Congratulation Sr. Charbel Joseph on your Vestition Day. May the Name of God be praised in your vocation and through your life. We wish you to be holy. May our Lady continue to intercede for you and your family.This crucial stage of formation officially begins with the ceremony of vestition when novices receive the white habit of our Congregation, black mantle, and a white veil as a sign of probation as a religious. Canonically, novitiate lasts 12 months and reaches its peak at the first profession of religious vows. In the course of novitiate, novices practice fully the lifestyle proper to our charism and learn how to harmoniously combine contemplation with apostolic activity according to the Dominican motto Contemplare and contemplata allis tradere – “contemplate and pass on the fruits of contemplation.” Formation focuses on the in-depth studies of theology of religious vows: chastity, poverty, obedience, history and spirituality of the Order of Preachers and our Congregation, the Congregation’s Marian and Eucharistic charism, apostolate (education, preaching of the Word, and health care) and its Constitutions. In general, novices only engage, on occasion in active apostolate.[ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="98" sortorder="1967,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972" display_type="photocrati-nextgen_basic_thumbnails" gallery_width="600" gallery_height="400" cycle_effect="fade" cycle_interval="10" show_thumbnail_link="0" thumbnail_link_text="[Show thumbnails]" show_slideshow_link="0" order_by="sortorder" order_direction="ASC" returns="included" maximum_entity_count="500"]