Please join us in giving thanks to God, as this year we welcome seven novices! They come from all over the country. Here are their names in order of their appearance in the photo (working from Br. Michael on the left to Br. Charbel on the right).
1. Br. Michael (CPS ’20) is named after St. Michael the Archangel. The archangel has been given many titles and yet the meaning of his name (i.e., “Who is like God?”) reveals his most important quality – humility.
2. Br. Gideon is named after St. Gideon in Scripture (cf. Judges 6 – 8). The story of Gideon tells how he faced the Midianites with an ever smaller army and ever greater reliance on God. He inspires us always to trust in God’s power.
3. Br. Elijah is named after the prophet Elijah. His name means “God is my god,” the god “whom I cannot control and whom I cannot understand.” Against all idolatry, the prophet follows the living voice of God leading us deeper into his loving design.
4. Br. Jerome is named after St. Jerome, a master of languages with a deep love for Scripture. St. Jerome once wrote, “I beg of you … to live among the Scriptures, to meditate upon them, to know nothing else…. Does not such a life seem to you a foretaste of heaven?”
5. Br. Anselm is named after St. Anselm of Canterbury. This name recalls the first abbot of Our Lady of Dallas, in addition to the saint, whose theology Br. Anselm has already enjoyed exploring in his work as a youth minister.
6. Br. Gerard is named after Bl. Gerard. He was a knight who followed his brother – St. Bernard – into the monastery after struggling with God. He was a courageous, practical and honest man, someone dearly beloved by St. Bernard.
7. Br. Charbel (CPS ’20) is named after St. Charbel, who never moved far from the Lebanese village where he was born. After his death in 1898 has been credited with over 25,000 miracles. Br. Charbel, who also comes from a Lebanese family, remembers visiting the saint’s tomb when he was five years old, as well as entrusting his vocation to him later in life.
Please pray for these young men! May the Lord “send laborers into his harvest!” (Luke 10:2)