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Novitiate - Canon Law
By Sister Julie | May 15, 2008
In “Novitiate - Overview” (my previous post in the Decoding Formation series) I wrote about what novitiate is in general and where it fits in the grand scheme of formation.
In this post I want to look at novitiate from another lens: Canon Law. Canon Law is the fundamental legislation that governs the Catholic Church. It is important to be aware of Canon Law in terms of religious life, specifically novitiate, because it provides guidelines and safeguards for people joining and for the religious communities. The section on religious life can be found in Book II of Canon Law:
Here are a few things that Canon Law addresses in terms of Novitiate:
Article 1: Admission to the Novitiate (Canons 641-645)
Can. 641 on the sole right of the major superior to admit candidates to novitiate
Can. 642 on the health, character, and maturity of a person entering
Can. 643-644 on impediments to validly entering religious life (e.g., having a spouse or overwhelming debt)
Can. 645 on necessary proof that must be provided (e.g. proof of baptism, confirmation)
Article 2: The Novitiate and Formation of Novices (Canons 646-653)
Can. 646 on the nature of novitiate as helping “novices better understand their divine vocation … , experience the manner of living of the institute, and form their mind and heart in its spirit …”
Can. 647 on the novitiate house (the place novices live)
Can. 648-649 on the requirement that novices spend a full 12 months “in the community itself of the novitiate” (with provision for some apostolic work)
Can. 650-651 on the person and role of the novice director
Can. 652 on how novice directors help novices discern their call and immerse themselves in prayer and the life of the community
Can. 653 on leaving novitiate
You might have heard reference to a period of novitiate called the canonical year. Canonical year refers to one of the two years of novitiate which is shaped specifically by Canons 646-653. Every religious community follows these canons in a way which is suitable to each particular community and tradition and which is approved by the Church.
If you have questions about how a particular religious community incorporates these Canons into their formation process, please talk with the community’s formation director.
Here is an article from my cousin IHMs in Scranton, Pennsylvania on A Week in the Life of a Canonical Novice. This article gives a real life example of how a particular community and its novices live the canonical year of novitiate.
The non-canonical year of novitiate is a second year of novitiate that is not called for by Canon Law but which most congregations have. It’s a time in which the novice is more actively engaged in ministry (apostolate). The work of the non-canonical year is still geared toward formation in the life of the community and in growing in relationship to God.
Toward the end of the two years of novitiate, novices prepare for their first profession of vows. They receive specific training on what the vows are, how they are lived, etc. Typically during this time, novices make a retreat in preparation for vows.
May 15th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Ah, yes. Canonical Novitiate. I remember it well. We were able to rise at our leisure, as long as we were in Chapel before the bell tolled 6:30AM. Being a night owl, it was hard for me to function at such an “ungodly” hour, so there were many times when my knee hit the floor by my pew just as the bell rang. Whew!
Of course, we had to steal that last glance that our veil was sitting “just so” on our way to Chapel, so we’d take a peek at our reflection in the framed portrait of the Holy Face. That lasted until someone noticed our devotion was more to our face than it was to Christ’s face, so the picture was hung higher. Oh well.
After mediation, Lauds, Mass, breakfast and dishes, we had classes on prayer, Scripture, the Church Documents, the Constitutions, Franciscanism, etc. Then dinner, dishes, rosary, a brief rest, then a continuation of the morning class. After adoration, Benediction, Vespers, supper, dishes, gardening, recreation and Compline we could go to bed at our leisure as long as lights were out by 10:30PM. We volunteered our services to the older sisters on Saturdays.
We were so insulated within our convent that going out “into the world” was nearly a traumatic experience! When my father died near the end of my Canonical year, I was allowed to go home for the funeral. My sister took me to the local mall for something, and I remembered to keep “custody of the eyes” and only gazed where I was walking. Well, my sister informed me that I was getting a lot of weird looks, but she said that she was giving them right back. What a sweetheart!
At the end of that year, after a home visit, we were able to volunteer outside of the convent, teaching CCD and two parishes and visiting at the local rest home. We were even sent out to do vocation work for a week at all our schools in California. We also did six weeks of apostolic service at one of the local homes.
I remembered that the Canonical year was a nurturing time for my soul. It was also a scary time, especially when all my faults appeared to be parading in front of a telescope. But that just taught me humility, and it drove home to me the mercy and love God has for each of us.
I have lived the last twelve years at home caring for my sick and disabled mother and sister. That foundation I had in novitiate 29 years ago really grounded me in my relationship with God and my Congregation. I know that my heart is with my sisters, and in turn I carry my sisters in my heart. I know that I will be a totally different person when I go back to living with my community, and that I will bring a whole new set of skills with me.
Thanks for the post on Canonical novitiate year. It brought back a lot of memories!
May 15th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Other Sr. Julie:
I didn’t realize that sisters could live with their parents/relatives for such a long period of time if they were already vowed/in community. It makes total sense if you are caring for them. That type of flexibility with ill and aging parents might be very important to the parents of potential candidates for the religious life.
A quick question - what exactly is “custody of the eyes?” It sounds very intriguing.
dee
May 15th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
That’s an OLD term for not gawking and staring at everything, aka minding your own business. It’s also referred to not looking at something that could possible be a “near occasion of sin.” E.g., when I saw “Brother Sun, Sister Moon,” I looked away when Francis stripped down to a smile (all one saw was him bum, but I thought I shouldn’t be looking at that.)
I have to keep in contact with my congregation, sign papers which are sent to Rome, keep in contact with my local home (10 miles away), and go to the motherhouse for meeting and retreats, plus keep up with all my spiritual duties, like daily prayer, spiritual reading, observing the vows, etc. My province has been very creative in keeping me involved. For example, I’ve done some desktop publishing. Technically, I am on LOC (Living Outside Community).
There have been (and still are) some of our sisters that have had to go home and help out for one reason or another. When one of oour sisters was elected to council, she brought aloing her mother who resided in our infirmary until she died. It was as if we had all gained another mother!
May 16th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Another Sr. Julie:
Thanks for your response. That makes sense. All of us should really be minding our own business and not starring at other people. It can be a bit of a challenge sometimes though - especially if you are a curious type of person. Gawking at good looking men is another story. I guess you can just view it as admiring God’s good creation - as long as you don’t act on it!
A monastic nun I know said that back in the old days they had little or no mirrors in the monastery so they could not see themselves. I suppose this was a tool to discourage vanity. This same sister also said they weren’t to keep the blinds open so people could see them. Obviously, they don’t do that anymore. I don’t think avoiding an “occassion to sin” was behind those practises though. BTW, this same sister had her elderly mom living in the monastery infirmary until she died a few months ago. It was nice for both her and her family to have their mom well cared for and close to a daughter in her last years. That was indeed a blessing.
dee