Formation

Formación

"I have called you by name". (Is 43:1)

Those called by the Lord to follow Him in a special way in religious life require time to strengthen their vocation through the serious process of formation and discernment that helps one to verify the call and confirm the sincerity of her response.

The formation of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary is organized into five stages, with experiences, requirements, and gradual and progressive commitments.

1. ASPIRANCY

“Master, where are you living? (Jn 1:38)

The aspirant who comes to the Society has received the call of Christ and wants to respond to his love with a life given totally.

The aspirancy is to verify the sincerity of this specific call to the religious life of the Society and the seriousness of her answer.

It is the stage of formation in which the applicant is assisted and accompanied to develop her prayer life and human qualities to organize her life in a spirit of detachment and availability for service.

2. POSTULANCY

“Come and see”. (Jn 1:39)

The postulant acquires at this stage a clearer awareness of God’s call and is ready with a response, free and trustworthy. She becomes aware of the essential requirements of religious life in the Society. This is the time at which the postulant comes into contact with the life of the community, and continues to deepen her prayer life and the evangelical virtues that lead to a more intimate relationship with Christ.

She begins to learn about the history of the Society and the lives of the founders.

3. NOVITIATE

"They came, saw and stayed with Him". (Jn 1:39)

The novice discerns more clearly the demands of her vocation in the Society of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary and is available for a definitive response. She begins to live according to the form and spirit of the Society, the Constitutions and vows. She embraces the occasions of self-denial and renunciation required, and grows in love for the person of Christ, to live like Him and for Him.

She continues to deepen her prayer life and the development of her human qualities.

She enters into the meditation of the Scriptures, study of Theology and of the documents of the Magisterium of the Church, which reinforces her love for the Lord and reveals the characteristics of her mission.

The Virgin Mary is her model and support.

4. JUNIORATE

“I am the way, the truth and the life". (Jn 14:6)

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At this stage, the junior learns to live according to the interior law of love and charity and is fully integrated into the life of the community, sharing in the sisters’ prayer, work, mission, and the sorrows and joys of everyday life.

She learns to integrate her prayer life, deepens her knowledge of the theological value of the vows and the dynamism it gives to the consecration. She discovers the unity that exists between contemplation and mission.

She continues to develop her human qualities and delves deeper into the writings of the Society, the founders and the first sisters, to achieve a better understanding of them and their specific and universal mission in communion with the Church.

5. THIRD YEAR

"I shall lead her into solitude and speak to her heart". (Hosea 2:16)

This stage of formation is for the sisters professed for about ten years, firmly rooted in their religious and apostolic life, and of sufficient maturity.

The Sister listens to the Spirit in an atmosphere of recollection and prayer, detached from all activity to allow a clearer awareness of the gift of her vocation to the Society and the fullness of the response God expects of her, strengthened by prayer, enthusiasm for the mission and fraternal communion.