Formation

Formation fosters spiritual, human growth and apostolic life at every level – in the context of initial and ongoing formation of RSCJ, formation with our lay partners for mission, for the transmission and sustainability of our charism, for leadership and processes of change and transformation.

Formation within the Society

Center for Religious and Lay Formation at the Villa Lante

Our purpose for prioritizing formation at this time of transition is motivated by the need to revitalize our ways of relating, to encourage personal and local responsibility, and to support New Provinces to connect, network and collaborate in the work of formation at all levels. We want to prioritize leadership formation and integral human development, spirituality, community and apostolic life throughout all of life. We also desire to deepen our sense of charism and identity as RSCJ and to ensure viable communities focused on our commitment to mission.

(Document of General Chapter 2024, p. 42)

Formation is for life and mission, and in our daily life, by our gestures, words, attitudes and choices we personally and collectively live this process of human and spiritual maturation. We are aware that formation is the work of God in us throughout the length of our journey. It is a journey that has its important stages, its different landscapes, its surprises and learnings, and it is one we walk together, accompanying one another. Therefore, to speak of formation is to speak of all of us, for whatever the moment of our life, whether in growth or diminishment, we belong wholly and completely to this work of God.

(Life Unfolding, p. 31-32)

Initial formation

The novitiate is a period of initial formation for those who would like to enter the Society. It’s a time of discernment in which novices can discern whether they are called to take vows, in the religious life of the Sacred Heart.

This period typically lasts around one to two years and includes prayer, spiritual formation, studying and living the Society’s charism, and experiencing sisterly life within a community. The novices are accompanied by the Director of Novices (also referred to as the Mistress of Novices). This formation is also based on experiences and how they are reinterpreted in the light of faith. At the end of this period, they may choose to make temporary vows (chastity, poverty, and obedience) for a few years before eventually making perpetual vows.

The novitiate is an important phase of discernment. It helps the person grow in their relationship with God, deepen their understanding of the religious life of the Sacred Heart, and to confirm their vocation to live out their baptism in this form of fraternal life in community, to serve the mission of the congregation.

Probation

Probation is a key moment in each RSCJ’s life. Probanists spend five months in Rome at the Villa Lante in an international community. It is a time for them to prepare for their definitive commitment to Jesus Christ in the Society, before pronouncing their perpetual vows. In this place, they walk in the garden, knowing that they are retracing the steps that Sophie and her companions took.

Probation is a time for them to write the icon of their lives with God, to discover again what is at the center of their life, their relationship with Jesus Christ, to discover and give thanks to God for the people and situations that have led them to the moment of their definitive “yes”.
– Adapted from B. Dawson rscj, Probation Opening Conference, 7 September 2017

The Probation program is divided into four main parts:

Welcome and orientation, sharing life and building the international community
Themes, topics and visits related to religious life and the Society of the Sacred Heart
The thirty-day retreat, according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, which is the core of the probation experience in the eighth week of probation.
Preparation for final profession, transition, being sent on mission and returning to their provinces.

Renewal

The Ongoing Formation Commission organizes renewal programs for RSCJ throughout the Society. Each one brings the wealth of her life and experience in the mission. These sessions offer a process of growth, a deepening and integration of life and faith that is experienced individually and in groups. Prayer, sharing and the various activities enable them to take a fresh look at their experiences, at the realities and context of the world and at how they can continue to respond creatively to the challenges of the future.

Participants experience a broader sense of the “whole” of the life of the Society, an openness to other and new realities, and a deeper commitment to our common life and mission. Many return to their provinces with energy, life, some healing, a new sense of belonging and a deeper commitment to foster the depth of their vocation and to live from that “space”.

Life Unfolding…Offering the Gift Received

The Kingdom of God and the mission of Jesus give direction and meaning to our formation. For us RSCJ, formation is a way of being open to life, a constant invitation to learn, to grow, to let ourselves be transformed… We have come to realise that transformation is not the same as change. The strategies of change come from our own initiative, while transformation is always the fruit of an Encounter. It happens when we venture with our whole being into a deep, sincere encounter with God and let ourselves be encountered by God, just as we are, with nothing in our lives remaining outside of this encounter. (p. 12)

In community, in mission, in the precious life of each one, in every face we meet, as disciples of Jesus we want to continue to offer his gift: to bring joy and to heal, to reconcile and celebrate, to care for and make beautiful…to give to each person the possibility of beginning once again. (p. 32)

Orientations for Formation:

Be present and work with those who are poor and vulnerable throughout our formation.

Review and revise where needed our lifestyle and daily choices in light of the lived reality.

Promote critical consciousness by reflecting on global and local situations with the hearts and minds of educators.

Be aware of the current, changing groups of those who are excluded and the new types of poverty that are arising.

Build into our relationships, in daily life, attitudes of nonviolence, tolerance and respect.

Continue developing a consciousness that inspires action for peace, the planet and sustainability.