Novinter

Inter-Congregational Novitiate programme called Novinter comprised of sixteen religious congregations of men and women. We would meet once a month for three days for seven months, travelling back and forth each day by bus. Each congregation was given responsibilities for food, chores, community prayer, animation, and Mass which were rotated each month. The courses that were taught by religious sisters and priests included the following: Human Formation, Moral Conscience, Critical Conscience, Ecclesiology, Christology, History of Religious Life and the Religious Vows.

Novinter - Group

Break during Novinter classes

These courses advanced our knowledge and our critical thinking skills especially as seen through the lenses of the Latin American perspective. Another area of learning for us was the Brazilian culture. We enjoyed learning something of the culture through ‘animation’ during the breaks between the presentations. This is where we learned the various songs and dances of Brazil.

 

We also participated in events like “Festa Junina” (the celebration of the feasts of St. John the Baptist, St. Peter and St. Paul in the month of June)...

Festa Junina - Rose	Festa Junina - Celma, Feliciana, Iranete

.. and “Passeio” (something like a field trip) which we took to a local sports club, where we spent the day playing volleyball, swimming, walking, playing cards, etc.... We even enjoyed a B.B.Q. or, as here we say, um “Churrasco”.

Field Trip - Celma	Field Trip - Joyce

Outing: Formators - Catherine Gough and Isabel Cipriano

Those events helped us to bond and have some fun outside of the “classroom” environment.

In the beginning, Novinter was a challenge for some of us in comprehension and in communication due to the language. However, over time we were able to overcome some of these challenges. Overall, it was a most enjoyable experience, encountering other novices on our journey with Christ and to share our founder Jean Gailhac’s spirituality and mission with all of them.

CEBI (Center for Biblical Studies)

It was with great joy that we participated, from March to October 2008, in the CEBI for Novices. Novices from various congregations participated in this course. We were happy to deepen our understanding of the New Testament, learning, reflecting, meditating on the Gospels and the Epistles, and making application to our lives, our society and the world in which we live.

 

We liked the course very much despite the difficulties that we encountered because of “language”, because the total group of Novices had three main languages: Portuguese, English, and Spanish. The class lectures were given in Portuguese, and our instructors were Sister Julieta from Brazil and Sister Silvana from Argentina.

Each month we were given a theme to reflect on at home; on the day of the course we shared in groups and the instructors helped us to deepen our reflection. The presentations were also accompanied by films such as “Saint Paul” and “The Shroud of Jesus” which helped to augment the classes.

 

We finished the classes with the graduation of some Novices who were finishing the second year of participation in the course (Old and New Testaments) and they received certificates of completion from CEBI. It was a moment of great joy and excitement.