rue neuve NOVITIATE HIGHLIGHTS LE JOURNAL OFFICIEL DU NOVICIAT DE LA SALLE PARC VOLUME 01 NO. 01 AUGUST 2017 Habit-taking of Community

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1 LE JOURNAL OFFICIEL DU NOVICIAT DE LA SALLE PARC VOLUME 01 NO. 01 AUGUST 2017 NOVITIATE HIGHLIGHTS 4 Habit-taking of Community Novices The Seed of Formation Annual Plan Human Sexuality in Exodus LA SALLE NOVITIATE FIRST COMMUNITY PHOTO

2 LE JOURNAL OFFICIEL DU NOVICIAT DE LA SALLE PARC VOLUME 1 NO. 01 AUGUST 2017 EDITOR S NOTE WHAT IS RUE NEUVE? Rue Neuve was a street in Rheims, France where the first house of the Brothers of the Christian Schools was located. The humble and modest abode which the Brothers occupied on June 24, 1682 was where all the transformation happened: teachers became Brothers, seculars turned into consecrated men, a human work became the work of God. As Blain put it, the house on Rue Neuve is considered as the cradle of the Institute. EDITOR IN-CHIEF & LAYOUT ARTIST CONTRIBUTORS ADVISERS FEEDBACK? STAFF MERCI BEAUCOUP. BR. MICO DE LEON nfsc BR. KINO ESCOLANO nfsc BR. SHANUKA OBRIS nfsc BR. IVAN UMALI nfsc BR. JEANO ENDAYA nfsc BR. HENRY GYI nfsc BR. REY MEJIAS FSC BR. LUCAS THEIN FSC BR. MANUEL PAJARILLO FSC You may send your comments & s u g g e s t i o n s t o t h e E d i t o r t h r o u g h at mico.deleon@delasalle.ph. Bienvenu a la premiere edition de Rue Nueve, le journal officiel du Noviciat de La Salle PARC In this 1st issue of the Rue Neuve, I am pleased to share with you the joyous moments of our first 4 weeks of coming together in La Salle Novitiate, moments which I consider truly grace-filled for our community. We begin this month s highlights with the Reception of the Holy Habit which symbolized the Novices commitment to strengthen their vocation, and to know God more deeply. Some of us shared our reflections on the significance of this ceremony in this issue. We also highlight the formal opening of La Salle Novitiate with the Seed of Formation, the welcome prayer service led by the Filipino nfscs. The 3rd and I would say the most enjoyable one (Ha-ha!) was the community outing we had at Club Balai Isabel in Talisay, Batangas. We developed our community annual plan, and at the same, enjoyed the company of one another. When I was writing this message, I was pondering on the question, Why Rue Neuve? After some time of reflection, I realized that the first house of the Brothers in Rue Neuve, by its nature, has many similarities with La Salle Novitiate. Just like that humble and modest abode, it is in the Novitiate where we are being molded into a community, and being directed to acquire the spirit of the Institute, where we strive to become faithful followers of St. John Baptist de La Salle, and become better Christian disciples. At the end of the day, it is my hope and prayer that our first steps in Novitiate, just like the house in Rue Neuve, would prove to be a strong foundation for a promising future of learning, living, and loving as De La Salle Brothers. In St. La Salle, BR. MICO DE LEON nfsc ISSUE 1 AUGUST

3 LA SALLE NOVITIATE COMMUNITY BR. REY MEJIAS FSC Director BR. LUCAS THEIN FSC Sub-Director Myanmar BR. MANUEL PAJARILLO FSC Teaching Staff ~ NOVICES ~ BR. HENRY GYI nfsc Myanmar BR. GULFAM GULZAR nfsc Pakistan BR. SAJAWAL JAVED nfsc Pakistan BR. JEANO ENDAYA nfsc BR. KINO ESCOLANO nfsc BR. MICO DE LEON nfsc BR. IVAN UMALI nfsc BR. SHANUKA OBRIS nfsc Sri Lanka BR. LUKE THATSAWORN nfsc Thailand ISSUE 1 AUGUST

4 HABIT TAKING OF PARC NOVICES The Reception of the Holy Habit ceremony is considered as a milestone in a Brother s life. It symbolizes one s commitment to strengthen their vocation, and to continue serving God and His people as a De La Salle Brother. Last August 12, 2017, in an anticipated mass on the feast day of St. Benilde Romanćon, novices Mico, Kino, Jeano, and Ivan (), Henry (Myanmar), and Luke (Thailand) from the Lasallian East Asia District were formally accepted to the Institute and were given their religious habits at the St. Benilde Gym, La Salle Green Hills,. On the same date, Gulfam and Sajawal from the District of ANZPPNG received their religious habits in Faisalabad, Pakistan. Shanuka, a Novice from the District of Colombo received his robe last August 13, 2017 at the Provincialate in Mutwal, Colombo 15. All habit-taking ceremonies in the PARC region were joyously celebrated by the Brothers, Lasallian partners, and the Novices relatives and friends. Indeed, our loving and generous God, through the intercession of St. Benilde Romancon, the Lasallian Patron for Vocations, has truly blessed PARC with the gift of rich vocations. (BR. KINO ESCOLANO nfsc) ISSUE 1 AUGUST

5 The Seed of FORMATION The PARC Novitiate formally began with a welcome prayer service led by Br. Rey Mejias FSC, the Novitiate Director, last August 15, 2017 at the Novitiate chapel. With its theme, Seed of Formation, the PARC novices were given their own plants as a symbol of their own formation. Just like any other plant, formation is a lifetime process of watering, nurturing, and bearing fruit. It tells us that growth cannot happen overnight. It cannot also be rushed. We began our novitiate year planting the seeds of our formation. It is our hope and prayer that as we continue on with our journey towards becoming a professed De La Salle Brother, we will be graced by God, the Divine Sower, of openness and wisdom to always grow and become better Brothers for the glory of Him. (BR. SHANUKA OBRIS nfsc) ISSUE 1 AUGUST

6 COMMUNITY ANNUAL PLAN Overlooking the majestic Taal Volcano along the shore of Taal Lake, they planned and set the direction of the community with one vision of becoming Brothers to one another, and Brothers to others. The PARC La Salle Novitiate Community held its Community Annual Plan (CAP) and first community outing at Club Balai Isabel in Talisay, Batangas last August 23-24, Overlooking the majestic Taal Volcano along the shore of Taal Lake, they planned and set the direction of the community with one vision of becoming Brothers to one another, and Brothers to others. The community was also able to strengthen its fraternal bond as they enjoyed together the beautiful amenities that Club Balai Isabel offered. They swam in the swimming pool, and shared laughters in the Aqua Park of the resort. They also sang together in the villa with the accompaniment of guitar and beat box. The two-day outing ended with a short visit to De La Salle University Science and Technology Center in Laguna and to Tagaytay City. Indeed, the CAP paved the way for the community to enjoy the presence of one another, and most importantly, to set the optimistic tone of all to look forward to their formation in the Novitiate with joyful anticipation. (BR.IVAN UMALI nfsc) ISSUE 1 AUGUST

7 HUMAN SEXUALITY I N E X O D U S Last August 29 - September 1, 2017, the Novices went to Manila to attend a class in Human Sexuality. It is one of the courses organized by Exodus, a modular class program for Novices from different religious congregations. The sessions were facilitated by Fr. Nords Adlam, MSC and Sr. Mariella de Villia, OP Anunciata. As De La Salle Brothers, we need to develop a healthy and an integrated sexuality. Self-mastery and self-acceptance are very important to facilitate this life-long process. We should also not see our sexuality negatively. As Fr. Nords said in his discussion, If you are afraid of sexuality, you are afraid of God. We are all made by God as sexual beings. Jesus himself was a sexual being too when He became man. At the end of the day, sexuality is considered a beautiful gift from our generous God. Our invitation now is to appreciate and embrace it as our own through our relationships with ourselves, with other people, and most importantly, our loving Creator. (BR. HENRY GYI nfsc) ISSUE 1 AUGUST

8 FEATURES ILLUSTRATIONS ET ARTICLES LITTERAIRES HABIT-TAKING REFLECTIONS A Habit to Learn. I will start to answer the pressing question of the significance or meaning of the Habit and the Habit taking for me. Simply put, it is a physical manifestation of God s will for me, at least, at this point in time. It is a concrete affirmation that I am still in the right place and I am still following Him. It is a gift of renewed confidence on my part to continue on this journey of knowing if the yes I said to the question above meant the same yes that my God wants me to give. The same confidence I would carry with me in deepening my relationship with Him knowing that despite the silent treatment He had given me before, He would always still be there. (BR. JEANO ENDAYA nfsc, ) The Habit. It gives me joy in knowing that all the challenges and crises I have faced in my year in the Postulancy brought forth a gift and a chance to be more loving and life giving. Giving a special emphasis to my family, the robe will be a symbol of unity in our family. I am very happy that together with the day of reception of the Habit, I will see my family happily looking at me with full acceptance of the path that I am taking. (BR. KINO ESCOLANO nfsc, ) My Holy Habit. By receiving the Holy Habit, I feel that I need to look inside of my heart frequently So this Habit will remind me that one day I also have to live with the vows and from now onward I have to observe to my interior and listen to the call in my everyday life. This Habit reminds me to respond to the call daily and have a good preparation to the next chapter in my formation journey. That means there is something I am looking forward to perform after the Habit taking. (BR. HENRY GYI nfsc, Myanmar) ISSUE 1 AUGUST