24. The general norm is that the entire cycle of initial and permanent formation should be carried out within the monastery. The absence of external activities and the stability of the members ensure that the different stages of formation can be followed gradually and with greater participation. In her own monastery, the nun grows and matures in the spiritual life and arrives at the grace of contemplation. Formation in one's own monastery also has the advantage of promoting the harmony of the entire community. The monastery, moreover, with its characteristic environment and rhythm of life, is the most suitable place for following the course of formation, (⁷⁹) since the daily nourishment of the Eucharist, the liturgy, lectio divina, Marian devotion, ascetic practices and work, the exercise of fraternal charity and the experience of solitude and silence, are essential moments and elements of formation in the contemplative life.

The Superior of a monastery, as the person principally responsible for formation, (⁸⁰) is to ensure that candidates have a suitable initial course of formation. She is also to promote the permanent formation of the nuns, by teaching them to nourish themselves on the mystery of God who continually gives himself in the liturgy and in the various moments of monastic life, by giving them the necessary instruments for their spiritual and doctrinal formation and, finally, by encouraging them to grow continuously as a requirement of fidelity to the gift of the divine call which is ever new.

Formation is a right and a duty of every monastery, which may also draw on the cooperation of people from outside, especially from the Institute with which they are associated. If it is the case, the Superior may allow courses relating to the material of the formation programme of the monastery to be followed by correspondence.

When a monastery cannot be self-sufficient, some shared instruction may be organized in one of the monasteries of the same Institute, ordinarily of the same geographical area. The monasteries concerned shall determine the form, frequency and duration of these courses, in such a way that the fundamental character of the enclosed contemplative vocation and the obligations of their own ratio formationis are respected. The law of enclosure holds also for absences for reasons of formation. (⁸¹)

Attendance at courses of formation cannot however substitute for systematic and gradual formation in one's own community.

Every monastery should in fact be able to find within itself the resources to ensure its own vitality and future; for this reason it needs to become self-sufficient, especially in the area of formation, which cannot be directed at only some of its members but should involve the entire community, in order that it may be a place of fervent progress and spiritual growth.