Formation

Formation

Vision of our Foundress

Blessed Brigida recognized that Jesus wanted every Ursuline to possess : Humility, self denial, purity of heart and the practice of walking constantly in the presence of God. It was her desire that her daughters should observe the Rules and Constitutions faithfully, they thus delight the heart of Jesus and He will reward them abundantly (RCC Pg.57).

Formation is a process of becoming increasingly a disciple of Christ and growing in union with Him. It is putting on the mind of Christ and sharing more deeply the gift of Himself to the Father. It is a progressive growth, a dynamic movement open to constant conversion. Religious formation has to be based firmly on or experience of God in Jesus Chris through the practice of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience.

The primary objective of our formation is to prepare us for the total consecration of ourselves to God in the following of Christ and to enable us to be at the service of the Church’s mission (Const.107, 108). It is in the contemplation of the Crucified Christ that all vocations find their inspiration. From this contemplation, together with the primordial gift of the Spirit, all gifts, and in particular the gift of the consecrated life, take their origin. prfsn5 prfsn7

The Different Stages of our Formation are:

Candidacy

Aim: To help the formative process of the new comers, starting with a thorough human and Christian formation leading to the degree of maturity that will enable one to make a generous and free choice for the Kingdom, in the Church and in our Congregation.

Help the candidate to live with others
Positive acceptance of self with one’s own strengths and weakness
To develop an attitude of openness and acceptance
Faith formation

Pre-novitiate

It is a time of initiation into the life and spirit of the Institute and to help the pre-novice to acquire the degree of human maturity that is needed in order to prepare herself for the religious life and to enable her to take mature and responsible decisions.

Helps to possess a balanced personality
To improve her self- knowledge, self acceptance and acceptance of others
To acquire the human qualities of sincerity, loyalty, optimism, simplicity and modesty

Novitiate

The novitiate is aimed at helping the novices to have greater understanding of their call to our Institute, its charism, Constitutions, teaching of the Foundress and to experience our way of life.

Helps to cultivate a deep spirit of Prayer
To comprehend the importance of community life in the spirit of Gospel and to live it.
Fidelity to the Charism and the spirit of the Congregation

Juniorate

This period is meant to assist the junior sisters to progress in their commitment, to live their religious life according to Gospel values and the Spirit of the Institute. The local community where the junior sister is placed plays a specific role in her formation and her growth. At the same time, Junior Sister proceeds with her religious, apostolic, doctrinal and professional formation according to the program adopted by the formation Directives with due respect to different situations.( Con. 139,140)

To offer the young religious the conditions favourable for her growth in her self-gift to Christ.
To deepen the call to follow Christ more closely the daily reality, integrating progressively the various dimensions of religious life.

Ongoing Formation

Ongoing formation is a help to renew one’s personal and community life, continual by returning constantly to the spirit of the Institute, in the light of the Gospel, in response to the needs of the times and in the service of the Church. It helps to cultivate an attitude of universality and openness. It renews and constantly re-invigorates us.