At 6:00 pm, August 11, 2017, the bell rang, calling confreres, parents and friends to Eucharistic Adoration. They would be witnesses of the events of these days. It was in Adoration, so dear to Father Leo Dehon, our venerable founder, that the ceremony of reception to the novitiate began.
Clothed in white garments, they came to ask the Lord for the purification they will receive during their year of novitiate. After vespers, the Provincial Superior, in his homily, reminded them of this. Born in a family which helped them to know and love God, they now enter the novitiate. They came with their personal projects, desires, ideas and will. The novitiate, said Father Jean Marie Signié, is a time to correspond to the will of God. All should answer the call of God which often requires sacrifice to answer. All should allow themselves to be formed by the Lord.
After the Provincial Superior’s homily was the rite of admission to the novitiate. The great silence expressed the seriousness of the moment. Prayers were offered for the novices.
The event ended around the table prepared by the Lord for fraternal sharing. The confreres were very happy to be together, especially those who came from Germany and Italy. The occasion was honoured by special guests, such as Fathers Léopold Mfouakouet (general councillor for Africa), David Tachago, (former novice master) and Albert Lingwengwe (former general councillor for Africa). It was difficult to leave, but rest was needed before the celebration of first professions the following day.
May the Lord grant grace on these novices and the novitiate. We pray that they are formed as good religious for the Priests of the Sacred Heart, spreading the love of God in society.
