"Give It a Year" - by Francisco Orozco, OP

[Luigi]

Give It A Year

October 23, 2019

by Fr. Francis Orozco, OP

As the Director of Vocations, a big part of what I do is visit with men that are at different stages of discernment. Some men are just learning about God’s call in their life, some are pretty sure they are called to religious life, and they are trying to discover which community they are called to, others are ready to begin the application process. Regardless of where a man is in the discernment process, there is always an element of surprise. It might be more of a bombshell or perhaps more of an epiphany, but always an eye-opening experience.

A major part of meeting with men is travel. By car, by plane, on foot - I’m on the move visiting with men, giving talks, and leading men through the process of entering the Order. Recently I was on a plane, I had the window seat. I looked out and saw, for the most part, what I expected - houses, trees, cars, roads, clouds, etc. But I also noticed the wing of the plane. It wasn’t new, wasn’t clean, it had seen some miles. It so happened that I was headed to our Priory in Irving, Texas on the campus of the University of Dallas.

St. Albert the Great Priory in Irving, Texas is where I spent my Novitiate year. The novitiate is a year dedicated to living Dominican life in a deliberate way – through prayer, study, and living in community. During the novitiate year, a novice comes to a better understanding of Dominican life through:

Experiencing communal and personal prayer

Daily participation in the Mass

Living community life

Ministerial experience

Classes on our history, saints, constitutions, spirituality, and the vows

Attending workshops and conferences relevant to religious life

During this year I experienced all aspects of religious life. It’s really during the Novitiate year where discernment takes that next big step. For most people that are discerning a call to religious life, the first big steps tend to be going on a Come and See Weekend, receiving the application and beginning the process, and then going to the Admissions Board. Up to this point, all the discernment has occurred “outside” of religious life. At the beginning of the novitiate, my classmates and I received the habit and began a life of prayer and community aimed at helping us discern whether or not this life was for us. The biggest piece of advice I received from other priests and religious (Dominicans, Discalced Carmelites, and Franciscans) was to “give it a year.” “You will be tempted to leave after the first challenge,” they said, “but give it a year.”

During the novitiate, you live with professed friars (priests and brothers) as well as the other novices. You cook, clean, and do chores, as well as pray and study. You take part in meetings and in the life of the priory. You’re now on the “inside” of religious life.

St. Albert the Great Priory and Novitiate in Irving, Texas on the campus of the University of Dallas is where I was first on the “inside” of religious life. It’s where I first experienced priests and brothers that had seen some miles, that weren’t new or clean. It’s where I had my eye-opening experience. But it was not a bad experience. I might compare it to when I first realized that my parents or teachers weren’t perfect, or when I began working at a fast-food restaurant in high school and got to see what happened behind the counter. It was not a bad experience because I saw the other friars that I was living with as men. Men trying their hardest to live the Gospel as Dominican friars. Men, who aren’t perfect, following the call of Christ Jesus. It’s where I took the next big step while on the “inside” of religious life - praying to God for guidance. My prayer, my question to God: “If these men, Dominicans for 20, 30, 40 + years are still trying, what chance do I have?” God’s answer to me: “give it a year.”