Servants of the Lord & the Virgin of Matará
About Us
Formation
“We want to form the members of our Institute in great human and Christian maturity so that they reach the extent of the full stature of Christ”
— Constitutions 195
Stages of Formation
Postulancy | Here a candidate begins to experience daily life in the Institute and knowledge of the charism.
Novitiate | ‘The purpose of the novitiate…is to give the novices a greater understanding of their divine vocation.’ (Code of Canon Law, 641-645) Admission to the institute begins with the Novitiate, which last one year. The novices prepare for their first profession through human, spiritual, and intellectual formation.
Juniorate House of Studies | Here the sister professes temporal vows. Our three year period of formation characterized by studies of Languages, Philosophy, and Theology. Our studies seek the synthesis of faith and reason through contact with Sacred Scripture, the Magisterium of the Church, and the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas. Weekly apostolic assignments are received as a part of their formation.
Onging Formation | Religious life is a process of continual conversion that does not finish in the formation houses, but must be maintained and must grow more every day (Const. 262). In the years following, the sisters continue to study and to grow in the richness of religious life until the final encounter with Christ the Bridegroom.Completing six years of temporal profession the sister requests to profess Perpetual vows.
Human Formation
“Human formation is the basis of religious formation. A wrong understanding of the relationship between nature and grace is the root of many evils. Grace does not destroy nature, but rather heals it, raises it, perfects it, dignifies it, and ennobles it (Const.,196).”
“In the religious, because of the greater demands of her vocation, should be reflected – as in every Christian – the Incarnation of the Word, in whom shines human perfection and divine perfection, without mixture but in an intimate union (Const.,197).”
Spiritual Formation
“The supernatural end of man corresponds to the natural end, but at the same time, transcends it – man’s desires are completely brought to rest in the beatific vision. In the formation period we must keep in mind this correspondence and transcendence. Pope Pius XI taught that, ‘The Christian education encompasses the entire human life…to elevate, regulate, and perfect it according to the example and doctrine of Christ (Divini illius Magistri, 102)’ (Const., 201).”
Intellectual Formation
“The intellectual formation of religious is presented as an urgent issue facing the New Evangelization and modern challenges. This formation, just as that of the future priests, ‘is a fundamental demand of the human intelligence by which one ‘participates in the light of God’s mind and seeks to acquire a wisdom, which in turn opens to and is directed toward knowing and adhering to God (Pastores Dabo Vobis, 51).’ This formation includes two phases, one ordered to the other: the study of Philosophy, and the study of sacred science (Const., 219).”
Apostolic & Pastoral Formation
“Since our Institute has apostolic branches, pastoral endeavors are essential to it. We must never forget that there is no authentic Catholic pastoral work without a profound spiritual life, without a solid doctrinal formation, and without a virile discipline: ‘the maturity of the Religious requires in this stage an apostolic commitment and a progressive participation in ecclesiastical and social experiences, in the line of the charism of the Institute, and taking into account her aptitudes and personal aspiration. Dealing with these experiences, the religious will remember that they are not primarily pastoral agents neither in the initial periods of formation nor later, and that their commitment in the ecclesial service, and especially in a social service, must be submitted to criteria of discernment (FIR, 62)’ (Const., 228).”
