Martillac 19 – 29 June 2007

INTERNATIONAL

BASIC FORMATION SESSION

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Martillac resounded with laughter and joy as we all came together. Some were there for the first time, while others had not been there for many years. The hall, which had been silent until now slowly came to life, and activity began with some practical information, and the sharing of various tasks to ensure the smooth running of the group. Margaret greeted the participants, expressing her joy at meeting them and reminding them from the very start that they had been convoked to the Session to provide the best possible formation for the people coming to us. To ensure that this becomes a reality she stressed the importance of openness to the world and full participation in this meeting. A simple prayer brought the participants together in this place, “Holy ground, meeting place, God’s ground, inviting the group to be united in one mind; to be converted into ground that welcomes every person, every culture, with its riches and different expressions, with the desire of having an open heart always ready to welcome and relate to others”. Hearts and minds opened to thanksgiving and praise for creation, the gifts that God sends us, for this world of ours that God loves and that we are called to love, with its lights and shadows, its joys and difficulties, its wars and desire for peace. Under a picture of the Holy Family which presided this meeting the participants placed 3 symbols:

• The Bible: a guiding star that directs us on our way • The Constitutions: which express our desire to live

for God alone as Jesus, Mary and Joseph. • Clay: representing the formators and the persons in

formation, with their desire to be moulded and transformed.

• Water: for moulding the clay. • Flowers: a symbol of multiculturalism and the desire

to live in harmony with the whole of creation.

At this point each participant introduced herself, just saying her name and the mission entrusted to her. The final song expressed what we hoped would characterise this 10-day meeting: “We are companions on the journey, breaking bread and sharing life......”. Adela next invited each one to be in tune with her deepest self, with others and the world around her, to reflect in the light of faith, and our Charism, on the Gospel passage of the Samaritan woman. Then, she encouraged each one to share with her neighbour and again with the whole group expressing the deep desires, fears, expectations, questions that each one carried within her. There was a strong awareness of interculturality and internationality expressed in prayer and different ways of sharing. From the beginning there was a sense that desires, concerns, fears, questions and expectations were converging.

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Hyacintha Moopisa brought this first assembly to a close, expressing her gratitude for the simplicity with which each one shared the feelings, concerns, challenges, expectations she carried in her heart.

Adela Vanaclocha opened the work of the new day, leading the group to contemplate God’s dream for the world and the mission entrusted to them, an invitation addressed to them by God, to extend the work of creation and continue forming, allowing life to grow....God wants us be passionate for Christ and for humanity. Using a Powerpoint presentation entitled “And LOVE dreamt”, she drew the group slowly into a deep contemplation of Love manifested in Creation, and concluded by defining this session as “a time of encounter with God, of silence, and of sharing our multiculturalism; an invitation to deepen together the mission of the Holy Family TO CHOOSE LIFE”. This theme, chosen for the 2008 Chapter, was to be the main thread and motivation of this meeting.

OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE SESSION

Margaret’s address, a real tour de force, expressed the objectives of, and guidelines for basic formation. She began by defining the aim of the meeting: As formators and General Councillors, to deepen together our Holy Family mission in the life of our multicultural experience and our desire and vision for this world in transformation. She went on to speak of the importance of being attentive to the signs of the times in order to discern how we respond to the calls of the Spirit. To “choose life” means responding to the call to be renewed and revitalised with the desire to live our spirituality and mission with credibility and energy, for the sake of the reign of God.

She insisted on the importance of formation, the quality of accompaniment and discernment of vocation, quoting several passages from the writings of the Founder: No subject is to be admitted to the Institute or into the houses which form part of it who, because of her difficult character or lack of charity, would be an obstacle to unify of heart and mind. (Selected Texts 288) The desire and need for promoting unity of minds and hearts continues to be today an important criteria and it is linked to the capacity for personal relationships of the young people to live our mission. Today, Margaret continues to echo the words of the Founder, to emphasise this very important aspect and its relevance for us: Our Founder did not look for numbers; he was convinced that vocation is a call from God and only those who are

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really called by God are admitted. It is the first and essential criteria for discernment. She referred to certain points that must be taken into account:

The need to help young women have a personal encounter with Jesus

To place God at the centre of their existence

To develop a contemplative way of looking at the world, others and events in the light of faith

She indicated that one of the problems in religious life today is the weakening of faith due to a neglect of two important pillars: the following of Jesus and immersion in the Word of God. She underlined the importance of holistic, integral, contextualised formation which embraces the four fidelities:

Fidelity to Jesus and the Gospel Fidelity to the church and its

mission Fidelity to religious life and the

Charism of the Institute Fidelity to humanity and the signs

of the times Formation for mission; a multicultural life and a multicultural commitment for the mission; Quoting the Congress for Consecrated Life she said: one of the greatest prophetic gifts that religious life has to offer to the world of today is the witness of international communities....Pluricentric and inter-cultural communion is more than necessary. We have to learn the new art of communion ecclesiology. Now we ask ourselves: what consequences does this new perspective have on our structures of government, formation,

pastoral experience and cultural and spiritual language? She quoted this year’s SEDOS seminar, the theme of which was “interculturalism”, defining it as “the heart of the mission”. She invited the assembly to focus its attention on this theme, pointing out the essential elements in basic intercultural formation:

Quality of the selection and discernment process

Formation for self-awareness and acceptance

Formation for healthy self-esteem Formation for mutuality,

interdependence and total self-giving

Exposure to congregational life creating an “all-inclusive” environment

The power of witnessing Conversion: individual and

corporate To make possible intercultural living, Margaret said: Each one must be helped to value her own worth, to know and value her cultural identity – to understand its positive and negative aspects....and to welcome multiculturality. This is inherent in our mission. It is necessary for integration into a multiculturalInstitute such as ours. She then proposed a series of questions to help the group deepen

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this theme. If we really want to make a difference to our world in transformation, then in our formation we need to be attentive, to ensure that each one understands her role as a member and has the capacity to live it with responsibility, love and conviction....when they have assumed their role as member they gradually grow into being able to live our mission from within at all times. We need to help them to internalise this and to understand that this is not something imposed on them by their formators or others. It is their reality and it is freely chosen. This is true also for all of us. We know that who we are, what we are and what we do is always influenced by our mission. We need to choose and choose again to be guided by our mission. We need the conviction that the mission we speak of is Jesus’ mission and that we are instruments of this mission, it is God’s work. As we make decisions, we need to do so in terms of the whole, to pay attention to and to place our decisions within our choice to be members of the Holy Family whose boundaries are defined by the mission. Making her own a conference by Father Thomas Hughes SVD to the Major Superiors, she affirmed something of vital importance for us: In order to be faithful, we need to permanently re-think, to re-invent our identity, going back to our roots, to the reason for our existence. We need the courage to frequently walk in the dark with confidence in the presence of God – a difficult experience and one that can only be undertaken on having a deep experience of God. The alternative is to place ourselves at the service of the dominant society – and thereby guarantee our finances, our works, and probably our numbers, while running the

risk of becoming a religious life “having the name of being alive, while in reality being dead”. (Ap 3:1) This is a real risk, because the world will always applaud a Church and a Religious Life that does not challenge it, but serves its interests”. Quoting a passage from John Paul 11’s document addressed to religious “Vita Consecrata” she summed up the work in this session saying: The primary objective of the formation process is to prepare people for the consecration of themselves to God in the following of Jesus Christ at the service of mission. Formation is a dynamic process by which individuals are converted to the Word of God in the very depths of their being and at the same time, learn to discover the signs of God in earthly realities. (No 65/69) She concluded the address by reminding us once again that the theme running through this session is the same as that chosen for the Chapter: May you enjoy this time together and may you mutually help one another to improve the quality of our formation for the sake of our mission in our world of today, and so respond to that call to “choose life” so that we and “our descendants may live” to give glory to God and doing so make a difference in our world for the sake of God’s reign, for the sake of God’s dream, God’s mission “that all may be ONE.” After a few moments of reflection, each participant shared with her companion whatever had drawn her attention, enriched and challenged her. Finally, Margaret acknowledged the presence of the Spirit in all that had been shared, and the call to change, to let go, not to be afraid for there is One who guides us. She ended by thanking everyone for their participation.

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In the afternoon Hyacintha put the following question to the Assembly: Then she invited the participants to share, first in twos and then with the whole assembly, a practical experience of interculturality. There are common aspects that express the demands of intercultural living:

The need for self-emptying, to be open to what is new and accept it as something to be valued.

Leave aside our prejudices to be open to a vision of what is new and enriching.

Be capable of respecting and accepting differences, of entering into a new context.

Interculturality is at one and the same time a richness and a challenge, a way of purification that demands self-discipline and openness.

Before they came the participants had been asked to choose 4 challenges relevant to the context in which they live. At this point Genevieve invited them to share the challenges they had chosen, in groups of 4 or 5 and chose 3 or 4 challenges and important points to stress in formation. Genevieve summed up the main points that were shared:

The process of formation is influenced by the ethnic, political and social context in the country of origin, and it is important to discern the motivations of the formands; it is essential to help them live fully the Charism, spirituality and mission.

In formation the role of the community is essential, but the place of the formator

must not be underestimated, that is why it is important to have well structured formation communities. It is not easy to find communities capable of welcoming young people.

Some questions that arose in the assembly:

How can we integrate a young person in a community where there is a big age difference? Why is it that young people who are full of enthusiasm? when they arrive lose it as time goes on?

At the end of the afternoon the assembly were invited to join the Province of Great Britain/Ireland in praying for a sister who has a serious illness. They agreed to recite the prayer for the canonisation of the “Good Father” in a different language each day.

WHAT KIND OF FORMATION FOR THE HOLY FAMILY MISSION?

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Looking at the whole process: what should we stress so that the necessary transformation takes place in order to have sisters who are true members of the Holy Family?

What is missing, or what should be reinforced in our

process of formation?

The central theme for the third day of the meeting was:

The process of transformation Adela presented the work to be done; she offered the assembly a tool that could be used in any evaluation process. She invited them to evaluate the process of formation not only in their own country but to take into account the system within the institute. She then explained how to make use of this tool. She gave them two questions for personal reflection: After the reflection linguistic groups were formed. At the end of the afternoon the participants gathered in the assembly hall to share freely the feelings, questions and reactions that had arisen during the time of personal reflection and group work.

The participants began by invoking the Holy Spirit, master and guide of all transformation. They praised God for the search, hope and desires of all people. They were given two texts as guidelines: one from the Old Testament (Jer 20, 7-9) and another from the Founder (ST 322). The different linguistic groups shared a summary of their reflections, which formed a rich synthesis of key ideas brought together by Genevieve Bessières:

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22nd Friday

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Experience of God: is of vital importance in formation, linking the Pascal Mystery to our every day life.....the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist. Asceticism is necessary for this experience of God to take place and for the integration of the different elements. It is necessary to discern the motivations of young people.

Growth of the person

To form adults How do we help people assume their personal history? How do we help people deal with their hurts? Why do we not treat young sisters as adults rather than as children?

A Sense of Belonging

Form sisters for God Alone and for the mission. Awareness of belonging to a family with Five vocations has hardly been mentioned.

Community

We form young people for mission in a particular context: We have to be familiar with that context. Community witness is vitally important.

Comments

It is very important to know the context from which they come and to be able to discern their motivations.

They must be helped to develop their prayer life based on the Word and on their personal experience of God: it is necessary for them to discover the traces of God in their personal history and in the world: they need to be aware that they are coming for Someone. They need to make a radical option to follow Jesus in His way of life and above all in His desire for communion.

It is of vital importance to discover what images we have of God; this includes devotions and popular religiosity which cannot be ignored, but have to be purified.

We might have to re-emphasise the importance of everyday life, the Pascal mystery, the experience of God......all this is lived out in daily life.

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A lot was said about hurts. It is better to deal with them before the novitiate but sometimes they only surface at a later date in the process.

Some questions that arose during the assembly:

Can we continue to discern the vocation and deal with the hurts at the same time?

Should we hold on to someone when we realise that the hurts will seriously impede her living of religious life?

Some think we should help people as far as possible other wise they should be directed to another way of life. It is important to find out what is going on in the person. Some are closed in on themselves. Some are willing to accept help but others refuse. Transparency is essential if accompaniment is going to be fruitful. A person’s capacity to assume her hurts has to be taken into account. In the afternoon 6 groups were formed and each one was given a text to work on. They were all related to interculturalism. The different themes were:

1. Multiculturalism/Interculturalism 2. Interculturality and charism 3. Conditions for “an intercultural life together” 4. Tensions and conflicts 5. The process of discovery and detachment 6. Commitment for justice, peace and integrity of creation

Each text included some questions as a guide to reflection. Each group was asked to formulate two principles that can help in formation. Sharing in the groups and in the assembly was particularly rich. Some important points were as follows: Multiculturalism/Interculturalism To help young people value their identity the formators must have a clear idea of their own identity and must also be aware of the values of their own culture. Be open to the challenges that other cultures present. Interculturality is a way of working together in order to establish relationships, getting rid of prejudices in order to achieve mutual acceptance. Young people should experience internationality and learn to accept other cultures.

Interculturality and charism We must be careful not to reduce the Charism to one particular culture. If that happened the Charism would be weakened, it would not be our own. The family spirit must be present wherever we are, even if the other groups are not there. We have to be aware that our point of reference is the Call; we are united by a charism of communion which is our own. If we wish to form Holy Family religious it is essential to value and experience different cultures.

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Conditions for “an intercultural life together” Approach the other convinced that interculturality is enriching....... Accept unconditionally.....open oneself to give and to receive. It is necessary to recognise our fears, our self-sufficiency, our fixed mentality, the comfort that gives us a false sense of security, the ignorance regarding others’ realities and prejudices. To be united in a common project we need to have empathy, a positive outlook, to know how to forgive and be forgiven. It is necessary to have a clear idea of our identity if we are to live together, not feel threatened by others and allow them to help us grow. We have to avoid making what is ours an absolute, in order to be ready to welcome others. There is a danger that we think people come to us with nothing and we have to give them everything; this is not the case, we complement each other. Living interculturality together requires a continual conversion. We cannot remain closed within the Family, the young people are called to work with other cultures. The formators must facilitate interculturality/multiculturality in order that young people may be at ease in other cultural situations. Conflicts and tensions These are elements to be found in every group. Each culture is a sacred history. It is essential to work at our relationships. Conflict management is necessary to prevent building walls that divide us. Process of discovery and detachment To the extent that we discover a value in what is new we will be willing to let go of

that which prevents us from accepting the treasure. Thus, we create a space where our own identity is affirmed and we

enable young people to understand that they have to opt for an intercultural mentality. Commitment for justice and the peace and integrity of creation To live the Gospel and its liberating power which calls us to conversion and urges us to commit ourselves to be the voice of those who have no voice, to protect creation and to live with “just enough”. Margaret thanked the group for the mission they were fulfilling in the Institute and invited them to share with others what they had received during the session. Adela then summed up the day and invited the assembly to take a few moments to reflect on what they had experienced. Next, she asked them to share in a word or a phrase what had moved them or touched them.

Openness. Unconditional love. Positive outlook. Contemplation of the Trinity, God in relationship. Admiration of the force and beauty of the charism. Poverty to be able to

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“Inculturation demands that each one of us develop a contemplative attitude in order to discover God living and acting in persons, events and the world. Contemplation is the basic requirement for mission. It is a constant invitation to live personally and as community a spirit of Kenosis and self-emptying following the example of Christ (Phil é: (5-8) The Holy Spirit proceeds us and is acting in the different cultures and is present in inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue. God alone is absolute, all cultures are relative. With the people who are close to us we DISCERN in each culture the values of the Kingdom which become a path to God. We are sufficiently free to have a critical sense with regard to our customs and structures and to be challenged by the people around us. Our Holy Family culture is thus called to enter into a process of conversion and growth.”

welcome what is new, different. Belonging. Freedom for detachment. Experience of God: You in me and I in You. Inclusive love. A listening heart. Gratitude. Availability. A reading from the Declaration of 1995, taken from the Sessions on Basic Formation 1996/98, closed this day.

During morning prayer one of the participants carried a lighted candle around the room, symbol of the Spirit. She presented it to each one. With hands out stretched each one welcomed and received the light. A prayerful atmosphere was created by the music. The day began with a reflection on two texts from the Bible, Gen 24 and Ruth 1 Genevieve introduced 3 biblical figures to shed light on the reflections: Three women, Naomi, Ruth and Rebecca model for us responsible and mature women in their decision to leave their homes to consecrate their lives to a project distinct from their own plans. All three are led to live a radical option, to get up and leave the place where she is and go.

Naomi decides to leave the land of Moab and return to her native land. To return to her ancient customs, not for nostalgic

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reasons or fear of the future but because she has decided to change her life and face up to her situation. Ruth decides to accompany her mother in law. She leaves the land of her birth and becomes a stranger. Rebecca decides to leave with an unknown man, so as to marry someone she has never met in a foreign land. The three are women of faith and simplicity, vulnerable in the face of the daily struggle, and marked by their culture; but they are women who have an ideal, who are deeply motivated and capable of a radical choice. One can ask, what is the inner force that drives them? For Naomi, it is her faith in God who does not abandon his people, and her need for food. Her need for food urges her to set out on her journey. She believes that the hand of God is upon her. Ruth is firm in her decision never to leave her mother-in-law. Two women of different generations are united in solidarity with each other. Rebecca felt impelled by an interior force which led her to say “Yes I will”. She makes a free personal decision without any strings attached. She wants to make an opening that will allow her to find what she is seeking.....love and life. None of these women are self centred. All invest themselves fully in the service of a mission which transcends them in the service of life. They know where their priorities and values are situated. The motivations of these 3 women even if not perfectly clear are sufficient to make them begin the journey.

Their quest impels them to go out into the unknown with no other certainty than their faith in God. Their experience of faith is fundamental. This kind of decision is taken only after a period of discernment.

Ruth shows us by her attitude a way of total consecration that radically transforms her life. (Const. Art 9) Each one has a personal history which has fashioned them and God has spoken through the experiences and different mediations. In these three women there is an openness to change and transformation. This choice is not made once and for all, it is renewed daily, in fidelity to the decisions taken day after day. These Scripture texts are inexhaustible. They link up with our experiences as individuals and as a group. Each one is invited to share her wisdom and enrich this reading, opening the Scriptures like Jesus with his disciples on the road to Emmaus. Our mission takes us further and we are able to find the presence of the One who walked with us on the way.

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The whole morning was dedicated to prayer and sharing in the groups. In the afternoon the participants met to share the work done in the groups:

♦ The texts helped us to look at our motivations and the way we discern in daily life.

♦ Despite the difference in ages, what matters is to listen and be attentive to each one’s experience of God. We all need to live an experience of God, only thus can we be capable of leaving everything for His sake, as did Ruth.

♦ We were impressed by the freedom that comes from accepting suffering, freedom that facilitates choice.

♦ Strengthened by their motivation these women began the journey. Motivation is essential.

♦ These women that the Bible presents, with their personal history, go beyond what is human in the choices they make.

♦ This story illustrates that we can go to heroic lengths for “God Alone”. ♦ The texts speak to us about the importance of freedom and detachment in

making a decision. Freedom and detachment are necessary when accompanying others. As formators we need to practice detachment while being open to mediation.

♦ These women took their time......we must not be in a hurry when taking decisions.

♦ Rebecca leaves her family to become part of a new family. She makes her own decision and leaves.

♦ God always calls people to move on. This helps us to look at our own relationship with our families.

We are reminded that our Constitutions call us to re-read our life in the light of the Word of God. Do we give the time to look at both important and ordinary happenings in the light of this Word? The Word must dwell in us both personally and as a community. As the assembly drew to a close the participants were invited to spend some time integrating what they had experienced in this first stage of the session. This time of integration began with an hour of personal prayer. They then went to the Island to share in linguistic groups on the text from Exodus 16: 4-5. The day ended with a prayer at the founder’s statue for the healing of Josephine Kemp.

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Free day

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Three themes were dealt with four important diagrams:

Context Person System Role

The participants began the day with a time of prayer. The text used prepared them for the reflection that was to follow. The assembly was invited to pray for Pakistan where a natural disaster had caused the death of hundreds of people and also for Regina, a participant from Lesotho who had received news that her brother had died. Adela presented the work inviting them to recall an experience where they felt capable of living fully their role as formator. What made this experience meaningful? In the afternoon they would look again at this experience in the light of the work to be done that day. She presented them with a diagram to help them reflect on the role entrusted to them. CONTEXT All experience is lived within a certain context. To carry out my role in formation, it is essential to look at and understand the context in which I live. It is important to give people the means to analyse the reality in which they live......to give them a solid formation, to look at the world in the light of faith.....The prophetic meaning of our life as Sisters of the Holy Family calls us to choose an alternative to the culture that surrounds us, witnessing to the fact that communion is possible. We are called to take a stand in favour of those that society excludes, marginalises.... Situations change and we must be up to date in order to integrate new paradigms. Sometimes we act as if no change had taken place. We cannot reduce the context to the place where we live, we always need to look beyond the limits of our own situation. The situation in which I find

myself is only a part of the WHOLE, that is the cosmos, the whole that is the organisation to which I belong, the whole that is the formation given by the Holy Family. It is important as a formator to have a systemic outlook: to be aware that the reality in which I live is only a small part of the whole and is connected to the whole. Even if there are differences we can find aspects that are common. We can say that what we experience has an impact on what happens in other places where we are present as an Institute. This influences our responsibility as members of the Holy Family. We cannot isolate what happens in formation from life within the whole of the organisation. Everything is interconnected, and this impact transcends our own reality as Institute. It influences what we are as the Family of Pierre Bienvenu Noailles, and what we are in the church and society. It says something of our relationship to God and the universe.

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Our multicultural reality and the difference we want to make as Holy Family Sisters are part of this context and influence our common mission which is essentially a mission of communion. But already we can emphasise that for us, as an

international family, all the questions concerning interculturalism are non-negotiable, not only because of the context but because of the difference we want to make in this context as the Family of Pierre Bienvenu Noailles.

Having finished this theme the participants were invited to share spontaneously and then in linguistic groups. The fruit of this sharing was brought back to the assembly. Some interesting points to share:

The Founder lived in a particular context; it is important to be aware of all that happens around us, to be attentive in order to integrate everything into a given context.

Give importance to multiculturalism, it must be experienced throughout formation.

We need to discern so as not to miss what is essential. It is important to accompany rather than forbid: we must guide towards

freedom PERSON When we use the term person we are not speaking of a particular individual. The individual draws everything to herself, is not open to others, makes a life apart. The person is always in relationship, is connected to others. We are made in the image of God and God is in relationship. We are more related and interconnected than we can ever imagine. Each person is unique and her experience of God; her relationship with others and with the cosmos is also unique. Each one has a specific place in the universe. No one can occupy our place, and if we do not occupy it the whole universe is deprived

of that energy contained in us. We cause disharmony. Sometimes we spend a lot of time trying to ensure that everyone is in agreement, thinks the same way but this uniformity has nothing to do with communion. We find it difficult to see that our riches can enrich others. Communion leads us to go beyond our differences and integrate them in a new creation. What is most important in a person is desire. It is desire that moves a person and our desire is related to our faith. We have to question the desires which energise our lives and our relationships to God and others. All these are essential in order to accept and live out our role, aware that other roles exist.

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SYSTEM Each one of us has a different vision of our organisation and it is important for us to ask ourselves from time to time: What is the image I have of the organisation to which I belong? Am I clear about its purpose? Each one of us has responded freely to the call to follow Jesus in the Holy Family. We come from different places and different cultures. But by making vows we have become members of this same Family. We accept to put in common all our gifts, limitations, ideas, feelings, strengths and vulnerability in a community of persons who have chosen to follow the same path. As members we are part of the same Family, the same Institute that has the same objective, one reason to be, one mission. (Cf. Const. Art. 4) Is it truly the Holy Family common mission that motivates, unifies and clarifies my reason to be, and my reason to live? If I am not clear about my being a member and our common mission, it is impossible for me to live authentically my role as formator because the task entrusted to me flows from the purpose of the organisation. This role is at the service of the mission. There followed a sharing on the following question:

GLOBAL OBJECTIVE OF BASIC FORMATION “Help each person to have an awareness of God’s action and call in her life. Initiate her into her new form of life in view of a continuous growth towards progressive unification of her life. This will enable her, during the different stages of basic formation, to verify the authenticity of her call and to respond to her vocation as a Sister of the Holy Family today.”

Where do these ideas spring from?

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ROLE We all experience living in a given context, within a system. The formator’s role is situated where the context, the person, and the system intersect. It serves the objectives of the system. The objective goal of Formation is: “To foster in each person the awareness of the call and the action of God in her history. To initiate her into a new way of life for continuous growth towards progressive unification. This will enable her, by means of the different stages of Basic Formation, to verify the authenticity of her call, in order to respond to her

vocation as a Sister of the Holy Family today” The charge of the formator does not consist solely in what is done or said in order to realize this goal; it involves the whole person. If the essential aspects of life are not integrated, if the aims are not clear, if the way of carrying out the task does not favour a relationship which brings out the potential of the young women, the role of the formator will be weakened. Quality living-out of the role of formator will be determined by the degree of authenticity in the living-out of her own consecration and sense of belonging.

Some echoes of the sharing on this theme:

♦ The objectives of formation are achieved not only by means of what is said; the whole person is implicated. This role needs to be accepted from the depths of our interior life.

♦ It is during the stages of formation that we verify whether the call is truly that

of a Sister of the Holy Family.

♦ The Formator’s task is not just to point out what is not right; it is not merely an obligation, we need to see it as a way of collaborating in God’s plan for the growth of the young people concerned.

♦ It is important that the Formator is concerned for her own sense of “being

member”, because we cannot give what we do not have ourselves.

♦ In formation, it is essential to be aware of the feelings of the formator as much as those of the person accompanied – to see how feelings influence their relationship and behaviour.

♦ Every member of the formation community is involved in formation, but the

role of the community and that of the formator have to be very clear. After a pause, Geneviève proposed a slow, prayerful reading of a text from the Book of Numbers, Chapters 13 and 14, with the role of the formator in mind, in order to see what light the text would throw on the various aspects of this role.

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Some interesting comments emerging from the prayer and reflection:

Moses feels called by God for a mission. He has some very clear convictions regarding his role, and this renders him capable of guiding the people.

Like the explorers of the earth, we are accountable for our mission.

In the text, we can see fear to confront difficulties, the temptation to run away,

to take the easy way out, to attempt to negotiate non-negotiables.

Like Moses, and the other personages in this text, we see that when God entrusts us with a mission, He gives us what we need to carry it out.

The text cites names and tribes of those who are sent. Each of us is also sent

on mission, with her name, her life-story, her identity, in order to discern the God’s plan day by day and help to accomplish it.

Chapter 14 speaks of difficulties and suffering. We also are conscious of our

resistances, the temptation to return to our securities; it costs us to die to what is ours, to what we have known in the past.

Moses was a mediator in close communion with God, in order to communicate

God’s message and challenge the people: this helps me to understand the necessity of deep communion with God.

Closely connected to this text are the PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP which were presented to the group at the end of this sharing. Formators are leaders

Leadership is based on the objective: The promise as objective between God and Israel (Num 13,2)

The leader tries to deal with reality: Moses wants to know the situation just as it is. (Num 13, 17-20)

The leader risks rejection by the members: the people threaten to reject the leaders. (Num 14.10)

A leader who is motivated by faith does not blame the members; rather he/she identifies with them in their humanity: Moses intercedes with God on behalf of his people. (Num.14, 5-7, 11-19)

A Leader who is animated by faith empowers others, and does not act in their place: Caleb tells the people that they are quite capable (of conquering the land). (Num 13.30; 14, 7-9)

Leadership implies having to choose between the needs of the members and the objective: Moses lives this tension throughout the whole story. (Num 13-14)

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Leadership implies dealing with the anxiety of the members: the people are afraid, and Caleb tries to calm them. (Num 13, 31-14, 9)

And so ended this day, which had been so intense and rich in content.

Morning prayer was centred on a text entitled: “The beatitudes according to the Constitutions”, illustrated by a beautiful slide presentation inspired by the articles of our “Book of Life” having a link with the Beatitudes: 23 reasons to be happy in our call. There followed a time for reflection and spontaneous sharing, ending with the song” “Here I am, Lord”, echoing the response called forth from the heart of each participant. As an introduction to the day’s work, the participants were given a list of statements, expressing various motivations for opting for the Consecrated Life. They were asked to number these according to importance. Next, the assembly was invited to reflect on the difficulties encountered, guided by the following question: The sharing was an opportunity to express doubts, uncertainties, errors, concerns, questions, and there was a fair amount of convergence in the content. This session was a way of entering into the theme which was to follow:

Discernment: Why? How? For what? The text began with an introduction situating discernment in the formation process, an invitation to discover the signs of vocation among all the other signs in the person who desires to discern. The Fundamental Option of her life; Her Attitudes Her capacity to clarify and confirm the possibility of a call to the Holy Family.

26th Tuesday

What are the difficulties you have encountered in discerning a vocation?

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Fundamental Option This is what gives meaning, and orients the life of the person; it attracts and dynamizes her whole being, and moves her to choose one or other style of life. The young person will gradually clarify whether her fundamental option is in line with that of the Holy Family. But she is not the only one to discern – the Institute will also be in discernment. Attitudes The fundamental option is lived in day-to-day life, and expressed in actual attitudes and actions. It is the task of the discernment process to verify whether the said actions and attitudes correspond with the fundamental option. It will be necessary to discover certain attitudes which can confirm that the person is called to the Holy Family, happy to live

the Charism, fulfilled as a woman, and developing her potential. It is crucial to ascertain whether the person is motivated by faith, or by purely human criteria. Taking account of the fact that faith touches the whole person, and the whole of life, it is necessary to see whether she lives out of her deepest self, trying to respond according to her authentic inner truth. Aptitudes In order to live Consecrated Life, the person needs certain skills and capacities which help her to live the charism: the capacity for relationship, to go out to others, her apostolic sense, and the capacity to live in a group. It is also important to discover the signs which could indicate that the person could be joyful in Religious Life.

Discernment In discernment, the most important thing is to seek always that

God is the centre, and the horizon of our life, as He was for Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the first Christian communities.

The fundamental option needs to be discerned in the various tendencies expressed by the person in her daily life, in the various events and historical circumstances. All this is, or can be, the footprint of God in her life… to be able to read this “footprint”, and “discover its message” is the key to discernment. Attention should be given to some points:

Openness of the person to look within, and to question herself. Take into account the information provided by her personal background:

relationships, way of seeing things, affectivity, her capacity for community life, establishing relationships, and facing conflict.

Her image or images of god Her attitude of seeking the will of God, which is inseparable from the plan of

Jesus for the Kingdom. This supposes interior freedom, without previously-established options, and a willingness to live in humility and trust.

Capacity for selflessness, ability to live for others Her motivations Her human-intellectual-affective capacities.

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MOTIVATIONS CONSCIOUS: RIGHT INTENTION We should presuppose that the young woman has a right intention, and the desire to follow Jesus as the “all” of her life, but we should not avoid questioning ourselves regarding this. This desire is indispensable, but on the other hand, the call can become a structure into which one enters, or the impulse of a moment. It is not enough to know what one wants; one should also know why one wants it. UNCONSCIOUS There may be unconscious motivations in the person which conceal themselves beneath certain apparently noble options, e.g. fear of sexuality or of failure can lead a person to choose celibacy; the desire for power and domination can hide a beneath a desire for greater service to the poorest. These unconscious motivations do not exist separately from the conscious ones; they influence each other mutually, to the extent that unconscious impulses can determine or contaminate conscious motivation. Algunas de las motivaciones inconscientes, debidas, sobre todo a la falta de madurez personal suelen ser: Some common unconscious motivations, due largely to lack of personal maturity are:

Inability to dialogue about one’s motivations and to recognise their possible ambiguity

Exclusively spiritual motivations, while ignoring other important levels of the personality.

Motivations which appear to justify a need to compensate

Spiritual motivations which are in contradiction with what is actually lived

Exhaustive and extremely detailed motivations

Motivations springing from a lack of attraction for other things

Hiding laziness, affective immaturity, need for security, lack of initiative, beneath an apparent docility, self-giving, living among the poor, living in community…expressions which, in this case, can be ambiguous and idealistic.

Certain signs indicate the presence of motivations of this kind:

Living in a state of confusion or dissatisfaction, interrupted at times by periods of euphoria.

Disturbance when the person is in contact with other ways of life, with persons, or with milieux that she has renounced; duplicity of life;

Indecision when faced with new commitments, or maintaining an aggressive attitude

Being closed up in herself, insensitive about the problems of others, insecure, fearing for the future, sad

Taking refuge in ideas and arguments; the need to justify everything

We should not exaggerate the importance of unconscious motivations; it is inevitable that the behaviour of the young people and our own should be influenced by unconscious elements. This does not mean that the behaviour or the vocation is not authentic. The important thing is to become gradually more aware of the unconscious motivations, so that they do not dominate the behaviour of the person.

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In formation, it is vital to be clear about what is fundamental, and how to attain it. At times, we forget that the essential is the experience of God, which gives meaning to a life lived according to our charism.

Religious Consecration is the consecration of love, with the characteristics proper to true love: total self-giving, exclusive attachment to the person loved, and absolute lack of self-interest in serving that person.

In the afternoon, Winifreda Wasalathanthrige invited the group to apply what they had deepened during the previous session to actual situations. Each person was given a series of documents: case studies of persons in vocation discernment. She asked them to study these personally and in groups during the afternoon and part of the following morning, using these guide questions:

Winie advised the participants to focus on our reality, and on our motivations and reactions.

The participants filled the hall once more at 11 a.m. ready to share the previous afternoon’s work. Having reflected personally and in groups on the 8 case-histories, each group shared their responses to the three guide-questions. There was convergence between the concerns, challenges, learning and elements to be changed or reinforced, but some of these were given special mention by the assembly. Elements which affect and challenge

♦ Nurture the experience of God, linking it with the formand’s Christian commitment and sacramental life.

♦ Accompany with humility and gentleness, cordiality and warmth, to help the young person open up.

♦ The importance of personalizing formation, paying more attention to quality than quantity. Formation needs to take into account the whole person – sometimes we overlook the affective dimension, or how to situate oneself with regard to material goods.

1. What points affect and challenge us? 2. What do we learn from these case histories? 3. What do we need to change?

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♦ Be clear about the criteria of discernment. ♦ The importance of the previous stage, knowing the candidate and discerning her

motivations. ♦ The need for the formator herself to be accompanied, and to continue her

formation. Learnings ♦ Accompaniment based on what is actually lived, because every

dimension of our life must be an object of discernment. ♦ Know how to listen to feelings, be attentive to what is said and what

is lived. ♦ When there is persistent doubt about a person, know how to take

the necessary decision for the sake of the person and the Institute. ♦ Since we are forming people for the Holy Family Religious Life, we

need to be clear about our identity. ♦ We need to attain a certain level of clarity during the contact stage:

get to know the person’s background, her faith history and her relationships.

♦ Maturity is important in order to be able to opt freely. ♦ It is essential that the members of the formation community are

clear about the different roles, and respect them. ♦ Do not encourage the formands to move on to the next stage

without having carried out a serious discernment. ♦ From the beginning, the five vocations in the Holy Family should be

made known to the candidates, so that the person can discern freely.

What needs to be changed

♦ Give priority to one’s own role of formator ♦ Pastoral care of vocations needs to be reviewed ♦ In accompaniment, we need to remember always that we are “walking on

holy ground” ♦ Be serious about our own continued formation; accept the need to be

accompanied. ♦ Give witness with one’s own life ♦ Give formation responsibility to the members of the formation community.

Other Comments

With regard to doubts about suitability, we need to give a little time to the candidate, and try to be clear on all this ourselves. We have to learn how to ask questions in time, and to observe the person’s degree of openness to being questioned.

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Motivations concerning vocations promotion should be clear, and centred on

essentials. At times, we can commit errors imitating methods used by others, be drawn into intercongregational competitiveness, or want to attract “the best”. We need to take into account that the prenovitiate is designed to prepare the young women to make a clear and free option. We must have openness of spirit to accept them and open up paths for them. If we guide the person to take another direction, she should not consider that she is a failure or that she has been rejected.

Affectivity Every dimension of the personality needs to be integrated, including the affectivity. At times, we can have reservations or fears around this theme. Perhaps we ourselves have unresolved issues, and at times the very persons we are accompanying help us to question ourselves, to grow towards integration. A personal review of life at the end of each day can give indications about how to proceed. The first person one has to work on as a formator is oneself. We should not be afraid to deal with this topic, because our life is expressed through our affectivity.

That afternoon, Genevieve introduced the next step: work on the Vows, referring especially to the transformation which the world is undergoing at the moment, and the urgent need for Religious Life to find its place in this world so full of hopes but also of challenges. She invited them to go to our roots in order to continue the mission entrusted to them. There followed a personal and group reflection, in view of creating a synthesis of the formators’ vision of Holy Family Religious Life today. The reflection turned on these points:

♦ The Vows in general ♦ Poverty ♦ Chastity ♦ Obedience ♦ The community dimension

The theme of the prayer, “enfold me in your love” centred on the morning’s topic: the Vows. At the beginning of the day, the group took time to contemplate the beauty of the love of God, which enfolds and penetrates all, a time when each one could ask herself, “What is the image of God that energises me today?”

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Strenghthened by this gratuitous time of contemplation of the beauty within and around them, each working-group shared its vision of Holy Family Religious Life today.

Holy Family Religious Life Today:

The Vows The Vows unify our life. They are a radical option for God alone: the founding experience. They exist for the common mission, the mission of Christ. They draw us into passion for Christ and passion for humanity. They are a means of relating with God and others; a way of being and acting which challenges the models offered to us by society today. By means of the Vows, we live the holy Family values which challenge the world of today. Poverty Enables us to live interdependence rather than individualism A simple lifestyle: the ethic of “just enough” in order to be able to share. Invites us to opt for the poor, the most vulnerable, in order to share goods, gifts and talents. Calls us to openness and willingness to search with others for a better world Poverty is a way of freedom which creates the space to recognise human dignity. Commitment to work with others against structures which dehumanizes. Respect for creation: the goods of the earth belong to all. Trust in Providence and abandonment. Pooling for the sake of the mission Responsibility with regard to personal and community budgets Use of the new means of communication putting them at the service of life and of the mission Chastity Love for God, which affirms that each person is called to fullness of life Love which urges us to live for God and the Kingdom Gives us a contemplative gaze on the world and on creation, which helps us to keep our hearts open. A fruitful love, which knows how to give and to receive. An inclusive, universal love which creates communion and renders us capable of living relationships of freedom. A life of love given and received, a cry in favour of humanity. Requires balance in one’s life Requires a clear understanding and integration of one’s sexuality. Seek the strength needed in the Eucharist. Obedience Seeking what God wants for me, for the whole Family: discernment. Faith in the mediation (of leadership): listening and dialogue

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Availability for mission and interdependence Listening to events, to the signs of the times Availability to respond to new needs, to what is coming to birth; a life that can adapt according to the will of God. Obedience is an invitation to live co-responsibility with freedom It impels us to live the Paschal Mystery A call to be creative and daring, in order to make responses for the good of the common mission. The Communitarian Dimension of the Vows The Vows are lived in community; the community is a living testimony that communion is possible. A symbol of communion and acceptance of differences in the service of the Kingdom. Community is mission, and is at the service of the mission. It is the community that evangelizes by means of its prophetic dimension. The community should remain open to the needs of the world. The place where we live out the evangelical values of forgiveness, reconciliation, sisterly love. The place where we can be authentic and express our belongings We need communities where the relationship is heart-centered. That they be places of growth and mutual sharing. Flexible communities are inserted in the milieu and open to all. Some Convictions regarding the Vows

The Vows are for the mission. Our consecration invites us to participate in the mission of Christ, and this demands creativity, detachment and passion

The Vows form an integral whole; we cannot separate them Discernment should be an attitude of life. It is a way of freeing us from our

whims and contradictions For the Sisters of the Holy Family, the Vows are encapsulated in the quotation,

“To love, seek, and desire only God alone”. It is this spirit that gives such meaning to our consecration.

At the end of this very full morning, personal time was given for the integration of all that had been lived. A forum was scheduled for the afternoon, during which the participants were able to share any unanswered questions, and listen to the responses suggested by their companions. The work began in groups, where the questions to be put to the assembly were formulated. These included the following:

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What do we mean by ‘Formation Community’?

The pre-novitiate, the novitiate, and the period of Temporary Vows are lived in community. This holds and important place in its daily life, and the community members need to consider themselves as instruments of formation, who have something to communicate. They are expected to support, sustain and help the persons in formation who are members of the community. Together with the formator, they should constitute a kind of formation team, while not forgetting that the community and the formator have different roles to play.

We have spoken about contextualized formation. How to attain a common formation within the various cultures? Would it not be good to have an International Team? The Guidelines for Basic Formation contain the principles of Formation. All the elements pertaining to adaptation to the different cultures are also defined and synthesized in the Declaration on Inculturation. If the assembly considers that it would be good to create a team, a petition to that effect could be presented to the Chapter. What initiatives do we need to take in order to achieve multiculturalism and interculturality in formation? Intercultural novitiates have been experienced in S. Africa, Paraguay, and Sri Lanka, but how can we respect the cultural background of each person? We need to learn to live in inter-ethnic groups, and this can be a source of conflict. What place should we give to cultural particularities? There are more questions than answers How to create an atmosphere which facilitates the experience of God? We have to ask ourselves, how do we nourish our own experience of God? At what times? While working for pastoral care of vocations, we organize retreat days. More than a mere atmosphere, a certain pedagogy is necessary – the experience of God is a gradual thing. It is very important to root ourselves in the Word of God. The sacramental life and community prayer are helpful.

The first year of the novitiate is a “canonical year”. May the novices engage in an apostolic activity? We need to re-think the aim of formation. It is a question of forming women who are passionate in their self-giving for the mission. The First Year is considered a year of withdrawal, in order to be open to a profound encounter with Jesus. The Second Year gives more time to the apostolate. What is the continuity between the two years, so that the First Year does not seem like an interruption? The lack of vocations in some countries – an invitation to seek together? Where can we meet the young people? We must not succumb too quickly to the temptation to give up. Are we capable of inventing another style of life, another way of

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living Holy Family consecrated Life? Are we capable of forming communities where people can develop whatever they have within? Are we open to look for, to discern what it is we have to offer? When the question arises of a permanent commitment, in general people prefer short-term commitments, and there are many who commit themselves to activities of a humanitarian nature. In the context of inter-culturality which is now affecting all areas of life, how do we live inter-religious dialogue, the ecumenical dimension? How do we integrate this aspect of life into our formation? Here, some of the countries shared their experience. Brazil - The Conference of Religious offers meetings on ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue to formands. Visits are organised to places of worship of other religions. Pakistan and India - The Sisters live in contexts where the majority religions are Islam and Hinduism. They provide modules on the theme, and books, in order to prepare the formands for the challenges they will encounter in this context. The program of Basic formation includes study of other religions. They have the opportunity to participate in ecumenical activities. Another very full day, which ended with a time for prayerful assimilation of what had been lived, and simple sharing of adoration and thanksgiving to this God who goes behind and before us; the God whose presence with the group was almost tangible.

Adela Vanaclocha introduced the morning prayer, directing the attention of the assembly to the experience of God’s Infinite Love and Mercy enjoyed by Sts. Peter and Paul, and also by our Founder – a God who does not stop at our failures and infidelities, but invites us unceasingly to move forward.

A slide presentation entitled “A Call To Creative Fidelity” inspired the prayer, and with the help of significant texts touching our spirituality, invited the participants to open their hearts to the beauty of the charism of Pierre Bienvenu Noailles and its relevance for today. A time followed for silent prayer and simple sharing of feelings of gratitude, praise and thanksgiving for the gift of the Charism, the life of the Founder, and the PBN Family. They expressed the desire to live our spirituality in depth, to incarnate the charism in their lives,

Friday 29

Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul Our Founder’s Feast

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asking the intercession of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the Founder, and the Sisters who have gone before us. Continuing the same prayerful atmosphere, each one was invited to integrate what she had lived during the Session, to go deeply to the silence within, in order to contemplate the elements which had been affirmed, the questions which remain, and the points that still needed to be deepened and reflected upon. At the end of this time of reflection, the participants met once more in the hall, where Genevieve made the closing address. Here we share with you some extracts: We have come to the end of this Session, we have journeyed together. We have felt closer to one another, interconnected, with the desire to enrich one another mutually, accepting and welcoming our diversity, and considering ourselves bearers of common values, responsible for the same mission. This session does not end here. We leave here enriched by what we have lived, and we have to communicate the call we have received. We have not exhausted the theme. Formation demands that we engage in a process of constant return to our sources, to reflect and discern, in order to respond in fidelity, without losing sight of the aim of FORMATION Our task of formation implies that we take our role seriously and responsibly, and we are clear about the process of transformation, so that the formation which we give is adequate and responds to the needs of today. This requires ongoing reflection, in dialogue with the Councils, the Formation Teams, and in a broader way with all the Sisters; flexibility

to adapt ourselves to changing mentalities, an enthusiasm which believes that the Spirit continues to act today as yesterday, and that our Charism continues to be a gift which we must offer to others. In order to be fruitful, our Religious Life should not turn in on itself; we need to look at God and at the world… We also need to direct our gaze on this world – this world that God loved so much He gave His only Son.. To love the world does not mean loving only human beings but also the whole creation of which we are just a tiny part; it means opening us to the mystery of life which transcends us; it means choosing life, and contributing our grain of sand to a creation that is as yet incomplete, and continually evolving. As formators, we are in a privileged position to collaborate with the potter and help the fragile clay to take shape; but at the same time we know that this clay is sacred, full of mystery and of surprises. To stimulate the growth process of a person, to help her to question herself in the light of faith, to verify if her life is in accord with the choice she has made, to help her to be the author of her own life, a member of the Holy Family… all this demands a great deal of discernment on our part, and clarity of motivation. It is an art, which requires patience to listen…

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imagination, in order to enter this unique and different world of the other, wisdom to lead her to discover freely, for herself, the right path for her. This will only be possible if, as formators, we walk with the Lord, accepting to be questioned, and accepting to be accompanied in our turn. We have become more aware that intercultural living is situated at the heart of our Charism. In order to open ourselves to this dimension, we need to accept the challenge of knowing how to leave what is comfortable and familiar to move out towards the unknown – and this demands detachment. In the 1995 declaration on Inculturation we affirm: "We are sufficiently free to have a critical sense with regard to our customs and structures and to be challenged by the people around us. Our Holy Family culture is thus called to enter into a process of conversion and growth. "

Speaking of Religious Consecration, through which we participate in the Mission of Christ, “who had nowhere to lay his head”, Geneviève quoted the Declaration of the Union of Superiors General from the Congress of Religious Life. She invited the assembly to give thanks for the mission received, reminding them of its demands, and summing them up in these final words: “Like Mary, let us build up the Reign of God. Let us allow ourselves to become detached, converting our hearts and our mentalities. Let us widen the space in our tents; Let us tirelessly create a spirituality of communion, from which spring life and hope for humanity and for the whole of creation”

Sent out on mission On the final afternoon, the participants gathered once more in the Hall. In a prayerful atmosphere, enhanced by soft music, four sisters, each representing her own continent, processed from the back of the room carrying an earthenware jar which they placed beside the image of the Founder, beneath the lighted Paschal Candle. A few words of introduction threw light on the significance of these symbols. This was followed by a reading of the dialogue of Jesus with the Samaritan woman. (Jn.4; 7, 15-27, 30) Then the group was invited to a ritual of light: “The encounter with Jesus beside the well has renewed our hearts during these days. His light fascinates us; we draw close, so that he can light up our hearts, and send us out to the whole world.”

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The Sisters approached the jars, and each one took a small candle, lit it at the Paschal Candle, the symbol of the Light of Christ in the midst of the group, and then returned to her place with the lighted candle. Then came a spontaneous sharing of what this gesture had meant to them: “This light has reminded me of what we are doing – we are journeying together, God is walking with us, and fills us with hope and strength to live our mission” “I feel that Jesus, with His light, has given me confidence to abandon myself into his hands and live the Family spirit that Pierre Bienvenu Noailles has bequeathed to us.”

“This light commits me to live a life rooted in Christ and open to the signs of the times” “The light I have received gives me heart, and urges me to share it through my mission and my relationships, thus bringing light into the life of others” “This light kindles in me the fire of passion for our Charism, to live my membership of the Holy Family, and fills me with joy at being a Sister of the Holy Family” “I allowed myself to be bathed in His light, and I desire that He will be more and more the centre of my life” “Help us to be illuminated more and more by you, especially when we are in contact with those in formation, in order to share the light that you reveal to us” “I give thanks for the light I have received, asking Jesus to help me to take care of it, so that I may share it and make of the world one family, the great family of sisters and brothers, seated around the same table.” The sharing and this “sending ritual” ended with the Founder’s blessing, imparted to the group by Hyacinta. Farewell Eucharist The following morning, the final Eucharist had a significant international flavour. Sisters from various countries and cultures gave expression to their particular way of living in relationship with God. In procession, each one carried a flower to the foot of the

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altar, and placed it in a vase set there for the purpose. Different flowers, united in harmony and beauty, proclaiming once again the force of our Charism of unity in diversity, a symbol of the multicultural dimension we desire to live in a harmonious intercultural way of life.