Courses

26. Among the criteria which guide the organization of such courses, we underline the following:

a) Their specific organization should have as its purpose preparing educators for the task of the integral formation of a religious in the unity and uniqueness of the person, developing all the dimensions of baptismal and religious consecration. Thus, courses should contribute to a formation which is doctrinal, spiritual, canonical, and pedagogical-pastoral. In particular they should ensure solid theological formation, especially in the fields of spirituality, moral theology, and religious life. Further they should make the formators aware of the organic unity of the formation process and of the specific goals of each stage of formation.

The courses should above all help the formators in transmitting the art of a theological reading of the signs of the times (¹⁰⁹) so as to discern the presence, the love, and the will of God in all things: in revelation and in creation, in the Church, in the sacraments, and in persons, in the ordinary and extraordinary circumstances of life, in the unfolding of history. (¹¹⁰) They should be a help in acquiring the art of inspiring and nourishing a deep love for the Persons of the Blessed Trinity and the Eucharist; as well as for Our Lady, Mother of Jesus and of the Church; and for the holy founders and foundresses, and in leading to a deeper life of prayer. (¹¹¹)

The organization of the courses should give proper importance to the topic of fraternal life in community and to the mission of the institutes (¹¹²) and should offer the means adequate for consolidating or recovering the spirit of unity and co-responsibility among the members, an apostolic spirit and an attitude of justice, solidarity, and mercy toward the most needy. “Consecrated persons are asked to be true experts of communion and to practise the spirituality of communion as 'witnesses and architects of the plan for unity which is the crowning point of human history in God's design'”. (¹¹³) They should remember to underline the dignity of the vocation of the laity and of the diocesan clergy, promoting collaboration with them and a sharing in the spirit and mission of the institute. (¹¹⁴)

b) The courses

– should develop the formators' ability to relate, listen, discern vocations, guide, and educate young people and adults to discernment and commitment.

– should develop the ability to accompany another spiritually, pedagogically, and psychologically; the purposes of these and the levels of intervention differ, even though they converge in the integral maturing of the person consecrated to God. They should offer skills for handling and knowing how to face particular situations and personal problems, with the help of experts when necessary.

– should help one read and understand the diverse cultural contexts in order to promote a formation consonant with the demands of the culture of origin of the religious or with the culture of the people among whom they will be working. It is important that they learn to appreciate those authentic values which bear the stamp of the Gospel or are open to it and to discern those elements which ought to be purified or rejected. (¹¹⁵)

– should help formators know and respond to the challenges which the Church faces in our time and take up the pastoral priorities which the Holy Father and the Bishops in union with him propose for the reflection of the faithful. “Institutes of consecrated life are thus invited courageously to propose anew the enterprising initiative, creativity and holiness of their founders and foundresses in response to the signs of the times emerging in today's world. This invitation is first of all a call to perseverance on the path of holiness in the midst of the material and spiritual difficulties of daily life”. (¹¹⁶)

c) Formators should learn how to prepare the members of their communities for the task of the New Evangelization: announcing Christ, the Good News of the Father, to all men and women. This implies preparation for the evangelization of cultures, for pastoral work in favor of life, the family and solidarity, for the evangelical option for the poor, for the formation of youth, for the mission ad gentes, for ecumenical commitment and inter-religious dialogue, social communications, etc. (¹¹⁷) They should learn to welcome the hopes and questions of youth, children of our time, who are entering communities and prepare them to incarnate the best of their own epoch and give a response of holiness and of effective charity to the needs of our times. To form is always to prepare for the service which the Church and society need in a determined epoch and cultural setting.

A formation which is integral, precisely because its hinge is in the education of faith and in maturing the commitment of consecration-mission, must be mindful also of the new forms of poverty and injustice of our time. In this area, inter-institute courses, without falling into simplistic formulas, can be a helpful support for formators.

d) Courses for formators should provide an experience of spiritual growth and contribute to their continuing formation. The responsibility of accompanying young people on their journey of growth includes a constant invitation from Christ, Master and Lord, to intensify the life of prayer, intimacy with him, and to embrace the cross which seals this delicate ministry of formation, placing always one's own trust in his guidance and his grace.

The work of formation is carried out along the axis of the following of “Christ chaste, poor, and obedient – the One who prays, the Consecrated One, and the Missionary of the Father” (¹¹⁸) – and has at its center the Paschal mystery. Thus the preparation of formators may not be merely intellectual, doctrinal, pastoral, and professional; it is, above all, a deep, human, and religious experience of sharing in the mystery of Christ while respectfully approaching the mystery of the human person. In Christ is the experience of sonship before the Father and of docility to the Spirit, of fraternity and sharing, of fatherhood and motherhood in the Spirit: “My little children, with whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you!” (Gal 4:19). In this light it is helpful that formators be able to meet among themselves as consecrated persons, to support one another on their journey of faith, to pray together, to let themselves be questioned by the Word, and to celebrate the Eucharist. They can be enriched by experiencing the goodness and wisdom of the Master who, by the outpouring of his Spirit and by the mediation of the maternal action of Mary, continues his work and, in a privileged way, by means of their own mediation in the life and experiences of those whom they help to live as “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Eph 2:19).