Planning A Novitiate Formation Program
Loading...
Date
2004-04
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tangaza University College
Abstract
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.
Description
Keywords
Formation Program, Novitiate