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Obligations of Novices
The admission of a Novice into the Community
creates for her three special obligations which
regard not the Vows, but the Religious virtues.
1. Her first obligation as a Novice is that of
corresponding to her vocation when once known,
and do nothing which would expose her to the
danger of losing it or of being excluded.
2. Her second obligation is to apply herself
to the study of the Religious life and to acquire
its holy customs by the practice of virtues, especially of those which form the object of the
three Vows. 3. Her third obligation is to observe the Rules
and to be submissive to her Superiors. This obligation arises from
the contract, made tacitly, between her and the Institute by the fact of her entrance or admission. It is also as a first donation,
which, offered and accepted, begins to make the
Novice a member of the Religious family, and as
it procures her benefits, so it creates duties.
It is to be noted that a Novice who leaves the
Institute of her own accord or is sent away
before her first Vows, can take with her all that
she brought at her entrance, and even all gratuitous gifts she may have made the Community.
This is formally prescribed by the Council of
Trent, and has for its object to protect the entire
liberty of the Novice.
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