When we enter… we come with the intention of giving ourselves whole and entire to God through the Community. We ask that they will take us into their hands and shape us, similar to the work of the artist, into a most beautiful picture, a picture that will in time resemble the image of Christ. (The Spirituality of our Pioneer Sisters)
Religious Formation – What is it?
To be made identical in manner of living, of praying, of serving? No indeed! As a religious community, we do many things together – like praying and singing during Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours, like having our meals together; and we rejoice in the community activities, realizing that Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered in My Name, there am I in their midst.” So, formation does involve experiencing the give and take of living, working, and praying together. We grow closer to our Lord and to each other through these community experiences.
But, basically, formation involves the heart and soul of the individual, the growth in love and knowledge in the person who has been called by God to His loving friendship and service. It’s the action of the Holy Spirit in each life, helping that person to respond to God’s great gift of Love. The Formation Director’s role is to encourage that member, to point out the attitudes and habits that enable this response and those that hinder or block this response. We are called “to observe the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, living in obedience, in poverty, and in chastity” (The Rule and Life of the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis, #1); to “live this evangelical conversion of life in a spirit of prayer, of poverty and of humility” (The Rule and Life of the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis, #2).
God’s grace sustains us, and we must do our part to respond to His grace. The Formation program is intended to help each person in her response.
Sister Mary John, OSF
Director of Formation
The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis
Formation is a lifelong task for the one who answers God’s call by entering into a covenant through religious consecration. Each Sister in our Community has the potential for further growth as a person, a member of society, a Christian, and a religious. She is pledged to make the Church actively present in the world through the use of her resources of nature and grace. She must continue to grow into the fullness of Christ in every dimension of her life.
(Constitutions, #159)
Religious formation is a dynamic and continuous growth in our personal response to Christ. This growth is a lifelong process of cooperation with the Holy Spirit which leads us to full maturity in Christ, enabling us to make a total commitment to God, the Church, and our Community. (Constitutions, #122)
Sister Agnes Joseph, Assistant Director of Formation, and Sister Mary John, Director of Formation
November 19, 2009
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