Official Opening Formator's meeting Indonesia

It was a bit cloudy today 5 July, 2023 when we officially began the formator's meeting in Roncali Retreat House, Salatiga. We began with tea and coffee before the opening Eucharistic celebration at 17.00 hours.  In the introduction to the Eucharist, we expressed our gratitude to God for our apostolate in the field of formation. This meeting is intended to make our formators good pilgrim companions for our candidates. We also ask God for His blessing during the encounter so our meeting will bear good fruit for our formation apostolate. In his homily, Fr. Robert stressed that it is important that during the formation period we first form the candidates’ faith and the heart. By a strong faith, the candidates can faithfully follow their vocation, and by a genuine heart, they can open their hearts for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in living out their vocation and mission.

The theme of the meeting is “Formation for Consecrated Life.” After the Eucharistic celebration, we had our supper together. At 19.30, we gathered in the conference hall to make a start. Bro. Raphael Besigrinee led this opening session during which we discussed some practicalities regarding our stay at Roncalli. These include the use of the translation equipment, daily timetable, liturgy, daily reports, etc. Bros. Valent Daru and Theo helped with the translation during the meeting.

In the welcome address by the Provincial Superior of Indonesia, Bro. Frans Dwiyatno welcomed all the participants, especially those from The Netherlands and Chile, also the facilitators and secretaries. He indicated that this meeting is meant to fulfil one of the resolutions of the General Chapter 2018, namely proposal 10A. He hoped that the meeting would encourage formators to be more serious in accompanying our candidates through the initial and ongoing formation process. As formators, we have to be present to the candidates, and accompany them. This meeting is also a time for the formators to share their experiences and opinions on the way formators instil the values and ideals of the congregation in our candidates.

Our general superior, in his opening address, mentioned that it is very important that we keep training ourselves and our future members to become capable enough to freely practice those human virtues that favour encounter, dialogue, and promotion of association and collaboration with others.  About the formation, he stressed the following: 

In the field of formation, it is self-evident today that what radically forms a person is not only "input." Formation is a process of "drawing out" the riches and resources that lie within a person. It is a process of self-transformation in depth through spiritual exercises (Alphonso, 1990). Modern psychology, especially educational psychology, has established beyond doubt that formation has a very important role in the vitality of a community, province and Congregation. Therefore, we dream that our formation program and its process will bring our formees closer to God; to the values of the church, and to our Founders' spirit and charism. We also dream that our the core curriculum of our formation program will be renewed such that it becomes more open to the signs of the times, to the challenges coming from society and culture, and to new tasks for evangelization in today's world and in the church. A relevant formation process should give a special place to a person's human and spiritual dimensions right from the initial phases since they are the necessary foundations of a response to God's call. The vitality of a consecrated member comes from a balance, mature emotions, freedom and responsibility for actions relevant and relative to the charism of the Congregation. During the just-ended Congregational Conference (2023), we discussed the lack of fidelity and perseverance in living our divine call. We were reminded to always focus on our "Memorial Die" for strength and motivation to be faithful to our vocation. Brothers, not only our formees but all of us need constant renewal and ongoing formation/training to "be good and do good." That is what we are called and chosen to be.

Besides that, as International Congregation, he gave a strong message on becoming a member of the FIC Congregation: “Internationality: its values and spirit present huge challenges for the church and international and multicultural religious congregations. As leaders and formators, we need to know this! We need to be convinced of these values and teach and prepare our future members to cherish the nature of our FIC family. We need to root out issues of nationalism, cultural pride, and the tendencies of domineering cultures among us. We need to be well grounded in knowledge of the history of our Congregation, the content of our Constitutions and Congregational Statute, and to give full-hearted priority to initial and ongoing formation programs. A good understanding of the English language is also essential so we can express ourselves, communicate, and interact with others freely as members of an international family.”

After the opening address, we closed the day’s program with a short prayer followed by recreation together. We thank God for his blessing and guidance during the opening session of our Formator's Meeting. 

Reported by:

Theo Riyanto