By Br. Michael Mari Henry Iezzi CRS
This is a question I thought that I knew the answer to before giving away my things, saying goodbye to family and friends, and moving halfway across the world to enter the Noviciate in Somasca, Italy. In fact, what I thought I knew about it and what it actually is, was something that came as a surprise, a challenging surprise, but one that also filled me with such peace and joy unlike anything else in this world had.
The Noviciate, which is “the beginning of life in the Order…..to help the candidate deepen his knowledge of God’s call” (CCCR 83), 365 days of intensive formation in the charism, history, prayer and community life of the Order, serves as a testing ground for one to, as our Constitutions state, to deepen and clarify the calling of God to a religious vocation as a Somascan. And so, on a sunny September morning, I was officially admitted to the noviciate alongside 4 others. We were novices (or ‘santi novizi’ as the elderly women of Somasca often exclaimed.)
My noviciate experience was just that, a testing ground, where I was both challenged and consoled in ways that God had never done to me before. Like our holy founder states in his letters, God tests those that are faithful to Him in order that we may become more purified, much like gold is refined. And while those times of testing were sometimes difficult, ultimately it served me well in helping to see clearer that Christ has called me to follow Him in this life.
The beauty of religious life, especially the noviciate, is that we aren’t tested alone. We have our brothers next to us to offer help and consolation, always together, always doing things as a group. I remember many times during that year when without the help of those brothers around me, I would not have been able to weather the storms God set before me.
The Noviciate year also introduced me in a more intimate and profound way to the spiritual and devotional life of our tradition. The steady rhythm of the Divine Office prayed in common, daily participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, daily Adoration and Rosary, and the many devotions specific to our spiritual heritage. I can truly say that the peaceful and steady prayer life of the noviciate helps one to enter in a kind of spiritual retreat, where ones only worry is to discern God’s will. Of course, this discernment is not done alone, our Novice Master was our spiritual guide, which during our regular times of spiritual direction, would listen with patience and tenderness to what God had put on my heart, offering guidance and support as any good father would do. The spiritual fruits of the noviciate are immeasurable for those who enter in wholeheartedly.
Another aspect of my noviciate was the human formation we received. While prayer is essential, we are also human beings who have human problems. Our Novice Master placed great importance on our psychological formation, which at first, I was hesitant to, but it wasn’t long before I could see how learning to understand myself better on the natural level was invaluable in my spiritual life.
And so, the days rolled on, prayer, manual labour, formation, community life. Those 365 days are ones that I will treasure for the rest of my life. But like all temporal things, they must end. And the time had come for me to decide, to write to my provincial asking for permission to profess the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience as a religious of the Clerics Regular of Somasca. And in all confidence, I can say that the Noviciate year had prepared me to take that leap with confidence in the Lord’s divine assistance.
There were so many times of joy, laughter, peace and consolation in that year, that I could never fully describe what it was like. I remember before leaving, many of the Father’s would reminisce to me how they wished they were back in the Noviciate, how they longed for those days again. I never really understood that, until now. With the responsibilities of a religious studying for the priesthood, I feel that longing for those intimate days with the Lord and my brothers that I experienced in the Noviciate, which were truly unique.
So now, I have an answer to that question ‘What does it mean to leave behind the world and follow Christ in a religious vocation?’, at least a small understanding, which my Noviciate year gave to me. And as I continue with my journey in religious life and towards the Priesthood, I hope to bring with me the essence of what the Noviciate year is all about, that constant longing and searching for the will of God in my life.