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Only A One-year Novitiate?


DameAgnes

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Am I reading this correctly? The Nashville Dominicans have just a one year novitiate? I thought it was a two-year?

[url="http://nashvilledominican.org/Vocations/The_Formation_Process"]http://nashvilledominican.org/Vocations/Th...rmation_Process[/url]

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VeniteAdoremus

I saw that as well - maybe they changed it?

The Dominican friars have a three-week postulancy and one-year novitiate. That means that my friend who's joining a year after me will still beat me to first vows! Not fair!

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From their formation page: The two years following initial vows are spent within the novitiate, interestingly enough.

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DominicanPhilosophy

Sisters in Ann Arbor spend two years after postulant year as novices; Nashville has the required one-year notiviate (ie, a sister is a novice for one year after postulant year). However, the first four years of religious formation in the community are referred to as the "Novitiate."

Postulant - 1 yr
Novice - 1 yr
First-year black veil (profess temporary, "First" vows for 3 yrs)
Second-year black veil
- leave Novitiate to live in Professed community (now referred to as "Professed" sisters) -
Third-year black veil
Renew First Vows for 2 more yrs
Profess Final Vows at 7 yrs religious formation

^_^

+JMJD

Edited by DominicanPhilosophy
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VeniteAdoremus

Hm... interesting! I also thought they had just the three years of temporary vows (like my future community).

Is this to make sure they all have some experience "in the field" before they make final vows? (Because the sisters without a teaching qualification spend four years getting that, plus the novitiate year?)

By the way, I love referring to them as "first year black veil" or "second year black veil". Sounds like martial arts ranks :ninja:

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DominicanPhilosophy

[quote name='VeniteAdoremus' post='1938904' date='Aug 2 2009, 11:46 AM']Hm... interesting! I also thought they had just the three years of temporary vows (like my future community).

Is this to make sure they all have some experience "in the field" before they make final vows? (Because the sisters without a teaching qualification spend four years getting that, plus the novitiate year?)

By the way, I love referring to them as "first year black veil" or "second year black veil". Sounds like martial arts ranks :ninja:[/quote]

Yes, they do have a neat formation "layout." Three years under temporary vows, then renewal of the vows for two years. I'm not sure the exact reason for this, but I would presume that you are correct. That makes sense. :cool:

Haha! I love it, too! One of my sister-teachers was talking to us about the novitiate and formation and everything, and our class got a kick out of the martial-arts-sounding terms. :topsy:

+JMJD

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I know it is not uncommon for an order to refer to all sisters who are not solemnly professed as part of the "novitiate," in a broad sense, but I do think it's interesting that Nashville only has the one year in a white veil, before even simple vows. I don't think I know of any other community that doesn't require at least 18months as a "white veiled" novice before simple vows are taken, although there may perhaps be some monastic communities who do that. Interesting.

Now, a question to you gals who have discerned with both the Nashville and the Ann Arbor communities - did the "one year-as-novice-before-simple-vows" bit influence you at all?

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They may have only one year that is officially the novice year, but they are very strict throughout the entire novitiate (regarding visits and letters and e-mail and such). My cousin takes final vows next summer, and she's *still* not allowed to receive personal e-mails from me. Both of her sisters got married (not during her 1 year novitiate), and she was not allowed to attend either wedding.

So, they might not need 2 years of being a novice when the entire novitiate is structured in that way.

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DominicanPhilosophy

[quote name='MithLuin' post='1939171' date='Aug 2 2009, 06:50 PM']They may have only one year that is officially the novice year, but they are very strict throughout the entire novitiate (regarding visits and letters and e-mail and such). My cousin takes final vows next summer, and she's *still* not allowed to receive personal e-mails from me. Both of her sisters got married (not during her 1 year novitiate), and she was not allowed to attend either wedding.

So, they might not need 2 years of being a novice when the entire novitiate is structured in that way.[/quote]

Regarding discernment: Yes, it is a difference that I've considered; like MithLuin described, I feel that - just from the little I know about the formation process as an "outsider" - a one-year novitiate is sufficient. It is also prescribed by Canon Law, so I feel good about that. Maybe it's just that Nashville is "stricter" in one year than many other communities, and therefore the other communities feel that there is a need for more than one year as a novice. Also (and I don't know about how things work in other communities, Ann Arbor included), since Nashville is the "hub" for the [St. Cecilia] Dominicans, and many of their schools and Aquinas College are nearby, the postulants and even novices (albeit only inside convent walls for them) are able to be immersed fully in the apostolate and heritage of the congregation.

Oh and MithLuin, if I may ask, who is your cousin? How exciting! I went to Final Vows this year and last ... how BEAUTIFUL! :love:

+JMJD

Edited by DominicanPhilosophy
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Let me hasten to add, I was not criticizing the practice. I have zero opinion on whether one year or two year novitiates are essential, and think it's up to each community to make that decision as they know what their formation most requires.

I am a little surprised to hear that your cousin was not allowed to go to her sisters weddings after first vows, but as they say, "Religious life is not for wimps." And perhaps her sacrifice and discipline (and prayers) brought extra blessings to both marriages!

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the lords sheep

The Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara also only have a 1 year novitiate. It is not as common among women's communities, but almost every male community has only 1 year of novitiate. In fact, none immediately come to mind that have a 2 year novitiate... anyway, as someone stated, 1 year is all that is mandated by cannon law.

Communities can choose to go beyond it if they wish, but either way, formation is a life-long process, whether there is only one year or two years in the novitiate.

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VeniteAdoremus

The SSVM have only one year of novitiate before first vows - enter in September one year, profess in October the next. This is so short because they have a strong missionary spirit and they want to be able to pull a sister [i]temporarily[/i] out of studies if she's needed somewhere (at least, that's how it works in the European novitiate).

Many "male" orders (for instance, the Dominican friars of the English province) also profess vows a year after entrance. I've heard two explanations for this:

-it used to be that many vocations came from either junior seminary or Catholic secondary schools, where they already got a good religious education, whereas girls often went to a school that was more focussed on household tasks and didn't have a strong catechism program, so sisters needed more initial formation before vows.

-the friars often attend university (usually in the shape of a Dominican House of Studies). These aren't formation houses in the traditional sense, because they're originally intended to be open to other students as well. Novices are supposed to receive the biggest chunk of their formation from an appointed novice master, and sending them to a House of Studies while already in vows makes it easier on the teachers and director to decide what formation a brother needs.

My community used to have a six-month postulancy and (way back when) a one-year noviciate, but it's 1-2-3 now. :)

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InHisLove726

[quote name='DameAgnes' post='1939529' date='Aug 3 2009, 01:11 AM']SSVM is which, again? Sometimes all the letters confuse me! :-)[/quote]

Servants of the Lord and Virgin of Matara ;)

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