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Brothers in the making
AS PART of the postulancy period prior to the novitiate, Brother Patrick Martin and Brother Roberto Martinez worked for a year at the high school the other had attended. Martinez says,“The novitiate experience has clarified my understanding of myself because it has become more clear that God has called me to this life.”
Brother James Joost, F.S.C. serves in congregational leadership and vocation ministry for the De La Salle Christian Brothers in Napa, California.
bybrother JameS JooSt, f.S.C.
Having stepped out of the full-time teaching for a year of clarifying their understandings of themselves, three novice De La Salle Christian Brothers are growing into their vocation and preparing to return, deepened, to the ministry of education.
HEN THINKING of Catholic brothers, it’s hard not to think in both the singular and plural at the same time, especially when it comes to novices. Yes, each of the three men featured in the photo story to fol-W low had a pretty regular life as he thought about the De La Salle Christian Brothers and each joined the brothers individually, but, because they are now novices, living together in community, prayer, and ministry—as brothers—they are aware that their identity is now growing larger than any one of them could be alone.
Celebrating the 5th Centenary of the Birth of St. Teresa of Jesus (1515-2015)
Brothers united in prayer for the service of the Church . . .
DISCALCED CARMELITE FRIARS WASHINGTON PROVINCE discalcedfriars.org ocdvocation@gmail.com
NOVICE:A man or woman taking part in the initial stage of entering a ! religious community. The novice is typically involved in discernment, preparation, and formation activities, including study of the order’s charism, or guiding spirit, history, constitution, and way of living the vows. This period lasts from 12 to 24 months and is called the novitiate. At the end of the novitiate the novice either leaves or takes temporary vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
Enter #434 at VocationMatch.com
TWICE A YEAR all the De La Salle Christian Brothers in initial formation in the U.S. gather for a weekend of retreat, conversation, and fellowship (right). A unique aspect of the novitiate, in today’s high-tech, media enriched world, is the time to be still. As Brother Patrick Martin says, “Without external stimuli, you get a chance to do some inner work. You get to know yourself really well, and test your fit in this vocation.”
BROTHER DAVE Deradoorian, 26 (below, left) “first met the brothers in high school . . . and saw them as a dedicated and energetic group of men living, sharing, and praying together.” Here he and Brother Patrick Martin spend some time producing music in their studio. Before entering the De La Salle Christian Brothers, Martin, 35, was a special education teacher.
—brotherofthe SaCred heartbob Croteau
—brother-Servant oftheholy Spirit Samgunn MARTIN AND DERADOORIAN (below) in one of the three weekly classes the novices take. For Deradoorian the novitiate “is a supportive, encouraging experience. Sometimes the brothers see strengths in us that we didn’t see in ourselves.” He finds the schedule of courses and unstructured time helpful for understanding how his role as a brother grows through “reading, the ability to learn about our founder and our history, and the ability to try new things and explore new talents . . . art, [and] music.”
—SoCietyofmary brother StephenglodeK
ONCE A WEEK Brother Roberto Martinez, 27 (left), and the other novices help out in classes at the local Lasallian high school. “My role as a brother in today’s day and age,” says Brother Dave Deradoorian, “is to simply and humbly walk with young people throughout
their journey of faith.” =
