|
3. Formator and educational strategy
3.1 Educational style
Clearly the formator is the indispensable and
strategic mediation for the faithful passing on of the charism and for the
correct understanding of its dynamic interpretation. Strategic and decisive is
above all the formator’s mentality, his way of looking at his identity which he
discovers again and again in the light of the charism, and consequently his interpretation
of his role. He could be that sort of educator who faithfully, very faithfully
indeed, transmits the charismatic content simply by repeating, somehow
slavishly, everything others passed on to him without further dynamic
interpretations. Or he could be a generic and vague sort of educator who forms
people towards an ideal devoid of any specific charismatic characteristic, in
which case he will not able to prepare or provoke others towards seeking new
and personal interpretations of the charism.
The formator should not only limit himself to repeat
the charismatic content, but above all to awaken in the young that creative
power which is the necessary condition for a correct interpretation of the
same. Obviously all this depends on the personal journey of the educator and on
the faithful creativity with which he lives his charism.(namely his inner
freedom with which he interprets his own permanent formation). Some formators,
nowadays, seem to be afraid to provoke this sort of attitude or else they give
a formation in which the uniqueness of the charism is almost unrecognisable. In
both cases, we can be sure, there will not be any tension in the effort of
revitalising the content of the charism.
3.2 A charismatic methodology
Forming in the charism Rc does not only imply knowing
some original and sound theological-spiritual content, but also learning an
educational methodology which is closely linked with the content and becomes
the practical application of it. Only in this way can the charism be learnt and
savoured, internalised and lived to the point of instilling in the heart of the
young a spontaneous and irresistible desire or a tendency to seek new
interpretations, hence of putting him in a condition of discovering new aspects
of the same charism.
The problem lies in the Ratio formationis; we would
need very good formation programs such that would be able to translate the rich
theological meaning of our charisms into authentic and incisive pedagogical
itineraries, for the simple reason that a charism Rc does not in itself imply a
mystical state but rather a pedagogical journey leading to that mystical state,
something which every person is called to, in order to personally experience
the gift of the Spirit.
To what extent have our itineraries been able to do
this? Alas! How poor and generic are too often many of our Ratio!
Consequently they are unclear and devoid of any educative value or simply
lacking of any precise itinerary which is genuinely charismatic. There may be
people who still believe that pedagogy in somewhat unimportant or unrelated to
spirituality (the latter being the noble one). In reality pedagogy is the
necessary and concrete partner of spirituality and I would go so far as to
suggest that a charism is above all the pedagogy of the experience of God.
Therefore, to offer a coherent and well-defined itinerary, would mean not only
to present solid practical suggestions, bur most of all to stimulate the young
person’s creativity towards a clear goal.
3.3 Sharing and the circular effects of the
charism
In order to form a mentality and a culture which are
open to the charism Rc, it is important to instil in the formandee the ability
of sharing. A style of sharing in the relationships within the
community, so as to be able to use the same style outside the fraternal
relationships in community. The charism is not the exclusive property of
anyone; nobody should expect to understand it alone, merely with his own
interpretative resources. It is a gift that comes from Above, it is given to
all, it is something that can be understood only together with others, though
each person is called to enrich the others with his unique inspiration; that is
why the community is the only true recipient and interpreter of the charism. The
young must really learn how to receive and to give, hence to savour the
enrichment or that new interpretative insight which can only be the fruit of
sharing. This is true especially when this sharing has become the style of life
of fraternal relationships in community.
Later, as we have mentioned above, this same style can
be practised outside the community as one learns to express in easy and simple
language his gift and as one allows himself to be evangelised by those with
whom he shared his gift; that is, by those lay people who in virtue of their
experience and secular culture, and of their personal gift of the Spirit, will
be able to reveal to him in a new and unique way, other aspects of the charism.
It is the principle of the circular effects of the charism, that whenever a
charism is shared with the church or with the world, it is as if it is brought
to its roots or as if it were led to its final goal; and thereby returning to
us enriched with new wisdom never imagined thus becoming a sure guarantee of
vitality of the charism, one such that could renew our institutes.
This is a definite and precious methodological
orientation that can very well be applied to our community and apostolic life
as well; not only, it is a method from which we could derive other important
guidelines for the formation of our young people always in relation to the
charism. We shall now briefly mention some of them:
|