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FORMATION TODAY:
MINISTRY AND MYSTERY
Amedeo Cencini, FDCC

Text and context

1. FORMATION AS PEDAGOGIC METHOD
1.1 The biblical icon: "the mind of the Son"
1.2 Formation for freedom
1.3 An anthropological principle: the law of totality
1.3.1 Centrality of the person
1.3.2 Mediating role of the formator
1.3.3 Formation of formators
1.4 Formation as ministry

2. FORMATION AS THEOLOGICAL
2.1 Ongoing formation
2.2 Experiential dynamic
2.3 Formation as mystery

The document Potissimum Institutioni states very clearly: "The renewal of religious life depends
primarily on the formation of its members."(1) This post-synodal exhortation that we are analyzing
begins with this understanding in the section dedicated to formation, and the document tries to
explain the implications of such a statement on both the theoretical and practical levels. The very
title of the section, "Looking Toward the Future," is rich in content because formation by its nature
looks ahead, not only to the young people who are preparing to enter into it, but also to the future of
consecrated life in general. Formation therefore does not only mean problems and difficulties that
result from a complex and tiring ministry, one to which religious do not often aspire; rather,
formation also means hope, youth, vitality, and the mystery of life and of consecrated life which is
continually renewed. The Apostolic Exhortation (hereafter, AE) moves precisely in this direction.
Starting from the Synod, which looked back to the last thirty years of consecrated life, the AE also
looks forward to the third millennium. The continuity is evident among the documents of Vatican
Council II(2), the Directives on Formation in Religious Institutes,(3) and the present Apostolic
Exhortation.(4)

This article seeks to clarify the particular perspective on formation which this latest document
provides. Without commenting per se on the line of argumentation,(5) I will seek primarily to
identify the document's key points so that it can be read with the greatest profit.

Text and Context

Chapter two of the AE takes up the theme of formation and is dedicated to an analysis of
consecrated life as "sign of communion" (signum fraternitatis) for the church and the world. This
phrase might seem unusual, but in reality it speaks of the natural relationship that exists between

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community and formation. It is the community which is entrusted with the task of formation, and
not only that, formation happens in the community, and it is for the life and mission of the
community that the person(6) is formed. Paragraph 64 of the document confronts the problem of
vocational recruitment; para. 65 defines more clearly the task of initial formation; para. 66 speaks
of the work of formators; para. 67 considers the traditional characteristics of religious formation as
being communal and apostolic. In para. 68 the document emphasizes the necessity of every religious
institute to formulate its own Ratio formationis, while para. 69 through 71 confront the immense
problem of continuing formation.

These are the contents of the eight paragraphs dedicated explicitly to formation, but such a scant
outline does not do justice to the richness of the document. Basically the document confronts the
problem of formation from a twofold perspective: method and content. Although this is not an
explicit distinction made in the document, this twofold perspective should be appreciated for its
importance and the new way it sheds light on the issue of formation.

1. FORMATION AS PEDAGOGIC METHOD

In reality formation has always been considered instrumental in the long process of preparation for
consecrated life and the offering of the self to God. This is the classic and traditional interpretation
of formation. Yet according to some, we find ourselves today in a rather critical and strange
situation precisely with regard to the method of formation. While we have many theological models
of consecrated life, we still have not defined with sufficient precision how to bring about adherence
to these models. The situation is truly paradoxical: a richness of theological models on the one hand
and a genuine poverty with regard to concrete method.(7) Signs of uncertainty and even of weakness in
present-day formation would lead us to believe that this evaluation is anything but hypothetical.(8)

I should clarify immediately that by "method" I do not mean just a set of techniques or a series of
processes set in motion by the formator which function as generic psychological conditioning,
however much they may be effective. Nor am I thinking of a formation method which adheres to the
criteria for human development, both with regard to the individual and that of the group, but then
ends up substantially independent of the person's maturation as a Christian and more or less
detached from the demands of consecration to God. I am thinking instead of a method as something
which is strictly tied to and inherent in its content, a method which is divided into distinct stages or
intermediate objectives and which gradually moves in an orderly fashion toward its goal but which
allows a progressive growth along the way as it moves toward the final goal. And if the method is in
some way the practical working out of a model of formation, then an authentic objective in formation
has to be able to become method as well. The objective has to have a path which arrives at it;
otherwise, it is not a true objective. This is precisely the meaning of the concept of method according
to modern pedagogy: a process of doing formation which identifies more and more with the content
of formation itself. What direction has the AE given?

1.1 The biblical icon: "the mind of the Son"

One characteristic of the present document is its strong biblical influence evident in a series of
"biblical icons" which are used to articulate the document's various themes. Even formation has its

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icon: Christ offers himself out of love for the Father to his brothers and sisters in the kenosis of his
passion. The one in formation must progressively identify with this attitude of Christ (Phil. 2:5) and
formation aims precisely at helping this process, an idea repeated four times from para. 65 to 69.
This is really a defining aspect of formation and one relatively new, even if present in a church
document from 1983,(9) and certainly the point of reference for any process of formation for
consecrated life.

According to the AE, consecration to God and formation for this consecration mean helping the
disciple of Christ grow in conformity to the Lord Jesus and to the mystery of his death and
resurrection. This becoming conformed to Christ leads the one being formed to take on ever more
profoundly the very mind of the Son to share in his total self-offering to the Father and to his brothers
and sisters. In other words the final objective of the offering of self to God in religious consecration
is not just any ideal of perfection or availability for others, whether individually or collectively, but
the formation of the heart according to the "mind of the Son." "Heart" here is meant in the biblical
sense of the word, i.e. the expression of the entire person, so that the one who consecrates him- or
herself to God may be a person who loves with the very heart of God and that of the Son on the
cross.(10) The method which formation adopts must be oriented toward this objective; otherwise,
formation becomes superficial or only intellectual and behavioral. From this basic orientation,
therefore, we can presume some consequences:

a) First of all, formation cannot be considered a mere human action but also must be thought of as
divine and Trinitarian. God the Father is the formator, and only "the activity of the Father through
the Spirit molds the hearts of persons in formation according to the mind of the Son" (66). The
Trinitarian theme is one of the underlying threads of the whole document. Right from the
beginning, from initial formation, consecrated life is "confessio Trinitatis."

b) This point of reference and ideal place of being "in sinu Trinitatis," makes consecrated life a
participation in the very beauty of God. It is significant that the category of beauty, often weakened,
rendered ambiguous, and ignored by present-day culture, becomes a key for understanding
consecrated life according to the AE. Vocation ministry and formation should convey the beauty of
discipleship (64, 66), and the person in formation ought to be helped to recognize and taste that
which is beautiful--not just what is holy or proper--so as to give him- or herself to God as all God's,
to praise and celebrate Him, to live in union with and proclaim His name, to serve Him and to
discover His face in the least, to love with the heart of the Son. On the level of method there is also
another consequence of the choice of this icon.

1.2 Formation for freedom

If the "heart" is what is formed, so that the person in formation have "the mind of the Son" and
discover the beauty of discipleship, then the formative process must become formation for freedom
(66). This is an important indication with regard to method. The heart, in fact, cannot be
constrained but must be formed so as to discover the greatness of its call and the attractiveness of
Christ. The heart must be rendered more and more free to respond as the Son responded to the
Father during his earthly life, especially on the cross: giving his life for others with compassion,
generosity, self-denial, objectivity, and forgiveness. To have the same mind as Christ Jesus does not
mean so much an exterior imitation as acceding to the richness of the mystery and discovering in it
one's own mystery, the mystery of freedom and our "mysterious" identity.

It is significant that the AE emphasizes "formation for freedom" as content and method of

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formation. For if the goal of formation were only to become qualified for a particular ministry or
lifestyle, or aim at possessing certain qualities useful for ministry, then the pedagogical method
could follow some other path or criterion (e.g., the reinforcement of the will, the capacity for
asceticism and renunciation, ministerial capability, etc.). But if one must form the "heart" so that
the person in formation have the same attitude as that of the Son, then there can be no other path
other than that which leads to freedom. The human heart can and must be formed and evangelized,
purified and liberated, with all the suffering this entails, to the point of showing forth more readily
this attitude of the Son. There does not exist an authentic formative process for the kingdom of God
which does not entail passing through the stages of formation for freedom, phases which are both
positive and negative, ascetical and mystical. Freedom concretely means an awareness of one's
internal workings, even those which are unconscious, and the capacity to be always less dependent
on them (freedom "from"); freedom means a gift received from God in Christ, a gift which is
continually renewed by the sacraments and new life in Christ (freedom "in"); freedom means a rich
interior life rooted in love for God and having desires with the strength to actualize them (freedom
"for").

Rarely is attention paid to this area on the level of theory or methodology. It seems as if there is no
room in many formation programs for this "formation for freedom," as if the human person were
already born free or as if freedom were not a virtue. In fact freedom is not a virtue, but represents
that interior attitude that is the indispensable condition for any virtue to truly be virtue. Freedom
signifies the disposition of the heart-mind-will--the whole person--to love virtue, to be attracted by
it, and to experience the happiness that comes with acting virtuously. We could say that formation
for freedom represents or ought to represent the method of formation for consecration.

1.3 An anthropological principle: the law of totality

Given the purpose of consecrated life as "having the mind of the Son" and singling out the basic
method as "formation for freedom," the AE then states that such a method "ought to assume and
express the characteristic of totality" (65). Totality, as an anthropological dimension which follows
closely on the spiritual, can have diverse meanings with notable consequences on the level of
method, both in relation to the person and to the rapport between the formator and the person in
formation.

1.3.1 Centrality of the person

Formation "ought to be formation of the whole person"(11) in every aspect of his or her
individuality, behavior, and intentions" (65): heart, reason, will, memory, imagination, senses,
desires, tastes, the conscious and unconscious--everything ideally ought to be the object of attention
in formation so that the new person in Christ can really come to birth. Moreover, "formation, in
order to be total, must encompass all the aspects of Christian and consecrated life. Thus there must
be cultural, spiritual, and pastoral preparation which focuses aids the harmonious integration of the
various aspects" (ibid.). All of the hard work of initial formation should therefore be oriented to the
totality of the person in order to "reach the profound depths of the person, such that every attitude
and deed, in the ordinary and extraordinary moments of life, might reveal a full and joyous
belonging to God" (ibid.).

The AE places the person in formation at the center of attention because he or she is already the

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Father's center of attention, the One who is the "Formator par excellence" (66). Formation must
necessarily be a service rendered to the individual, an attentiveness to his or her life, an individual
relationship, time dedicated to listening to his or her story and problems, an attempt to understand
the person's point of view and experience, both conscious and unconscious (the "obstacles less
evident" listed in no. 66). Formation is a phenomenon genuinely individual and not something
which takes shape in a group or in set sequence, but which happens with the care and attention of a
craftsman with regard to one person. As the masters of the spiritual life affirm, only the context of
freedom and interpersonal exchange makes possible the serious sharing of lived experience.(12)

The group, on the other hand, does not have the characteristics to guarantee such a relationship and
level of sharing. Communication within a group is inevitably partial, at times superficial, and can
sometimes block persons; it does not offer the degree of confidentiality which is a fundamental
requisite for a person to be able to manifest what is strictly personal. Even if at times the group
dynamic provokes the emergence of the subjective unconscious it does not possess the tools needed
to process what has emerged. Conversation between the individual and the formator becomes
precisely at that moment the natural environment in which to analyze what has emerged. Only then
does the experience of the group turn into something which provides useful material for the process
of formation.

Considered in light of the AE, therefore, formation is the art of molding the individual, an
exhausting art that presupposes competence and availability of time and energy; it also presupposes
love for this ministry and the person entrusted to it. But it is truly an art, a capacity to enter into the
world of God's beauty, to discern His formative action, and to contemplate the action of the Spirit
who makes present the heart of the Son in the heart of the consecrated person (66). The formator is
therefore a privileged person because he or she stands continually before this mysterious action of
grace. The formator is like an artist-apprentice, first allured by the Great Artist, or as Gregory
Nazianzen states, by the "Artist Logos,"(13) to reflect back, describe, and radiate beauty, to
accompany a younger brother or sister and allow them to be charmed by its ways and be shaped by
it. The image of the formator that emerges from the document is that of a communicator of beauty.

1.3.2 The Mediating Role of the Formator

"God the Father, in the continuous gift of Christ and the Spirit, is the formator par excellence of the
one consecrated to Him. But in this work God is also served by the mediating role of human
persons, older brothers and sisters whom He calls and places at His side" (66)--"older" in the sense
of maturity of faith and discipleship. The one who serves in such a ministry is placed as a mediator
between God's action and the human response and must therefore be one who knows well both the
human and the divine heart. The formator must be attentive to the action of grace but also capable
of recognizing what opposes that action in the human person. Above all the formator must be one
who has been conquered by the divine beauty so as to know how to transmit the attraction of
following it by means of a particular charism. This view of the formator also implies totality and a
mode of acting which forms for freedom. The AE is very careful to emphasize these aspects.

It is important, therefore, that formators know how to link together "the guiding lights of spiritual
wisdom--those human tools that can be of help both in vocational discernment and in formation of
the new person in Christ, so that he or she might become authentically free," free to allow him- or
herself to be formed by the Father (66). This last affirmation is very important on the theoretical
and methodological level, for it insists on an approach that makes space for the human and spiritual
sciences, an approach that is well-integrated between grace and nature; moreover, the document's

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statement attributes to the human sciences (pedagogy and psychology, in particular)(14) not just a
contribution that is limited to select cases, e.g., pathological, or to development on a purely human
level or to professional and ministerial competence, but also recognizes an explicit role for them to
help free the heart to welcome the action of the Spirit.

The principal instrument of formation is the personal encounter which is held "regularly and
frequently" (ibid.). This is another methodological indication which confirms what I have
emphasized above. Formation, which takes place in the community, is a phenomenon which is
individual in itself. It is the individual person who is helped to know him- or herself and to allow
what is inside to emerge, even those things which are hidden and problematic, and to conquer
defenses and fears in order to make the choice to follow Christ. All of these processes demand, I
repeat, a climate of confidentiality and secrecy, of understanding and attention to the individual that
only the relationship between two persons can guarantee--always from the point of view of
integrating the human and psychological with the spiritual and charismatic.

1.3.3 Formation of Formators

In the face of such a complex commitment, it is necessary to provide for the formation of formators
(ibid.). The AE repeats something heard often these days: the ministry of formation is a particular
ministry which requires competence and specific preparation, not only on the spiritual plane, but
also on the anthropological level. It is ever so important that such a document has reaffirmed this as
a principle. No one can think today of entrusting the responsibility of formation to someone without
providing for the formation of the one taking on the responsibility.

The Congregation for Catholic Education has already dedicated an official document(15) to this topic
in which it strongly recommends the necessity of such preparation. The authoritative restatement of
the AE regarding "formation of formators" contributes to the development of this aspect of
formation which is now offering its firstfruits through academic formation of formators for priestly
and religious life.

Concerning such formation the document specifies only certain general aspects, e.g., that such
formators need to be persons "well-experienced in the search for God in order to be in a position to
accompany others on this journey. Attentive to the action of grace, they should also know how to
point out obstacles, even those less evident, but above all show forth the beauty of following the
Lord" (ibid.).

Given these indications we should be attentive to the following points:

1) Such formation should help the formator arrive at recognizing and freeing him- or herself from
the less mature aspects of his or her personality in order to be an authentic witness of that which he
or she recommends to others. In formation, "the first factor is what the formator is; the second is
what the formator does; in third place is what the formator says."(16)

2) The formator ought to learn how to discern in the other the presence of conflicts and immaturity,
even that which is not immediately evident. It is indispensable that a formator know how to perceive
beyond purely observable behavior to the deeper motivations, the underlying needs, the hidden
tensions, etc. For it is precisely at this level that one grasps the degree of freedom and consistency of
the one being formed and discovers the real root of a problem so as to intervene effectively.

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3) By means of the individual formation sessions the formator ought to be able to help the person to
discover his or her own immaturity and vulnerability as well as identify the causes and consequences.
The formation journey ought to bring the person in formation to the point of grasping a method by
which he or she can learn to know the self and understand from where certain mental states,
propensities and difficulties arise.

4) The formator who has experienced in him- or herself a new way of confronting personal
vulnerability ought to, in the same way, help the person in formation to resolve his or her personal
difficulties and to assume a more aware and responsible attitude in the face of them; to be less
dependent in mind, heart, will and behaviors. Since such difficulties are often unconscious, the
formator ought to be ready to give, besides guidance toward a healthy spiritual life, that assistance
which might be necessary to free the person from negative influences of conditioning of which the
person in formation suffers the consequences but without knowing their origin.

5) The formator is thus prepared on two levels which influence one another: that of the spiritual-
ascetic and that of the psychological-pedagogical; the synthesis o these two levels can only help the
formative process. The theological and anthropological components, joined together, become the
heart of this formation model, its nucleus and structure, its unique and irreplaceable characteristic
to make it both solid and adaptable to the path of each person. This is really the classic principle of
grace and nature together forming the person who is also a believer and consecrated religious.

6) Thanks to this dynamic synthesis, the formator becomes capable not only of understanding the
negative aspect of breaking down the inconsistencies, but also the positive aspect of helping the
person in formation to build his or her life on a new foundation, a process which is called
internalizing of value. Stated briefly, it occurs in two moments. The first is the phase of
objectivization of value. Here the formator helps the person to discern the truth-beauty-goodness of
the value which is Christ, as the document reminds us (cf. 66), and a way of life modeled on it which
favors the conditions of interior freedom that enable the person in formation to discover the
intrinsic validity of the proposed ideal and remain attracted by it. The second phase is that of
subjectivization of value. In this phase the attraction ought to lead to personal choice, to the decision
to make the ideal one's own at all levels of personality, allowing it to pervade all aspects of one's
existence. The person in formation is helped to discover that choosing Christ means living more
fully and loving more intensely, of being more oneself: "I become the values... and the values, self-
transcending objectives, become me... By internalizing Christ in such a way, I become transformed
in Him (Gal. 2:20) and my true self is realized."(17) Formation can consider itself fulfilled when it
reaches this point of vital exchange between objective and subjective ideals. Obviously this capacity
of objectivizing and subjectivizing value is linked to the overall maturity of the formator in his or
her "art," and, in the final analysis, to his or her preparation.

7) Who is this formator that the AE proposes? Is he or she a professional psychologist or a "super"
spiritual director? Nothing of the kind. He or she is simply an older brother or sister in the faith and
in discipleship who has been prepared not only to give spiritual help but also psychological help, not
only to discern conscious behavior but also unconscious behavior, not only to put forth the subject
matter of formation, but also to indicate a concrete and practical method. Another characteristic of
such an older brother or sister is that he or she should definitely live together with those whom he or
she is accompanying in the ways of the spirit. Sharing daily life is the best way to know an
individual. The expert who comes from the outside--one would hope for doubtful or pathological
cases--can no doubt with his or her tests and various diagnostic tools understand and lead the
person in formation in the right direction, but it is much more natural and effective that the
formator him- or herself be well-versed in the sciences and in the art of formation and offer this
competence in service to all.

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1.4 Formation as Ministry

What I have been saying up until now clearly confirms a classic interpretation of formation:
formation as ministry. It is an interpretation that arises from the accent on the methodological aspect
of formation itself. As far as beginning the journey is concerned, formation prepares the person to
live fully the total consecration of self to God. It is therefore service in the full sense of the term. It is
a skilled ministry which demands, as the AE states, a preparation which renders the formator
suitable. Formation is a precious ministry because it mediates the action of God the Father who is
the sole formator; it is a ministry that the church has always held in high consideration regard--but
it is still ministry, a gift of self for the growth of a brother or sister according to the plan of God.

Strictly speaking, according to the gospel, the formator can only play the role of a "useless servant."
His or her work has succeeded and the mission has been accomplished when it is rendered useless,
having diminished so that the person in formation may increase according to God's plan realized in
his or her life. But formation is not only method or ministry, and it cannot stop at one phase of life.

2. FORMATION AS THEOLOGICAL

The law of totality that the AE proposes to us as a point of methodology is not intended only to be
taken in reference to different aspects of the individual but also in another sense, a reference to the
entire life of the person. Because formation implies a radical conversion of the whole person, "the
commitment to formation never ends" (65). This perspective imposes a new way of thinking about
formation and consecrated life itself, for in this sense, formation is a theological way of thinking
about consecrated life. Religious consecration in itself is formation, a slow coming to birth of the new
person in Christ who learns to have the same mind as that of the Son. Formation reaches from one
end of life to another and embraces all of life's dimensions: spiritual, psychological, communal, and
apostolic (71). This is the concept of ongoing formation.

2.1 Ongoing Formation

As the document states, ongoing formation is indispensable not only because of the need for
updating; the every nature of consecrated life requires it since consecrated life is a continual and
mysterious action on the part of God the Father who never ceases to form the consecrated person
into the image of the Son (69).

The concept of formation that emerges from the document is not only that of a tool for a particular
project, something merely preparatory, "something that comes before," a nice theory that may
perhaps be disavowed or reformulated by the hard reality of practical experience. Nor is it a
preparatory phase destined to be discarded or finished when real life begins. This interpretation of
formation has taken root over a long period of time and is probably responsible for the phenomena
of inertia, bottoming out, retiring early, self-sufficiency, etc. These appear in consecrated persons
after ordination or perpetual profession when they have decided they do not need any more
formation. We know the sad consequences: a life progressively distanced from the ideal and the
beginning of a slow decline toward insignificance and apathy, repetitiveness and boredom. The

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concept of formation which the document proposes, however, has a global sense which embraces all
of existence, for if religious identity aims at forming a human heart capable of divine sentiments, it
is clear that the whole life of the consecrated person ought to be a gradual formative process. If
formation as a pedagogical method refers us back to the idea of the totality of the person that has to
be formed, the theological aspect of formation reminds us that one's whole lifespan serves as the
arena of formation. These two concepts call us to articulate an integrated, solid vision of formation.

This rooting of the concept of ongoing formation in theology seems to me to be a fresh approach and
one full of meaning. Continuing formation is not merely linked to the pedagogical aspect, as if
ongoing formation were a demand connected with the fast-paced and ever-changing rhythm of
present-day life and of the human person, who is always more involved in a reality that is both
enriching and complex. Such a limited interpretation of ongoing formation is more like a barrier
against becoming overwhelmed by the hectic pace of everyday life or, just the opposite, keeping pace
with the times and staying updated, even in the realm of spirituality and the spiritual life. Special
courses, periodic meetings, and sabbaticals can guarantee a certain support on the level of technical
and practical information, ministerial updating, deepening of spirituality, or physical and mental
rest. These are all positive and necessary, but they risk compartmentalization in the sense that
continuing formation becomes a sporadic enterprise. This type of attitude avoids the theological
aspects indicated above which can shed light on and help a religious to understand better his or her
own identity.

Ongoing formation should continually make us attentive to the formative action of the Father who
patiently forms and re-forms the consecrated person into the image of the Son. Such an action
embraces all of life and requires a daily resolution to set out again on the journey toward the new
Jerusalem, the way of conversion, renewal, of giving and of holiness of life. Ongoing formation is
above all this docibilitas of the individual, an attitude of the one who knows him- or herself to be far
from the ideal and at the same time desires to learn from everyday life. Initial formation opens the
way to ongoing formation because the former aims at making the person docile and interiorly free
to be touched and formed by life; initial formation makes a person capable of learning from
experience (something which can be dangerous to take for granted since not all are adept at
learning from experience) (69).

It is precisely this availability to learn from life's experiences that is made possible by this method of
formation I am describing. The individual's participation in the time of initial formation does not
aim simply at an immediate result just in the house of formation; it also seeks to set free those
psychological and spiritual forces that permit the person to remain permanently open to the
exigencies of everyday existence. If this does not happen or there is some interior block in the period
of initial formation, it will be very difficult for the person to become disposed to learn or be formed
in the later stages of life.(18)

Ongoing formation is this learning process in action. The person in fact lets him- or herself be
stirred up and shaped by everyday existence, not simply on particular occasions or by means of
sporadic involvement; he or she is formed everyday by means of those elements which could be
called the "tools" of ongoing formation, by those most humble and ordinary things which are
intrinsically formative: brothers and sisters in community, foreseen and unforeseen events, ministry
fatigue, relationship with God, the Word of God, and the charism of the institute.

Ongoing formation, then, becomes the challenge contained in life itself, that network of ordinary
activities, extraordinary initiatives, vigilance, discernment, asceticism, prayer, study, ministry, and
personal and communal give-and-take which help the person to mature in faithfulness to the
charism in the diverse circumstances and phases of life. It is a process that begins in the time of

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initial formation and renders the life of every consecrated person a pilgrimage of faith. But in any
case, it is a process made possible by a specific method followed in initial formation or by a path
initiated at an early age, that cannot not continue for the rest of the person's life. In this journey,
both of the individual and of the group, every event and any part of reality can become the
instrument of providence through which the Father forms the consecrated person and the one in
formation allows him- or herself to be formed by Him and His chosen instruments.(19)

2.2 Experiential dynamic

There is an inevitable tension between initial and ongoing formation. On the one hand, existence
precedes essence when one considers life in an apostolic community and ongoing formation within
it; the full flowering of consecration will emerge according to a certain charism. On the other hand
essence determines existence when initial formation means learning a certain style of consecrated
life. The AE resolves this tension by proposing formation which is experiential, i.e. the values and
content are able to be experienced and are in fact experienced by the person in formation.

a) In this sense the community becomes the privileged place of formation. In it the person learns to
live and grow together with brothers or sisters whom he or she has not chosen and who have limits
and differences not always easy to accept but share the gifts that serve for the building up of the
whole community. By living the beauty of fraternal life he or she understands that it is not an end in
itself but that there is a message to announce and a mission to accomplish (67). It is necessary
therefore that the community for the person in formation exist expressly for the purpose of
formation and that all aspects of it have this end in mind. For example, it should be a poor
environment and one that allows the person to experience poverty and the sobering reality of life; it
should make evident "the intrinsic missionary dimension of consecration" (ibid.), urging the person
to exercise his or her aptitude for ministry and engage in dialogue with the surrounding culture.
The document states also that ministerial experiences should be "prudently supervised by the
formator," be well-planned and subject to evaluation, and that the person in formation learn the
difficult art of integration, "experiencing that prayer is the soul of the apostolate, but also that the
apostolate enlivens and stimulates prayer" (ibid.). Thus the place of ministry becomes a privileged
place of formation.

b) All of this is part of an approach to formation which should be precisely formulated and well-
defined in its various phases and components by every institute. The Ratio institutionis, therefore, is
something which the AE strongly urges every institute to articulate. The Ratio responds to a twofold
urgency: that of transmitting the spirit of the institute so that it be authentically lived by new
generations in diverse cultures, and that of explaining the means of living that same spirit in the
various stages of life.

There is still, however, the problem of method. While being intrinsically tied to the charism of an
institute, method of formation is often not well-defined and in practice left to the improvisation of
willing formators. Precisely for this reason the document insists on the necessity of the Ratio as a
text which "proposes a rich piritual wisdom and pedagogy" that leads progressively to the living of
the charism (68). If a spirituality does not know how to articulate a specific path to live and attain it,
the charism is beginning to die.

c) Particularly important in such a Ratio will be the definition of a plan of ongoing formation whose
primary purpose will be that of "providing every consecrated person with a program spread out
over his or her lifespan" (69). This is a weak point in the arena of present-day formation and the AE

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does well to insist on it. Throughout life one must always translate into lived experience that which
one believes and loves. No religious ought to feel alone and abandoned with regard to concerns of
religious and human growth, just as no one should be overconfident in managing his or her own life.
No one phase of life can be considered neutral or devoid of particular problems and not needing
attention to foster fidelity to the journey; so also one stage of life cannot be considered better than
another. The time which has been given to each person to live ought never to be put between
parentheses because of looking toward the future alone or out of nostalgia for what is past; every
age of life has its particular beauty that must be cultivated and realized. No one stage of life ought to
be deprived of its proper rhythms or forced to be another one.(20) "There is a youthfulness of spirit
that remains with time" (ibid.), and it stays in the individual to the extent that he or she seeks and
finds in every life cycle a different task to carry out, a specific way of being, serving, loving, a
newness of life and of consecrated life and mission in a particular charism which needs to be
appreciated and witnessed to, without looking back with regret at what used to be. This is part of
life's pilgrimage and what gives meaning and value to the passing of time, above all in critical
situations which could possibly be prevented or else lived through as a challenge to grow in the
various dimensions of the spiritual life--thanks to the presence of an "older brother or sister" who
stands near in critical moments. The document states this with very touching words: "When fidelity
becomes more difficult, it is necessary to offer to the person the support of greater trust and a more
intense love, whether at the personal or communal level" (ibid.). We could ask ourselves at this
point: How many brothers and sisters who have left religious life could have been helped perhaps
right away in preventing crises with an adequate program of ongoing formation?

2.3 Formation as mystery

If formation as a pedagogical method calls us back to the classic concept of formation as ministry,
formation in its theological aspect emphasizes another essential dimension: formation as mystery,
welcoming the mystery of the human person and responding to it.

Mystery is not simply that which one cannot understand, something obscure to the mind,
penetrated only with the (blind) act of faith. Mystery is the possibility of holding in dynamic tension
apparent opposites, e.g., the goodness and self-centeredness of the human person, the saint and the
sinner who are present in every human being, freedom and enslavement, or the call of God and the
demands of the instinct.(21) The person is caught in between, and it is the interpretative category of
mystery that can hold together the two polarities as no longer opposed, or at least no longer
insurmountable. In such a way the dynamic of formation seeks to get to the heart of the mystery of
the human person-- descending into the experience of one's sinfulness and vulnerability only to rise
up again to understand the transcendence of the call of God. The awareness of sin is held in
authentic tension with sanctity. The journey of formation which is undertaken seriously always
contains the greatest aspirations with the strongest temptations.

But formation is a mystery also because it slowly leads the person into the mystery of God, a
mystery that is unknowable, not because it is surrounded by darkness that renders it unknowable to
our minds, but for precisely the opposite reason--because it is surrounded by a light to which our
eyes are not accustomed, a light so intense that it seems impenetrable. But it is possible, however, to
enter step by step into that light to grasp even a weak glimmer, a small ray of it. Formation believes
in this possibility and takes risks on this journey of light into light, even when the light is or seems to
be out of reach.

The mystery of being human and having respect for that same mystery demand a special attitude on

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the level of disposition and the type of help a formator offers in confronting the one who is living
through a crisis in religious life or priesthood. What is required, for example, is a listening stance
that is willing to perceive the root of the difficulties and the real objective of the question (often
unknown to the individual), an enlightened good will that conveys to the brother or sister that
attitude of welcoming that invites opening up; a competency that can identify at what phase of
development "something" is blocked; a capacity for relationship and human warmth that helps to
heal certain wounds and untie certain knots; a spiritual wisdom that succeeds in discerning the long
path toward the will of the Father; a ministry of fraternal assistance that helps to rediscover and
live the mystery.

The church which is mother has the right and duty to ask the utmost dedication from its religious,
but the church also has the duty to offer adequate help in every stage of life so that each person
might be able to give the gift of self as fully and joyfully as possible.(22)

The AE, then, summarizes the varies stages of existence and assigns to each one a task to
accomplish even in the midst of inevitable crises. The first years of full insertion into ministry are
the time of youthful enthusiasm and love for Christ; the following phase, tempted often by the
disappointment of lack of results and retreating into oneself, ought to be lived as a season for
searching for what is essential. The age of maturity signals in some way a fulfillment and brings
with it the gift and the experience of spiritual fatherhood or motherhood. When the person becomes
advanced in age and life begins to offer always more possibilities for conformity to Christ as the one
who gave his life, the time of pure love and perennial youth has arrived but also the moment of
waiting for the Lord's coming. When the Lord comes he will bring to completion this mysterious
process of formation begun long before. Death, then, is the supreme act of love and handing over of
self, and the consecrated person awaits it with the same mind and attitude of the Son(23) (70)

The ministry of formation is great, but the mystery is greater still!

NOTES
1. 1CONGREGATION FOR INSTITUTES OF CONSECRATED LIFE AND SOCIETIES OF APOSTOLIC LIFE, Potissimum
Institutioni. Directives on formation in religious institutes, 1.

2. 2Thus Perfectae Caritatis states: "The updating of religious institutes depends mostly on the formation of their members" (18).

3. 3See n. 1.

4. 4N. 65 and 68 recognize the decisive importance of formation for consecrated life today.

5. 5For commentary on paragraphs 68-71, cf. S. BISIGNANO, Orientamenti per la formazione e l'animazione delle comunità, in
AA. VV., "Vita consecrata". Studi e riflessioni. Roma 1966, pp. 245-270; A. CENCINI, "Guardando verso il futuro" in AA. VV.
(Quaderni de "L'Osservatore Romano"), Vita consecrata. Testo e commenti, Città del Vaticano 1996, pp. 146-250.

6. 6Trans. note: It should be noted that the author continually refers to the person in formation as "giovane," i.e. "young person,"
even though the translation does not reflect any particular age group. It will be up to the reader to decide how the author's insights
apply to "older" candidates.

7. 7To confirm this Gianola sees even in the Synod on consecrated life a significant absence of the theme of pedagogy. If the task
of formation is to go hand in hand with the process of becoming a consecrated person, of the task itself "we know nothing or
almost nothing, and one goes forward with uncertain results. Almost nothing was said of 'pedagogy' in the Synod. It remained an
implicit challenge.... Formation was present during the Synod as a preoccupation and an occasion for offering exhortation and

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occasional hints as to content, but never with the sense of a comprehensive methodology--a list of content and objectives, but not
processes for achieving them." P. GIANOLA, Sfide alla formazione dei consacrati dopo il Sinodo '90, in "Orientamenti
Pedagogici", 4(1995), 846. Perhaps it was not the Synod's task to accomplish such a thing, but it does indicate a certain tendency
to undervalue the topic. On the same problem in diocesan seminaries, cf. E. FRANCHINI, Quale seminario per il prete del
futuro?, in "Settimana", 5(1995), 9; G. TANGORRA, Quale formazione nei seminari?, in "Settimana", 35(1995) 1, 16.

8. 8We have amply confronted this theme (even if in reference to formation for affective maturity), reaching the same conclusion,
in CENCINI A. Per amore. Libertà e maturità affettiva nel celibato consacrato. Bologna 1994, pp. 87-120.

9. 9Cf. CONGREGATION FOR RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR INSTITUTES, Essential Elements in the Church's Teaching as
Applied to Institutes Dedicated to Works of the Apostolate, 45.

10. 10The reference to the words that precede the hymn of the kenosis of the Son is evident though not explicit. It should be noted
however that the meaning of the original biblical text is much stronger and is not rendered adequately in the Italian translation. The
Greek verb phronein indicates the depth of a person's inner awareness and not just passing thoughts or feelings.

11. 11Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 607 § 1.

12. 12Cf. SERENTHÀ L., Direzione spirituale e comunicazione della fede oggi, in SERENTHÀ L., MOIOLI G., CORTI R., La
direzione spirituale oggi, Milano 1982, p. 40.

13. 13GREGORY NAZIANZEN, Discourse, 8, 8: PG 35, 797.

14. 14Such a line of argument is taken up in substance by conciliar documents. See, e.g., Gaudium et spes, 54; Perfectae caritatis,
12b, 12c; Optatam totius, 2d, 3a, 11a, 15a, 20.

15. 15CONGREGATION FOR CATHOLIC EDUCATION, La preparazione degli educatori nei seminari. Direttive. Rome, 1993.

16. 16GUARDINI, R. Le età della vita, Milan 1992, p. 55.

17. 17RULLA, Antropologia, I, 250.

18. 18Some results of a survey of priests ordained between 1984 and 1990 which was conducted by the "Centro di Orientamento
Pastorale" certainly make us stop to think in this regard. "There is a group of young priests in risky situations. This is expressed by
7-9% who show lack of motivation, serious dissatisfaction, closing in on themselves, refusal of help, re-thinking their vocation or
at least having doubts, problems of affectivity, spiritual regression. This indicates all the more the need for attention to those who
begin ministry." But it must taken into account that while around 70% of those interviewed have admitted to having difficulties on
the level of affectivity, not all (only 40%) have sought help, while the remaining 60% report the absence or the "lack of
consistency and randomness" of help offered by the institution (GROLLA V., Primi anni di vita e di ministero presbiterale. Cosa
dicono di sé i giovani preti, in "Orientamenti Pastorali", December 1991, 16-26.

19. 19Potissimum institutioni, n. 67-68.

20. 20Cf. MELCHIORRE V., Prefazione a GUARDINI, Le età, 11.

21. 21On this concept of mystery cf. F. IMODA, Sviluppo umano. Psicologia e mistero, Casale M., 1993, p. 338.

22. 22Potissimum institutioni, n. 66.

23. 23For a theoretical and practical proposal regarding ongoing formation, especially in the area of affectivity and sexual maturity
of the consecrated person, cf. A. CENCINI, Nell'amore. Libertà e maturità affettiva nel celibato consacrato. Bologna 1996.

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