 Letter to Scholastics
“Where your treasure lies, there also is your heart.”
(Mt. 6:21)
In the General Council’s last meeting we reflected on the scholasticate stage, or more precisely, on the life and experience of our brothers scholastics. This stage comes “between temporary profession, made at the end of the novitiate, and definitive commitment in the Institute’s life and mission, which is marked by final profession and by priestly and diaconate ordinations, for those who are called to ordination,” as outlined our Way of Formation (p. 38). It defines the scholasticate as a time of unifying one’s life, of personal maturation, and of gradual insertion in the mission of the Institute.
At the end of 2008, there are 24 of you scholastics in a group of 180 Sons, divided among the eight branches of our four continents, that is to say, you are13.3% of the congregation. There are thirteen of you in the second or third year of the scholasticate and eleven are in the first year. You are accompanied by six formation directors; all but one of you are living with other scholastics. Your number and the place you occupy in the Institute, as well as the fact that you are in the final stage of initial formation cause us to give special importance to the distinctive features of your religious life. And that is the reason for these brief reflections I am sharing with you in the name of the Council. Of course, they don’t replace the work you’ve done already with your formation directors and immediate superiors, nor what is stated already in “The Way of Formation.” These reflections come from looking at the Institute as a whole and from the various contacts we’ve had with you and your formation directors during our visits. This is a complementary overview in order to emphasize a few aspects that seem important to us. Take it as a “letter of mission” written specifically for your group. 1. Your relationship with God in prayer, the unifying axis of your life “In the prayer of daily meditation I will unite my spirit and my heart to Jesus
Christ, in order to think about, desire, and love that which he thought about, desired, and loved.” (J.E. Anizan, 1880) After several years of discernment and human and Christian formation, the novitiate made it possible for you to live an especially strong relationship with God, in prayer and meditation, especially. Rooted in this experience and enamored of the Sons’ charism, you made a commitment to religious life, giving your life totally to God in service to the workers and the poor, as shepherds and apostles in fraternal community. Despite doubts about your ability to respond to such an enormous life project, your passion, generosity and love overcame your doubts, and you said yes to what you perceived as an invitation from God. Carried forward by this yes, you have begun this new stage. One of its characteristics is that it includes many activities, among which studies occupy a central place. In the novitiate you lived a very structured life, but in this situation you may find yourselves somewhat divided. Sometimes there are demanding studies that require a lot of time, transportation (in some cases, three hours or more of travel for just one or two hours of class), household chores, community activities (prayer and community or branch meetings), pastoral activities, usually on weekends, etc. In the formation team a new type of relationship is established with other Sons, with the people, and with classmates. Your identity as religious is stronger both on the outside as well as for yourselves. At the same time, you’re still in formation. Perhaps you would like to intervene more and express your opinion more clearly in the Institute or in the area of pastoral work, but your situation still doesn’t allow that ...
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 The Steps of Formation
Formation is adapted, according to the
candidate’s personal history and previous formation. It includes the following
steps:
First Step: Pre-postulancy. After a time of being accompanied in his vocation, a candidate lives a period
of discernment in which he has a preliminary experience of living in community. During this time he is accompanied by a Son
of Charity.
Second Step: Postulancy. This is done in team, in the formation house of the Sons of Charity; it
lasts a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 2 years. The candidates are accompanied by a master of
postulants, named by the major superior.
The postulancy allows them to experience, verify, and begin to shape
certain human and spiritual qualities.
It includes intellectual training such as completing secular studies,
beginning philosophy studies, etc., as the case may be.
Third Step: Novitiate. This is a time for prayer, for letting one’s self get to know Jesus and
the Gospel and for learning more about the spirituality of the Sons of Charity;
it is a time for learning the pastoral and missionary tradition of the Sons of
Charity, of religious life and the vows of poverty, chastity and
obedience. The Novitiate lasts one
year. It ends with taking temporary vows
of three years. Fundamental to this step
are the accompaniment by the master of novices, community life, and prayerful
silence before God. During the novitiate,
most exterior activities are suspended.
Fourth Step: Scholasticate. This step generally coincides with the period of theological
studies. It is a time for unifying the
vocation of the Sons of Charity. In this
stage the young Sons of Charity participate in pastoral activity, in so far as
their studies allow, since it is a time of practical pastoral formation and of
reflection on that practice. It lasts
three years. The scholasticates live in
community in a way that allows for both neighborhood presence and study.
For candidates who are preparing to
be religious brothers, the scholasticate is a time for orientation and for a
solid social and professional formation, also.
The scholasticate period ends with the pronouncement of permanent vows.
Contacts:
Brazil: nelemos.fc@terra.com.br
Colombia: pjairoalberto@yahoo.es
Cuba: martirianm@iglesiacatolica.cu
Mexico: elchetos1965@yahoo.com.mx
Spain: ortizfj@wanadoo.es
Portugal: valdemar.b@iol.pt
France: tataillemichel@wanadoo.fr
Ivory Coast: ekouasay@yahoo.fr
Dem. Rep. of Congo: sangogaby@yahoo.fr
Republic of Congo:
levilain2003@yahoo.fr
Philippines: jjbruneau51@gmail.com
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