As a man joins an Oratorian community, he passes through various stages leading to full membership in the community. The first three years consist of the first probation (one year) and then the second probation (two years), during which the novice is formed in zeal for virtue and also formed to become adapted to the family life of the Oratory community. As well as becoming imbued in the mind and spirit of the Oratory, his suitability is also tested. At the end of these three years, if the novice has given a good account of himself in the life of the community, and has the intention of remaining forever, then the community takes a secret ballot and decides by absolute majority whether the man is to be fully aggregated into the community or dismissed. Brother Tyson completed his second probation at the beginning of September, and so the vote was taken and he has been aggregated to our community. Congratulations, Brother Tyson! After the completion of a further three years after aggregation (when one completes the sexennium, six years since entering), a member is given full voting rights in the community, with the ability to elect others, and is eligible to be elected to all offices in the community.
Br Tyson receives the Oratorian cassock in 2014 from Fr Robinson, Provost of the Toronto Oratory.
At the moment we have a couple of serious enquirers to the Oratory. Please keep these men in your prayers, and please pray for Oratorian vocations. If we do have more members join in 2018, we will most certainly need to spend some money to create more bedrooms, which is a wonderful problem to have! This is a good opportunity to thank our committed and regular benefactors who allow us to meet our financial commitments. If you are not already signed up with a regular contribution to the Oratory, may I invite you to do so? Please contact me for more information, or visit the Donations page on the website.
From the Moderators Message of the Oratory Newsletter. If you would like to read the rest be sure to read the latest newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe!