Institute of Charity

(Rosminians)

Ratio Formationis

Rosminian Formation Programme

Rome 2004

Contents

Abbreviations3

I.Introduction4

II.General Principles5

III.The Objectives6

IV.Stages in the Formation Process7

V.The Formative Process8

VI.The Agents of Formation10

VII.Continuing Formation12

VIII.The Vocations Ministry15

IX.The Postulancy16

X.The Novitiate18

XI.The Scholasticate.21

XII.The Third Probation22

XIII.The Religious Brother23

XIV.The Religious Priest24

XV.Those who leave the Institute26

APPENDIX1 Curriculum Vitae27

APPENDIX2 The Reports31

APPENDIX3The Nairobi Proposals 32

APPENDIX4The Ratio Studiorum for Postulancy & Novitiate36

APPENDIX5 Programme for the Third Probation48

Abbreviations

ArushaArusha meeting of Rosminian Formators (2000)

C-Constitutions of the Institute of Charity

CIC-Code of Canon Law (1983)

CL-Christifideles Laici John Paul II, (1988)

CR-Common Rules of the Institute of Charity

D-Directory of the Institute of Charity (revised 2003)

EC-Letters of Antonio Rosmini (Epistolario Completo

(volume. number translated by J.Morris))

EE-Ecclesia de Eucharistia, John Paul II, (2003)

FL-Fraternal Life in Community. Congregation for Religious (1994).

GC98-1998 General Congregation of the Institute of Charity

MP-Directory on the Ministry of Priests, Congregation for the Clergy (1994)

MR-Mutuae Relationes, Congregation for Religious, Relationships

between Religious and Bishops of the Church (1978).

NMI-Novo millennio ineunte (2001)

NP-Nairobi Proposals Document for Rosminian International Houses of

Formation

OT-Optatam Totius Decree of Vatican II on Priestly formation.

PDV-Pastores dabo vobis Directives for Priestly formation (1992)

PI-Potissimum Institutionis, Congregation for Religious Directives for

Formation (1990)

PG-Genesis II Programme, Fr. V. Dwyer

PL-The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the parish community,

Congregation for Clergy (2001)

PR-The Priest in the Third Millennium. Congregation for Christian Education

(1999)

RL-Rule of Life of the Institute of Charity

SA-Starting Afresh from Christ, Congregation for Religious (2002)

1SGC - First Special General Chapter, Ratcliffe (1969-1970)

2SGC - Second Special General Chapter, Domodossola, 1980-1981

UK- The Sign We Give, Bishops‘ Statement UK (1995)

VC-Vita Consecrata, Pope John Paul II (1996)

Bible Texts are taken from the New International Version.

Chapter I

Introduction

In this way they will walk in the Spirit. (C. 161)

The Ratio generally follows the structure of the Italian Province ‘Itinerario di Formazione’ (1992). Furthermore, it takes account of the more recent documents in which the Church has emphasised her concern for formation: Pastores dabo vobis (1992), Fraternal Life in Community of 1994, Vita Consecrata (1996), and Starting afresh from Christ (2002). It is particularly guided by Vita Consecrata of which the latter says: ‘This programmatic document remains the most significant and necessary point of reference guiding the path of fidelity and renewal of Institutes of Consecrated Life …It must continue to be studied, understood and put into practice.’ (3). To these we add our own from Seeds in search of soil (1998), the General Congregation (1998), the Arusha Meeting of 2000 and the NairobiProposals, updated 2002.

1. The Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata, the fruit of the 1994 Synod on the Religious Life, earnestly asked all congregations of consecrated life to draw up a formation programme inspired by their particular charism. This, the Ratio formationis, will present clearly and in all its stages the course to be followed in order to fully assimilate the spirituality of our Institute. On the one hand, it shows how to pass on the Institute’s spirit so that it will be lived in its integrity by future generations, in different cultures and geographical regions; on the other hand, it explains to consecrated persons how to live that spirit in the different stages of life on the way to full maturity of faith in Christ.

This Ratio is a contribution to the dynamic process of formation, by means of which individuals are converted to the Word of God in the depths of their being and, at the same time, learn how to discover the signs of God in earthly realities. At a time when religious values are increasingly being ignored by society, this plan of formation is doubly important: as a result of it, consecrated persons will not only continue to ‘see’ God with the eyes of faith in a world which ignores his presence, but will also be effective in making his presence in some way perceptible through the witness of their charism. (cf. VC. 68)

The General Congregation of 1998 in its Decisions, in the section Transformation, confirmed the need for a Ratio formationis for the Institute of Charity. This document is the result. It is to guide our formation policy and practice in the Institute. It has gathered together the documents that have guided our formation together with our lived experience. For this reason, it will continue to develop.

Chapter II

General Principles

This Society rests on one foundation alone,

the providence of God, the almighty Father. (C. 462)

2. A vocation is a deep mystery of faith. It is a God-given gift. God the Father, who so loved the world as to give his only Son, Jesus, continues to call everyone into life and to the knowledge and glory of Himself. Jesus the Redeemer invites everyone to enter his Kingdom. ‘Come to me, all of you …’ (Mt 11:28) Some he calls to share more immediately in his saving mission. ‘Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.’ (Mt 5:48)

3. Our religious consecration originates with a call from God: ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you’ (Jn 15:16) ‘But if it is God who does the calling, he must give the guarantee and he is both faithful and true. Let us obey his voice and put our trust in his mercy.’ (EC. II, 824, (1. 44)) Formation builds upon our response to this call. ‘We are God’s fellow workers’. (1 Cor 3:9) It is he who gives a vocation and brings it to fruition.

4. The life of the Institute is inspired and guided by the response of Antonio Rosmini to God’s call. It is continued today by those called to share in his charism. Its renewal and faithfulness to its mission of service received from the Church depends upon the quality of our initial and permanent formation.

5. Our religious formation is founded upon our baptismal consecration in which we are called ‘to be holy and immaculate’ (Eph 1:4) and ‘we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head’ (Eph 4:15). To this end, we seek purification from our sins and growth in the fullness of charity. ‘My own conviction is that what the Lord wants of me is that I should seek nothing, and as far as is within me I should refuse nothing .. rather that I should make a total offering of myself to him.’ (EC.II, 810, (1, 43))

The faith experience of Antonio Rosmini offers us, who share his charism, a model for our life. (cf. Introduction to the Rule of Life). His charism is developed for us in four stages:

a.The Principle of Passivity

b.His Rule of Conduct

c.The Maxims of Christian Perfection

d.The Constitutions of the Institute of Charity and the Rule of Life which flows from them.

6. The purpose of the consecrated life is conformity to the Lord Jesus in his total self-giving, and this too is the principal objective of formation. It is a path of gradual identification with the attitude of Christ towards the Father.

7. The first and chief responsibility for formation rests upon the person himself. (cf. RL. 12 ) He is called out to live out his vocation to the full in community life, along with the superior and the brethren, in an atmosphere of discernment and Christian joy.

8. The essential guidance and assistance for initial formation will be provided by the Formation staff who will be selected and trained for this important ministry. They will accompany the religious along the paths of the Lord. (cf.. Tb 5:22)

9. ‘… we need to promote a spirituality of communion, making it the guiding principle of education wherever individuals and Christians are formed, wherever ministers of the altar, consecrated persons, and pastoral workers are trained, wherever families and communities are being built up. A spirituality of communion indicates above all the heart's contemplation of the mystery of the Trinity dwelling in us, and whose light we must also be able to see shining on the face of the brothers and sisters around us.’

(NMI. 43)

Chapter III

The Objectives

Our life will be perfect when we do all things

accordingto the light of reason. (C. 484)

10. The objective of formation is stated in the Rule of Life, no. 10.

The general objective is to realise the vision of Rosminian life, which is to live the Gospel of universal charity. ‘The aim of the Society, then, is to effect the sanctification of its members, and by this means to help towards the salvation of our neighbour, devoting to him all our love and energy.’ (RL. 4)

11. The process of formation may be elaborated as follows:

11.1 Formation to the contemplative life and to justice, in the constant conversion of heart.

Formation will involve the whole person, in every aspect of his personality, his behaviour and his intentions. For this reason formation never ends and each stage of life presents new opportunities for growth in the Spirit. (VC. 65, CIC. 607)

Prayer will be in the silence of one’s heart and be shared in the community and in the liturgy. Flowing from this prayer will be a wholehearted engagement towards total conversion and purification. The religious will free himself from all disordered affections so that the grace of God may dwell in him. (cf. RL. 81)

11.2 Formation to perfect indifference and obedience, in being wholly open to the will of God. Formation should lead to that fundamental disposition of intelligence, of will and of life that is founded upon the spirit of passivity which is the complete abandonment of oneself into the hands of divine Providence. Its end and purpose is that every member of the Institute will seek and work whole heartedly for the growth and the glory of the Church of Jesus Christ and has a desire and zeal for all possible forms of charity entrusted as mission to the Institute, even to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8, RL. 135)

11.3 Formation in the spirit and service of communion ‘.. we, who are many, are one body..’ (I Cor 10:17) Community life does not occur spontaneously; in formation we come to live the sense of community and grow to appreciate it as an integral part of our life. So also our life in common should show Christ to the world and draw others towards him. (cf. RL. 124).

11.4 Formation to universal charity. All our work of formation has as its aim the discovery of and assistance towards living the great gift of charity. It is not only the fullness of divine love but the basis and the reason of love of our brethren and universal love. This love enables us to embrace the community, the Institute, the Church and the whole of humanity. (2SGC. 104)

Chapter IV

Stages in the Formation Process

Hence from the characteristics of the perfect life which they have made their own,

there are two states in which the members of this Society can be found successively.

The first, dedicated to contemplation and divine worship, will be elective.

(C. 486)

12. The initial formation process consists of the postulancy, the novitiate, and the scholasticate which prepares for perpetual profession and includes also the preparation for ministry.

After perpetual profession, the path of formation is not forgotten as each religious is called to grow in conformity to Christ. Time and encouragement will be provided for each religious to attend to his continuing formation (RL. 68, 69)

13. Each stage in the formative process has its own particular educative emphasis. It should therefore followthe method and the plan of studies that pertain to that particular stage and which relate to the overall formation scheme. Hence, the Co-ordinator for Formation will oversee and plan for those in initial formation, for those whose ministry is to guide the formation process and for the communities of the formation houses.

14. Formation involves the whole person and includes every aspect of Christian life. It must therefore provide a human, community, cultural, spiritual and pastoral preparation that pays special attention to the harmonious integration of all its various aspects. (cf. VC. 65)

Aspects of the Formation Process

15. Human and Affective. Each is called to grow in human and affective maturity in order to achieve that ability to have a correct relationship with God, with himself, with others and with material things. He will learn to act with the Christian virtues of generosity and self-sacrifice and with attention to the needs of others.

“To love one’s vocation, to hear the call as something that gives true meaning to life, and to cherish consecration as a true, beautiful and good reality which gives truth, beauty and goodness to one’s own existence - all of this makes a person strong and autonomous, secure in one’s own identity, free of the need for inappropriate forms of support and compensation, especially in the area of affectivity. All this reinforces the bond that links the consecrated person to those who share his... calling. It is with them, first and foremost, that he ... feels called to live relationships of fraternity and friendship. To love one’s vocation is to love the Church, it is to love one’s Institute, and to experience the community as one’s own family.(FL. 37) Human development also includes a respect for the body and care for one’s health and fitness”(FL. 39).

16. Community. The community is the chief place of formation, where the brother learns to live with those whom God has put at his side in fraternal life. In the community each learns to share the gifts received for the building up of all. “At the same time, from the moment of initial formation community life must disclose the essential missionary dimension of consecration.” (VC. 67)

17. Cultural and Intellectual. The first stages of initial formation will normally take place within the culture from where the young religious comes. Community life will be linked to the local church. The values of the brother’s own culture, both positive and negative, should be considered and appreciated and judged against the values of the Gospel. (cf. VC. 67) This will help in the appreciation ofthe cultural values of others.

Intellectual formation will assist the religious in the development of faith through reason. In this we are inspired by the cultural heritage of Father Founder in the service of truth and faith. Our formation will lead to the development of our understanding of faith and of our world in order to possess the ability to assist in the evangelisation of culture today.

18. Spiritual. The brother will learn to absorb the gospel experience of Father Founder and support one another by word and example (cf. RL. 1). The Holy Spirit will lead him towards holiness through charity which is the one end of our vocation. “There is here a convergence of their ‘yeses’ to God which unites a number of brothers into one single community of life. Consecrated together - united in the same ‘yes’, united in the Holy Spirit - the brethren discover every day that their following of Christ, “obedient, poor and chaste”, is lived in fraternity, as was the case with the disciples who followed Jesus in his ministry. They are united with Christ, and therefore called to be united among themselves. They are united in the mission to oppose prophetically the idolatry of power, of possession and of pleasure”. (FL. 44)

19. Pastoral. Formation towards apostolic ministry is achieved through study, work within and without the community, and experiences which lead to an attitude and ability to be of service to the mission of the Church. Each is called to live out an active charity which is well prepared in a spiritual, pastoral and Rosminian way.

Chapter V

The Formative Process

A person seeking only justice and the

purification of his conscience, by which he

becomes more pleasing to God… (C. 47)

20. Each religious within his community will collaborate in creating the structures necessary for a worthwhile formative experience, as he responds to his calling with a positive and constructive attitude towards his brethren. This active participation in his formation helps to prepare him for the profession of the evangelical counsels, making him a sign and a prophetic statement for the community and for the world.

21. Importance will be given to the Constitutions of Father Founder and the Rule of Life. Through this guidance he will be able to develop a Rosminian spirit through the stages of formation.

22. The process of formation, on both the personal as well as the community level, is considered under human, community, cultural, spiritual and pastoral aspects.

23. Human development. Each one should come to know himself and his temperament, character, gifts, limits and development. He should come to accept his own physical, psychological and spiritual identity and grow towards a balanced relationship with others. To this end:

he will be assisted by individual one to one meetings with his formators and he will learn not only from daily experiences but from all areas of life. This is a meeting between persons, a human and spiritual encounter. The brother will be seeking presence, welcoming, and the encouragement of the formator in order to be helped in the progressive fulfilment of his vocation. The formator is himself on a spiritual journey and will assist in this ministry in as much as he too is seeking to live close to the Lord.

he may avail of suitable psychological testing to know his own personality and to grow in the psychological and affective balance (cf. PI. 43), which is necessary for the taking of vows.

he will come to understand the role of sexuality in his life and in the divine saving plan of creation. (cf. PI. 39-41). Relying on prayer and generosity in living his vocation, he will learn about the virtue and vow of chastity. (cf. RL. 100, 101)

as work is an important means for a balanced life, he will learn to appreciate and to engage in manual work, which is the common law of humanity. (Gen 3:19; 2 Thess 3:10)

he will participate in sport for enjoyment, development of team work, and for his bodily health. Formation staff will promote sporting involvement.

he will develop a generous spirit of self-denial and grow in the human virtues such as sincerity of mind, a constant concern for justice, fidelity to one’s promises, refinement in manners, modesty in speech coupled with charity ... he will become accustomed to use freedom wisely, to act spontaneously and energetically, and to work together harmoniously with all. (cf. OT 11)