Page 116 - March On! God will Provide by Brother Aubert

INVITATION TO ENGLAND 95
for Brother Ryken, but the consequences were worse.
Gone was the dream of a foundation in the diocese of
Liege, the Practice School stafied by Brothers in attend-
ance at St. Trond and the residence in nearby Hasselt
from which the younger Brothers could atiend the
norrnal school.
Brother Ryken was not one to brood over d.isaster.
He thanked Father Renardy for all his courtesies to: the
Brothers who had attended the normal school and ex-
pressed his regret at the turn of events. He closed. with:
"At present it seems to be God,s will that our:first
foundation should be in England. where we shall prob-
ably go towards the middle or the end of Dece ber
next. .That will probably be a good preparation for
our missions in America."
The vows which Brother Ryken and six companions
had taken for one year in accordance with the C^onstitu-
tion of 1846 would lapse in October, lB4Z. Late in
September he submitted to Bishop Boussen,two formulae
"according to which we shall prbnounce our vows: the
lirst will serve for nine of us; the second, for the member
who is still under the obligation of military service.',
The three who were being added ro the original group
were Brother Aloysius Gudders, the one subjict to mili
tary service; Brother Alexius Van der Wee, who had
been chosen to begin the foundation at Bury in the ca-
pacity of cook; and the unidentified "confreie who was
not Present last year."
The first emitting of vows for life in the Xaverian
Brothers took place on Rosary Sunday, October 3rd.
A five-day had been completed the previous
_retreat
Saturday. On the same day six postulants received the
habit.
the exception of Brother Ryken, rhe average age
-W1th
of the newly-professed was twenty-nine. At fifty, tfie