Vows Professed Norandina Province
On December 11th, ten Brothers of Norandina Province renewed their vows, promising fidel-ity to God in the Little Brothers of Mary.
The profession cere-mony took place after two days? preparation, in an atmosphere of prayerful dialogue with the Savior and in Mary?s presence. As Father P. Antonio Or-ozco Decros puts it in the book, Mary?s Advent: ?From Mary we learn how to bear the burdens that come from the Father?s hand, all that belongs to Him, all that He has willed to set upon our shoulders.? The profession ceremony took place in Bogota at the retreat house run by the Carmelite Missionary Sisters. The Mass was celebrated by Father Carlos Anderson Acevedo, and the vows were received by Brother Laurentino Albalá, Provincial,
Some days earlier, two Brothers had renewed their vows: Brother Francisco Javier Benavides on November 16th in Sucumbíos, and on November 22nd, Brother Samuel Benedetto Santacruz in Macará. On December 22nd it will be the turn of Brother Crisóstomo Javier Rosero who will renew his vows in Los Teques, Venezuela; while on December 8th, three novices pronounced their first vows in Medillin.
In the presence of our Good Mother, these young Brothers have decided to go forward in the footsteps of their Master, in order to make the dream of Father Champagnat a reality in their lives. They are aware that perhaps they ?will have no wine?: sometimes the wine of faith, of hope, of charity; the wine of eagerness, of prayer. All the same, they are certain that they can count upon Mary?s words to her son Jesus, ?They have no wine,? words that will never fail to be answered.
We thank God, and we thank our Good Mother for this group of young men who by their action, bring the richness of the young man?s heart and mind with its enthusiasm and its quest for authenticity. (See Constitutions, Art. 53.) With Psalm 91/92 we will continue to ?proclaim your love in the morning and your truth in the watches of the night.? Following the thought of Isaac Newton, we might say, ?If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I have sat upon the shoulders of a giant . . . upon God?s shoulders.?
Brother Isaac Revilla