Before the "Great Silence" hits the Jesuit Novitiate...

Third part.... mail sent on October 24th...

Fall Greetings to All!

We here at the novitiate in Southern California are approaching the end of what is known as "Work Month." For us, work month has consisted of a lot of painting. Many years ago, when the California Jesuits owned large vineyards, novices were required to spend part of the fall picking grapes. Ever since the vineyards were sold, however, other tasks have been substituted. This is to fulfill, in part, what St. Ignatius termed the "low and humble offices" that anyone desiring to enter the Society must undertake. The other work we do around the house, such as pots and pans in the kitchen, also form a part of the low and humble offices.

We've painted one of our guest houses entirely on the outside and two bedrooms in the other guest house. I've just about ruined a pair of jeans and old t-shirt doing the work...

Because of Work Month, are days have been full. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we paint all day, on Wednesdays and Fridays we go to our apostolates. For me, as you may recall, that means going to a local hospital where I visit patients. In the evening, we've been watching Franco Zeffirelli's film, Jesus of Nazareth and doing faith sharing, During faith sharing, we've been sharing our family histories and our vocation stories. On Saturday mornings, we have choir practice. We try to have a productive choir practice and improve our singing ability, I should say. And then we've each been writing and giving homilies during the daily masses here ("scriptural reflections," I should say, as we are not yet priests and only they can give homilies).

Sundays and Mondays are still free for the most part...About two weeks ago, we could not go to our beach house, so the superiors organized a scavenger hunt around LA, based on some movies that take place in the city. That was a disaster...we ended up going to three locations, out of a total of twelve, before getting stuck in traffic and running out of gas on our way up to Mulholland Drive, the road behind the famous Hollywood sign, that overlooks the San Fernando Valley and the LA Basin. This past Sunday, however, one of my brother novices and I finally took a drive up to that road. Due to the warm weather and the clear sky, the view out to the sea was spectacular.

Next month we will all be doing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. For those of unfamiliar with the exercises, this is another experiment required of novices. We will spend the month doing a series of meditations and contemplations focused on the life of Jesus, designed to bring us into a closer relationship with Him. The month will be spent in silence, with the exception of daily conversations that we will have with our spiritual directors. We will not have any access to email, the phone, or the newspaper. So yes, I may not know the outcome of the upcoming US elections until about a month afterwards. If you feel inclined to drop me a note that I should read before mid-December, this next week would be a good time to do it.

Due to the retreat, our celebration of Thanksgiving will be post-poned for a week to December 1. A few days later, we will head to Tijuana, Mexico, for a couple of days, to help build a house.

So, a busy couple of weeks lie ahead of me. Next time you hear from me, we will be in the middle of the holiday season...

I can't say that I am intimidated by the 30 days of silence ahead of me, even though I know some of you may be wondering how I will ever be able to keep silent for so long :). For now, I will say that I am looking forward to having some time for myself, free of any major distractions. I'll let you know how it goes...

To those of you that will be celebrating Thanksgiving, have a happy one...

Peace,