has not yet tested his vocation. Likewise,<br />
<strong>the</strong> Society <strong>of</strong> Jesus has a good idea that <strong>the</strong> man <strong>the</strong>y have<br />
admitted is a good fit, but it needs some real life experiences<br />
with this man to know for sure. <strong>The</strong> novitiate is this time <strong>of</strong><br />
testing and discernment.<br />
One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> reasons a laboratory is a good analogy for <strong>the</strong><br />
novitiate is because St. Ignatius designed <strong>the</strong> novitiate to have<br />
specific tests which are called “experiments.” No, novices are<br />
not asked to deliver electric shocks to one ano<strong>the</strong>r, nor does<br />
<strong>the</strong> novice master ring a bell before meals and measure salivation.<br />
Instead, <strong>the</strong> various experiments, many conceived by<br />
Ignatius himself, test whe<strong>the</strong>r a novice can do what <strong>Jesuit</strong>s do<br />
and live as <strong>Jesuit</strong>s live.<br />
<strong>The</strong> first experiment is arguably <strong>the</strong> most important – <strong>the</strong><br />
undertaking <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> full 30 day Spiritual Exercises <strong>of</strong> St. Igna-<br />
Second-year novice Penn Dawson<br />
in <strong>the</strong> remote village <strong>of</strong><br />
Karasabai in Guyana<br />
Life in <strong>the</strong> Novitiate<br />
tius. In this powerful and moving experience, a novice moves<br />
through <strong>the</strong> retreat, seeking to know and follow Christ more<br />
closely and to more clearly hear His voice in his life. He will<br />
draw on this experiment for <strong>the</strong> rest <strong>of</strong> his <strong>Jesuit</strong> life.<br />
In our novitiate, <strong>the</strong> experiment that follows <strong>the</strong> Long<br />
Retreat is <strong>the</strong> “Primi Class Experiment.” All <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> first year<br />
novices, called primi, go to Kansas City, Kansas, to work in a<br />
variety <strong>of</strong> ministries and to work on building a stronger sense<br />
<strong>of</strong> community. This year <strong>the</strong> primi worked in parishes, schools<br />
and a hospital. In addition <strong>the</strong>y worked with Burmese refugees<br />
who have been granted asylum by <strong>the</strong> US government and<br />
with <strong>the</strong> Turnaround Program, a program which seeks to help<br />
recently released prisoners get <strong>the</strong>ir feet on <strong>the</strong> ground in <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
new life.<br />
Next, for <strong>the</strong> Pilgrimage Experiment, <strong>the</strong> novice master<br />
hands each novice $5 and a one-way bus ticket to a destination,<br />
different for each novice. Ignatius thought it was important<br />
for all novices to understand <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> begging<br />
for what one needs – food, shelter, transportation – as he did<br />
in his own life, going from his home in Spain to Jerusalem<br />
shortly after his conversion. On pilgrimage, <strong>the</strong> novice “[puts]<br />
all hope in <strong>the</strong> Creator and Lord and accept[s] sleeping poorly<br />
and eating badly because it seems to us that <strong>the</strong> one who cannot<br />
live and walk for a day without eating or sleeping poorly<br />
cannot persevere long in our Society.”[*] <strong>The</strong> journey depends<br />
<strong>The</strong> Sou<strong>the</strong>rn <strong>Jesuit</strong> Spring 20<strong>11</strong><br />
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