The Novitiate
Lean deeper into our way of life and formation.
Following the exploration period known as postulancy, the novitiate invites you into the Order’s common way of life, expressed through everyday engagement with our invitations and commitments, supported by community of practice and spiritual direction.
The novitiate also takes you through three successive movements to engage deeper formation and help you discern the invitation to take vows with the Order:
The novitiate course of study
A novitiate retreat based on the Ignatian Exercises
The Discernment of Vows cohort
Novitiate formation lasts at least 36 months and can take as long as you need to discern God’s invitation for you. Afterward, you may be invited to take initial vows for one to five years.
Novitiate Rhythms
In the midst of the three “movements” of the novitiate, a larger formation process is taking place as we invite you to leaning into our shared rule in your everyday life.
To help support you in this, each month, the entire Order turns their attention to one commitment from our rule of life together as a common focus, which we then explore in monthly formation groups, where you practice spiritual friendship.
Throughout your novitiate, then, you can expect a rhythm of:
Daily engagement with our rule of life
Monthly spiritual direction
Monthly formation group meetings
Quarterly chapter meetings with the broader Order
The Novitiate Study
Novices often begin with a guided course of study in the fall of their first or second year in the novitiate. During their novitiate study, they:
Explore the spirit of the monastic tradition through its development.
Engage accessible readings and video lessons.
Join monthly cohort meetings for discussion and personal reflection.
The novitiate study lasts nine months, during which novices continue meeting with their spiritual director monthly and exploring the everyday invitations of our rule of life.
The Novitiate Retreat
At some point in their formation, novices will also undertake an individually directed eight-month “retreat in everyday life” known as the 19th Annotation of St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises, the purpose of which is to:
Deepen intimacy with Jesus
Develop deeper rhythms of prayer and reflection
Bring greater clarity to one’s unique sense of mission and vocation
Those who have recently undertaken the complete 19th Annotation with weekly spiritual direction may be encouraged to engage a similar retreat designed to build upon the Spiritual Exercises.
During their retreat retreat, novices maintain a rhythm of prayer and journaling for 45-60 minutes each day and weekly meetings with a spiritual director.
Discernment of Vows
Finally, all novices formally conclude their novitiate formation with a five-month cohort, structured around weekly video content, reflection and journaling, designed to explore:
A theology of vocation
The nature of a monastic vocation
A personalized expression of our sahred rule of life (a “customary”)
An invitation to take initial one- to five-year vows with OCL
The novitiate then culminates in two meetings. First, they gather a discerning community to help clarify and confirm a desire to take vows. Second, the novice meets one last time with their formation guide to discuss and submit their decision. The novice may make then request to take initial vows, opt to remain an unvowed member or choose to part ways with our blessing.
FAQs
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After completing postulancy, candidates are invited to apply to the novitiate.
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The novitiate effectively begins September 1 each year.
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Postulants who choose not to join the novitiate for the following fall are welcome to reapply at any time in the future. Likewise, novices who leave the Order are welcome to apply to rejoin.
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Novices contribute $50/month as members of the Order and pay for the cost of their own spiritual direction, as they do through postulancy. The only other significant expense for participating in the novitiate is the cost of the Spiritual Exercises retreat, which we offer at $1,800 in order to cover the approximate cost of weekly spiritual direction over around 32 weeks. A novice may choose to purchase books or other materials for their course of study at their discretion.
Some scholarships may be available to help with the cost of the Spiritual Exercises for those with prohibitive financial constraints.
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As a novice, you’re invited to discern a vocation of deep commitment within the Order—but also, in the meantime, to be building something together with us as we develop the teams, systems and funds that enable us to offer our paths of formation.
Like your contribution to your local church, your contribution as a novice (alongside the those of our vowed members and donors) helps cover necessary operating expenses as well as our Shared Economy Fund, which makes postulancy, the novitiate and spiritual direction accessible to those with limited means to make a financial contribution.
Please reach out to us directly about any concerns.
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After postulancy cohorts conclude, novices continue into monthly formation groups of five to 10 novices and vowed members. When possible, we keep together people from the same postulancy cohort and geographic area to help support the development of spiritual friendship and physical community. These groups track with one another's lives, reflect on monthly themes from our rule of life, and pray for one another in the invitations each person is experiencing.
Novices are also invited alongside vowed members to quarterly chapter meetings, where we share vision, prayer and stories.
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Novices are welcome to continue with their same spiritual director from postulancy or talk to the Order about changing.
During the Spiritual Exercises retreat, however, we ask that you be directed by someone specially trained for what's known as the “19th Annotation.” This typically means they've undergone an additional year or two of training beyond their initial certification.
The Order has a number of directors trained in the 19th Annotation. If your spiritual director isn't, we also offer this training to experienced spiritual directors in an apprenticeship model that could allow you to continue with them while they're trained. You'll be welcome to resume meeting with your regular spiritual director once your retreat concludes.
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In most cases, we'll invite you to undertake the Spiritual Exercises retreat again, just as many Jesuits do in their lifetime; however, if you've completed the Spiritual Exercises very recently before beginning your novitiate, we may arrange an alternative formational experience with you, such as "Emotionally Focused: Formation."