Institute of Spirituality and Religious Formation

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Browsing Institute of Spirituality and Religious Formation by Author "Atieno, Benter"

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    Planning A Novitiate Formation Program
    (Tangaza University College, 2004-04) Atieno, Benter
    By our virtue of Baptism as Christians, we are called to holiness, which is a process, as it cannot be achieved at one go and formation is one way of growing into it. "Formation is the of discovering Christ in oneself, ones community and in the world of cultures. Through ones community, trained guide, study and work candidates are invited to growth and explore their own faithfulness to the Gospel message." This process frees and prepares the human heart to be united with its Creator. When the Divine power through Gods' grace working in us touches the human heart, a person is bound to respond. The act of responding to the movement of the Spirit brings transformation. Transformation is surrendering to God and living following in the footsteps of Christ " During formation, one takes the responsibility to grow in the knowledge of Christ by liberating oneself from the constrains of, personal sin, ignorance of pastoral skills necessary for Christ mission today, social and cultural orders like prejudices" There are two types of formation in religious life namely, initial and on- going formation. Initial formation takes place while one is still in the early stages of Religious life, aspirancy, postulancy, novitiate, juniorate or scholasticate, for the male congregations. During this stage depending on each congregation a program or syllabus is designed to guide the candidates to experience and enter into a deeper union with God. The program assists them to acquire the desired habits and attitudes, which enable them to mature in their faith and service of the church in their various respective congregations. The second type is on-going formation which is a life long process. This is where individuals are responsible for their own formation after final vow or commitment or ordination for men religious In this project I am focusing on the novitiate stage which falls under initial formation. Novitiate is the stage between postulancy and juniorate or scholasticate for men religious. This stage is important because it marks the beginning of ones journey to lead a consecrated life. It is a stage that needs to be handled with care to foster smooth transition from lay life to Religious life which entails radical change and total self-giving to God. This is not the whole program but the person using it is free to choose or add what is beneficial to the candidates. The topics I've chosen are essential ones that one could always begin fronviwith.