LifeSigns, July-Aug 2012 - Sisters of the Holy Cross

new leaves: Formation
Novitiate community a holy ground
by Sister Jui Clara Corraya
“Unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and
dies, it remains only a single grain.”
—John 12:24
Novitiate life “is the seed time, not the
harvest.” It is a time for planting, whereby
the seed grows with care, love and support. It
is a time for contemplation, to discover more
deeply God’s call to each person’s vocation. It
is a place solidly grounded in faith so that the
seed will fall on fertile ground because this
is the way God has chosen. I listened to the
word of God and took it into my heart. It is a
lifelong process.
There I found resources, a beautiful
environment and holy ground — this novitiate
community. It is a place of trust, of love,
of being loved and caring for one another, and
an opportunity to have a genuine relationship
among the community members.
Where is this place? It is the International
Novitiate at Saint Mary’s, where one can
find a diversity of cultures, countries, foods,
personalities, dress, dance, songs, prayer styles —
all kinds of different experiences. It is a place of
joy, happiness, fun and many challenges. It also
is a place to learn about emotions, naming the
feelings, sharing the sorrows and difficulties, and
more. Sometimes the difficulties took a lot of my
energy, but I overcame them with the help of my
directors, friends and companions. This was a
big lesson for me. There is so much to learn and
to know in the novitiate, and the learning never
ends. It is surprising to realize two years have
passed.
A solemn song for the novitiate is “You
are here, so this is holy ground.” It reminds
me of Moses, when God called to him from
the burning bush and told him to remove his
sandals because he was walking on holy ground.
God stopped him and sent him to his people
Sister Jui Clara Corraya reads a book to a toddler at her ministry at the
YWCA in South Bend, Indiana.
who were crying and who needed help. For me
it is the same.
I am very grateful to have had my mission
experience at Saint Agnes in Los Angeles,
California. The three-month mission experience
is part of the novitiate program that helps the
novices discover and develop their gifts and
talents and learn their limitations. It was a
valuable experience for me to be in Los Angeles
and to help at the Saint Agnes School as an
assistant teacher. My supervisor there was very
helpful, and I cannot believe I accomplished so
much.
There were many activities in the novitiate
that were great fun. One was our garden. We
grew many vegetables that were foreign to some
of us. We would ask each other, “Do you eat this?
Do you eat that? How do you cook it?” What
some sisters thought were weeds to others were
delicious and healthy vegetables. Sometimes the
cooking smells were horrible, but after a taste or
two we mostly agreed it was good.
Birthday and holiday parties and the Saturday
recreation were special times. The parties would
continued, page 24
july / august 2012 ¡ LifeSigns
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