From April 24th to April 28th, 2023, the novices of the Novitiate Nossa Senhora de Fátima, in Jaraguá do Sul – Santa Catarina, in the south of Brazil, together with the Master of Novices, Father Rubens Rieg, scj, participated in Novinter 2023, together with the other novices of the state of Santa Catarina. Novinter is an initiative of the CRB (Conference of Religious of Brazil) and it is a meeting of novices from various religious institutes that have the opportunity to receive, in this stage, a specific and common formation for all, besides moments of sharing and fraternity.
The first stage of Novinter 2023 took place at the Novitiate of St. Joseph of the Order of Friars Minor, which is located in Rodeio – Santa Catarina, and gathered a total of 32 novices. Besides the 9 SCJ novices, 7 OFM novices, the 10 OFMCap novices, the 4 novices of the Congregation of the Franciscan Catechist Sisters – CICAF and the 2 Carmelite novices of the Divine Heart of Jesus – CDCJ participated.
Advised by the Carmelite friar Ivani Pinheiro Ribeiro, OCarm, the meeting had as its theme “Human Formation”. Inspired by the motto “Speak, Lord, and your servant will listen” (cf. 1 Samuel 3:9) and by the words of the Gospel of the Good Samaritan, the novices had the experience of allowing themselves to be cared for by the Good God who calls us and wants to heal us so that we can love more and better.
They were very intense days, marked by a strong experience of God and a rich sharing of life among those present, where everyone could get to know more about the charism and spirituality of each religious family.
