Learning to be instruments of God’s work Dom Martin Gomez Philippine Daily Inquirer
June 28, 2009
AT FORMATORS’ Institute at Transfiguration (Fiat), religious formators are always reminded that their work is not just about a role, a function or a ministry.
It is about becoming. It is about who the formator and the formand become in the long process of religious formation.
In a strict sense, formators are members of a religious community or seminary who have been assigned to accompany and prepare those who will embrace religious vows through different stages, such as postulancy, novitiate and juniorate.
But, in a general sense, everyone in a community is a formator since all in the community journey together and therefore affect one another’s growth spiritually, psychologically and morally.
Nowadays, some lay people recognized for their expertise may be considered formators.
Formands, on the other hand, are the newly entered lay persons in a religious community or seminary who will go through at least seven years of formation under the care of more mature members of the community before they make their final vows.
When the Monastery of the Transfiguration in Malaybalay, Bukidnon, started Fiat in 2005, it was in response to a need among formators for some kind of training and support in their very delicate work.
The challenge and joy of working as an agent of formation are in being witness to the growth in wisdom and hope of persons in this special ministry.
As instruments of God’s work, formators say they, too, need personal care.
In helping those under formation in and through the community to assume responsibility for their growth in Christ, formators need to develop necessary skills.
The recent Fiat 2009 was a response to that need, offering “helping skills for religious formators."
The event, envisioned by the monastery to be an annual offering in the summer, was attended by 27 religious formators from different religious congregations, including the Order of St. Augustine, Franciscans and Franciscan Conventuals, Benedictines, Scalabrinians, Daughters of Divine Zeal, Franciscan Handmaids of the Lord, Society of the Divine Word, Mission Society of the Philippines and Eucharistic Healers of Mary.
Good mix
Participants were a good combination of those beginning to explore the ministry and seasoned formators who wished to enrich further their knowledge and refine their skills.
This year’s facilitators were Monsignor Ramon Masculino, head of the Commission on the Clergy of the Archdiocese of Jaro; Cynthia Baga, well-known social psychologist; and the author who was Fiat coordinator.
The week-long seminar-workshop aimed to help religious formators develop skills in deepened reflection to enable them to help formands arrive at an expanded perspective, greater understanding, acknowledgment and acceptance of significant personal experiences.Topics included “The Role of Formators,” “The Basic Helping Skills,” “Helping Formands Clarify the Key Issues,” “Attentive Listening,” “Empathy and How to Communicate Understanding of Feelings” and “Probing and Challenging Skills.
”Even more interesting and helpful were sharing sessions held under pine trees in the beautiful monastery in the hills.As they listened to one another’s experiences, participants realized they were not alone in their difficulties.
The exercises afforded them an expanded vision of the work they were doing in their communities.
Monastic experience
The Fiat is different because it is not only a seminar-workshop on religious formation but also a monastic experience.
Participants join the monks in their monastic liturgy and experience the peace, quiet and beauty of nature in the Benedictine monastery.
Monsignor Masculino said religious formators had to be able to lead their formands to integrate the many aspects of life.
“Caring to listen,” he said, “is an art of being present on holy ground."
”The only way to learn this skill is to do it over and over again, until one becomes attuned to what is going on."
Baga said to be able to help it was very important to identify and explore specific issues related to a problem.
A good formator would be able to do this, she said, only if he/she knew how to use empathy, probing and challenging.
Since formation is about accompanying the formand in the human journey, it is important that formators learn basic helping skills.
In my talk, I said, over and above these required skills, it was important for a formator to be authentic in one’s personal life and a true follower of Christ.
One’s lifestyle should always show the ideals that one professed, and should present itself as a living sign of God and an eloquent, although often silent, proclamation of the Gospel, I said.
Without this, I emphasized, we could not even begin to start any work as formators.
If formators were not demonstrating the vows and values they professed and people under their care yearned to see, then we are not prophetic witnesses. We would become irrelevant.
(Fiat 2010 will offer the same program, “Helping Skills for Religious Formators,” May 2-7, 2010. For more information text Dom Martin Gomez, OSB, at 0917-5105585 or 0927-9366360.)
