Formed for the mission
of pastors and educators
VIII. GENERAL ASPECTS OF OUR FORMATION
SALESIAN FORMATION
"Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ." (Eph 4,15)
96. Jesus called his Apostles individually to be with him, and to be sent forth to preach the Gospel.1 Patiently and lovingly he prepared them and gave them the Holy Spirit to guide them into the fullness of Truth.2
He calls us too to live out in the Church our Founder's project as apostles of the young.
We respond to this call by committing ourselves to an adequate ongoing formation, for which the Lord daily gives us his grace.
Salesian orientation of formation
97.
The first Salesians found their sure guide in Don Bosco. Living at the very heart of his community in action, they learned to model their own lives on his.We too find in him or model. The religious and apostolic nature of the Salesian calling dictates the specific direction our formation must take, a direction necessary for the life and unity of the Congregation.
98. Enlightened by the person of Christ and by his Gospel, lived according to Don Bosco's spirit, the Salesian commits himself to a formation process which will last all his life and will keep pace with his maturing in other ways. He learns by experience the meaning of the Salesian vocation at the various moments of his life and accepts the ascetical demands it makes on him.
With the help of Mary, his Mother and Teacher, he gradually becomes a pastor and educator of the young in the lay or priestly state which he has embraced.
Personal and community commitment
99. Each Salesian accepts responsibility for his own formation. Docile to the Holy Spirit he develops his talents and his gifts of grace in a constant effort of conversion and renewal, as he lives and works for the common mission.
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The natural environment for vocational growth is the community which the confrere joins with trust and in which he gives his responsible collaboration. The very life of the community, united in Christ and open to the needs of the times, is itself a factor in formation, and hence must continually move forward and be renewed.
Unity of formation and different cultures
100. The principle of unity in the Congregation is the charism of our Founder, which of its richness gives rise to different ways of living the one Salesian vocation. Formation is therefore one in its essential content and diversified in its concrete expressions; it accepts and develops whatever is true, noble and just in the various cultures.1
The provincial community and formation
101.
The provincial community welcomes and follows up the vocation of every confrere, sees to the preparation of formation personnel, provides formation structures and makes each local community aware of its obligations in the formation sector.It is the duty of the provincial community, through the various organs of animation and government, to lay down the method of formation according to the needs of its own cultural context and in conformity with the directives of the Church and the Congregation.
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In the exercise of this common responsibility every Salesian, through prayer and personal witness, contributes to the sustaining and renewal of the vocation of his brothers.
INITIAL FORMATION
"Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears." (l Sam 3,9).
Complexity and unity of the initial formation period
102. The aim of initial formation is the human maturing of the young confrere, his intellectual preparation and the deepening of his consecrated life, as he is gradually introduced to educational and pastoral work.
In the formative experience these elements must be harmonized into a living unity.
103. Initial formation is ordinarily carried out in communities specifically designed for this purpose.
In accordance with Don Bosco's style of education these communities are open and keep in mind the aspirations of the young for a more personal and fraternal life style.
In them our spirit is lived in a more intense manner; together the members form a family founded on faith and enthusiasm for Christ, united in mutual esteem and common endeavor.
Those in formation and their guides contribute according to their different roles to the creation of an atmosphere of shared responsibility, and work with the aims of formation clearly in view.
104. The guides in formation communities have a specific and necessary role.
They ensure that those in formation have the opportunities for a valid experience and for serious doctrinal reflection in an appropriate setting.
Aware of being instruments through whom the Lord is working, they make every effort to constitute with the rector, who is the leader of the community and its spiritual guide, a group that is convinced of its common responsibility,
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Chosen for this task are men of faith and sufficient pastoral experience, capable of a living communication of the Salesian ideal, and of genuine dialogue with the young confreres.
The Salesian in initial formation
105. For the Salesian the time of initial formation is not so much a period of marking time as already one of work and holiness. It is a time of dialogue between God, whose initiative calls him and leads him forward, and his own freedom as he gradually assumes responsibility for his own formation.
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In this process of growing responsibility he is sustained by prayer, spiritual direction, personal reflection, study and brotherly relationships.
106. Lay Salesians, future priests and permanent deacons normally have the same initial formation and follow curricula of equivalent level, with the same phases and similar content and objectives.
The necessary differences are determined by the specific vocation of each one, by his personal gifts and inclinations and the duties of our apostolate.
Incorporation into the Society and stages of formation
107. Before being definitively incorporated into the Society, each one passes through the following stages of formation: preparation for the novitiate, the novitiate itself and the period of temporary profession.
These steps are necessary for both the candidate and the community, so that they may work together to discern God's will and correspond with it.
The candidate gradually gets to know the Society, and the Society in turn can evaluate his suitability for Salesian life.
108. After the candidate has freely presented his application, admission to the novitiate, to temporary or perpetual profession, to the ministries and to sacred orders, is made by the provincial with the consent of his council, after hearing the opinion of the rector of the community with his council.
The superiors base their judgement on positive indications of the candidate's suitability, and keep in mind first of all the canonical requirements.1