Formation:If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven: and come, follow me (Mt. 19:21).
And He went up into the hills, and called to Him those whom He desired, and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve, to be with Him, and to be sent out to preach.
The Formation in the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth Sisters is to foster growth and development to the young women who come to us with the desire to consecrate their lives to the service of God and men, and in particular, to commit themselves, to the poor, in whom they wish to love and serve Christ Himself. This growth takes place at different levels of their life, namely, the human, spiritual, and apostolic level, preparing them to live out their commitment as consecrated virgins more fully, with greater maturity, a greater sense of personal responsibility and a more total dedication of themselves to their vocation and mission.
Stages of Formation:
Come and See: Master, where do you live? Come and See (Jn. 1: 38-39).
Christ invited His first disciples to follow Him and live in His company. The Aspirants, by means of a human and Christian formation proportionate to their age, are made to understand clearly that the desire to become a member of our Congregation implies the duty to live a profound Christian life through the profession of the evangelical counsels practiced according to their mode of life. They are taught to pray, they pursue their studies, work together and learn to accept one another and live in unity. During this stage of Formation, they are in Sancoale.
Postulancy:
This is the period of formation that immediately precedes the novitiate. The duration of postulancy will vary according to the needs of the candidate. It is not beyond two years. During this period they are taught to reach that degree of maturity which is necessary in order to make a deliberate and responsible choice for the religious state. The stage of Postulancy is at Sancoale.
Novitiate:
“Be perfect as also your Heavenly Father is Perfect.”
Life begins in our Institute with the Novitiate. This is a period of two years. During this period, they are in the Novitiate House, Old Goa. The first year is spent in the novitiate house as the canonical year. During the other twelve months, there are also periods of apostolic activity in conformity with the spirit of our Institute.
The formation imparted in the novitiate consists study of, and meditation on Holy Scripture, particularly the New Testament, initiation to the liturgical life of the Church, an understanding of the evangelical counsels, the history and spirituality proper of our Congregation with a view to prepare them for apostolic life in union with God, an orientation to the missionary apostolate and an acquaintance with the contemporary trends of social and cultural life.
The Juniorate: “To lead a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God”.
It is a period that extends from the first profession to the perpetual profession. The purpose of this period is that a religious acquires and lives more intensely the spirit of her congregation, deepens her prayer life and exercises herself perseveringly in the practice of virtues and in religious observances, and thereby understands her vocation to holiness and to apostolic life.
This is the period wherein they can study, side by side with specialization of some sort, religious formation is continued and deepened in every way, leading up to Final Profession.
Tertianship: The period of Juniorate ends with Tertianship. The Tertianship is intended as an immediate preparation for the final profession. This period is serious reflection deepening one’s spiritual life and strengthening one’s vocation to surrender to Christ as religious. An intense preparation of three months and a retreat of 8 days follows.
Final Profession: By the Final Profession the sister commits herself totally and irrevocably to God and to His honour and worship, and more intimately consecrated by God Himself to divine service for good. It embodies a pledge of fidelity to the Creator and Lord and to the Institute, and the Congregation’s acceptance of her. To admit to this stage, the sister needs to have an integrated life in prayer, private and communitarian, capacity to relate with others, healthy friendships within and outside the community, professional and community life.
The entire process of formation depends of the formators, who need to accompany the formees to discern, confirm and solidify the formee’s vocation.
She has to transmit and facilitate the internalization of our apostolate, mission, our charism and spirituality, the manner of living the religious vows and our community life, and to discern the suitability of the formee for our mission and manner of life.
The formator has to help the formee in her process of maturation.
The present Formation Team:
Sr. AlvitaGurjao, sfn Superior General
Sr. Sabrina Rodrigues, sfn Councillor for Formation
Sr. FlaviaLeitao, sfn Mistress of Aspirants
Sr. RekhaFargose, sfn Asst. Mistress of Aspirants & Postulant Mistress
Sr. Hilda, sfn Mistress of Novices
Sr. Alda, sfn Junior Mistress
Sr. Sukuria, sfn Asst. Junior Mistress
Sr. Valentine Vaz Vocation Promoter
Sr. Emilia Asst. Vocation Promoter
