IV. INTER-INSTITUTE COLLABORATION FOR THE FORMATION OF FORMATORS

The service of formation

23. The service of formation, an authentic “ecclesial ministry” (Paul VI), is an art, “the art of arts”. (¹⁰⁴) Formators must come to know the world of the young and should develop pedagogical ability to accompany and guide those being formed. Theirs is a service marked by the mystery of the Trinity: “formation then is a sharing in the work of the Father who, through the Spirit, fashions the inner attitudes of the Son in the hearts of young men and women”. In exercising this ?participative mediation,' “those in charge of formation must therefore be very familiar with the path of seeking God, so as to be able to accompany others on this journey... They will combine the illumination of spiritual wisdom with the light shed by human means, which can be a help both in discerning the call and in forming the new man or woman, until they are genuinely free”. (¹⁰⁵) This task requires of formators a serious and solid preparation, and a generous and total dedication in their commitment to be imitators of Christ in the service of their brothers and sisters. (¹⁰⁶) “Notwithstanding the great apostolic demands and the urgent situations in which religious families are working, careful attention in the selection and preparation of those responsible for formation remains a top priority. This ministry is one of the most difficult and delicate... Young men and women above all need teachers who will be for them: men and women of God, respectful discerners of the human heart and the ways of the Spirit, capable of responding to their needs for greater interiority, experience of God, fraternity and initiation to their mission. Those responsible for formation must know how to teach discernment, docility and obedience, reading the signs of the times and people's needs, teaching their charges to respond to those needs with solicitude and courage, in full ecclesial communion”. (¹⁰⁷)