On Friday, September 4th, 31 young people received the Legionary uniform, the cassock, from Fr. Paul Lara, LC, territorial director of the Legionaries of Christ in the Monterrey territory, beginning their novitiate period to better understand their vocation, experience the way of life in the Congregation, deepen their knowledge of Regnum Christi, with the intention of professing the evangelical counsels within it when they complete their two years of novitiate.
Father Paul Lara, LC, told them: “You have come to the novitiate to discern, deepen, and mature your vocation. You have heard the voice of Christ calling you to follow Him to be with Him and to be sent to preach. Therefore, in the novitiate, your main focus should be to put Christ at the center of your lives, living your day inspired by a fervent desire and firm purpose to conform yourselves to Jesus Christ, knowing Him, loving Him, and imitating Him, especially through Eucharistic life.”
Present at the cassock reception ceremony were Fathers Jesús Cardier, Vicente Yanes, Carlos Zanatta, and Felipe Rivas, LL.CC., prefects and professors of the novitiate, as well as some priests and Legionary religious of the territory.
At the end of the ceremony, the novices went to the Virgin’s grotto to entrust her with the new stage they have begun.
What is a novitiate and who belongs to it?
The novitiate, which marks the beginning of religious life in a congregation, aims to help young people who are discerning whether this is their calling to better understand the vocation as lived in that religious family, to experience the way of life and their apostolate, to align their mind and heart with its spirit, and to verify their intention and suitability (cf. Code of Canon Law, 646).
Candidates in the Monterrey novitiate are young people who have finished high school and are at least 17 years old. Usually, they take this step after a period of vocational discernment and a phase called candidacy in the Legion.
What importance does this stage have in the formation of a Legionary of Christ?
The novitiate is a key moment in the life of a Legionary because it is where one seeks to know Christ personally to love Him more, follow Him, and then be able to proclaim Him to others, according to the spirituality of the Congregation. Additionally, it is a period in which the foundations of religious and priestly life are laid: prayer life, practice of Christian virtues, deepening of faith, initiation into apostolate. The key is discernment to decide freely and out of love for Christ and humanity to dedicate one’s life to God through the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The vows are made at the conclusion of the novitiate.
The response to this calling arises from the generosity of the heart in an environment of inner freedom.
A gallery of images of the cassock reception can be viewed at this link.
