The Novitiate

    Those accepted as novices for the Benedictine life at Saint Vincent Archabbey spend their first full year in the novitiate.  For Saint Benedict the meaning of the novitiate year is quite simple, yet touches the depth of the human heart:

    "The concern must be whether the novice truly seeks God and whether he shows eagerness for the Work of God, for obedience and for trials.  The novice should be clearly told all the hardships and difficulties that will lead him to God."  (58: 7-8)