In the atmosphere of recollection that only the Desert of Candelaria—the historical and spiritual heart of the Recollection in Colombia—can offer, the Province of Our Lady of Candelaria has experienced an event of grace. This Friday afternoon, eight young men who completed their postulancy took the preliminary step towards consecrated life through the ceremony of taking the habit, presided over by the Provincial Prior, Friar José David Niño Gómez.
This rite marks the official beginning of the novitiate, a fundamental canonical period that this year takes on a special nuance as it is celebrated in full harmony with the Year of Missions declared by the Order.
The habit: Sign of a new way of life
Accompanied by the provincial secretary and the religious fraternity, the young men divested themselves of the old to be clothed in Christ and the tradition of the Order. The habit is not a mere external symbol; it represents the assumption of a profound theological identity: the search for the unitas (unity) and caritas (charity) taught by Our Father Saint Augustine.
The new novices who begin this stage are:
• Ricardo Alberto Cárdenas Hernández
• Duván Hernández Ravelo
• Miller David Fernández López
• Víctor Daniel Velásquez Atehortúa
• Jhonatan Rivera Ortiz
• Jhoan Ferney Gómez Calderón
• Tomás Felipe Valencia Ramos
• Juan Camilo Contreras Velásquez
The Desert of Ráquira: A privileged place for encounter
The Provincial Father highlighted in his intervention the importance of the place. The Convent of the Desert of Candelaria is not only a geographical location in Ráquira; it is a spiritual concept. It is the “workshop” where the soul, away from the noise of the world, is exercised in listening to the Interior Master.
During this year of probation, the novices will dedicate themselves to the exhaustive study of the Rule of our Father and the Constitutions of the Order. This text is not approached as a legal regulation, but as the deepest expression of our way of life: a roadmap to live the Gospel in community, with a single soul and a single heart directed towards God -anima una et cor unum in Deum-. It is here, far from the noise, where the Recollect charism acquires its purest meaning.
Forming in the desert for the Mission
The coincidence of this beginning with the Year of Missions reminds us of an Augustinian truth: contemplation and action are not opposed. The novitiate is the time to fill the heart in order to later be able to deliver it in the apostolic mission. Under the guidance of Our Father Saint Augustine, these brothers learn that the mission is born from the overabundance of God’s love experienced in prayer and fraternal life.
The Province of Our Lady of Candelaria invites the entire Augustinian-Recollect family to unite in prayer, entrusting these eight brothers to the maternal protection of the Virgin of Candelaria, so that they may persevere on this path of holiness and service.
