The current complex and globalized society lives, for some time, a gradual disappearance of permanent certainties and our humanity, although with difficulty, recognizes the provisional and contingent dimensions of its reality and its history. Long adulthood was considered almost like stage of life characterized by the absence of growth, as age of achieved and definitive maturity. In today's context is missing the idea of ​​the adult as a subject definitely "grew up and finished." It is open space for his new image marked by constant change and evolution.

     The consecrated life strongly interacts with the historical and cultural circumstances of own age, according to a dynamic of reciprocity, also affect it. Therefore, the current existential context challenges its initial and ongoing training systems, as resources to draw on in an innovative way, continuing to be an evangelical sign of contradiction and prophecy for the community of believers and the world (cf VC 15). This calls into question the role of trainers and forming, discernment and foresight of their superiors to act with appropriate training strategies today, but do not empty them of meaning and content established by the same formatting practice.[i]

An overview

       As the numerous interventions of the Magisterium testify, the formation essentially involves a adhesion, gradual and progressive conformative of every dimension of Christ’s life. If "education is a vital process by which individuals are converted to the Word of God in the depths of his being" (VC 68), it must assume a specific evolutionary and transformative nature; in turn, must involve the person in the deep and in the concrete of everyday realities, in the constant search of a sense of what we are and are doing, in tune with the changes and developments in the socio-cultural and ecclesial context.

      The training, therefore, must lead the person to an adequate and comprehensive understanding of her own identity, in the triple relationship with herself, with others and with God, because personal identity is rooted in the charism of the Religious Family that was called and committed to deliver with joy and love on the streets of humanity.

Initial and continuing training

      The education as a journey of life is a journey of maturation that leads to a dynamic of continuous conversion. Delicate and urgent task is therefore to keep alive "an inner act consciously wanted to be prepared and maintained with care and continued throughout the whole of life'.[ii] And this is to facilitate change and promote, in daily fidelity, an ever more free and mature reply, which finds in the service to others its deep and authentic expression. To achieve this objective vocational growth is divided into periods of vocational training and permanent training in accordance with laws and specific stages.

      The initial training is an "evolutionary process" that passes through every stage of personal maturity to whom “you must reserve a space of enough large time." "It is a path of gradual identification with the attitude of Christ toward the Father," which has as its "central aim to prepare people for the total consecration of themselves to God in following Christ, to serve the mission." As such, it "must embrace the whole person" and facilitate "the harmonious integration of various aspects" (cf VC 65).

       In the initial training are designated different stages: the pre-novitiate or postulancy, the novitiate, the Juniorate. These phases are considered in a line of progressive development and study of various aspects in which it plays the way of a person’s life to full maturity, as consecrated person. The individual steps, "in their role of ‘service to the whole growth of the person and of his vocation’, insist on some key components, able to invigorate the inner life and the apostolic gift at that particular time of life".[iii]

       The focus on lifelong learning is an absolute necessity. If the training process is to achieve full commitment to Christ, can not be permanent and involve the whole person. In fact, it "can not be reduced to the initial phase, since, to human limitations, the consecrated person can never claim to have completely brought to life again the new man who experiences in himself, in every circumstance of life, the same feelings of Christ "(VC 69).

       A lifetime is not enough to con-form his life to the Son of God. The initial training prepares the consecration, but it's the permanent training that forms the consecrated because the apostolic service, the common life become the primary place of training.

A harmonious relationship

        The order of the formative stages should be integral and harmonious in the course of development of the religious vocation, which is marked by four key issues: the experience of God, community, mission and study. This is a report to be unanimous, and have some characteristic features.

       The first is the continuity. With the initial training will lay the foundations for living the consecrated life in its fullness, but it does not exhaust the educational process. "It must, therefore, joined with the permanent, creating in the subject the willingness to be formed in every day life".[iv] Between the two periods there is a relationship of continuity, not a photocopy or discontinuities.

        The training is successful when the continuity of experience allows a real growth, in terms of acquisition’s ability and assimilation of new experiences, a better and positive interaction with God, with oneself and the world. It is possible that the development has stopped because the continuity led habits that block, rather than facilitate the achievement of new experiences in the individual. All this actives participation and responsibility of different actors: the person that carries natively, the active and wise commitment of training mediation and especially the mysterious action of God who creates and continually forms every creature.

       The second is the circularity. The human and spiritual journey has often been compared to "climb the mountain"; to accomplish it should commit oneself to rise, but also camp at different latitudes, acquire new skills, have a rest before tackling the next level. Each phase requires renewed knowledge and energy. If every segment of life is something new, "every hour, every day, every year - as Romano Guardini states- are living stages of our concrete existence; and each of them it happens only once, thus constituting, in the totality of existence a part that can not be exchanged with others. Indeed, the tension of existence and the spur that moves us from the deep to live it reside in the fact that every stage of life is new, and had never happened before, and is unique, and then goes for ever”.[v]

The circularity stimulates new questions and new answers. The realization and completion of vocational development are achieved in this continuous circular motion, similar to the movement of a spiral as it progresses towards a higher goal, retraces his steps and finds, for a higher level of maturity, ability, or risk and specific tasks that had already met and perhaps exceeded. All the training processes and of life in general are in spiral way; just think of the liturgical year, a virtuous circle where the faith’s itinerary for the journey of believers is enclosing.

        The last feature is the progressive. The relationship between initial and continuing training is characterized by the progressive way in accordance with human nature, which is reflected in concrete steps we called stages of life and / or formative stages. It is through a progressive and gradual action that you make the slow process of assimilation of values ​​and the transformation of feelings and behaviors. All and now is harmful at any level, human and spiritual. The relationship between initial and continuing education could be compared to a water course, which, as it goes, swelling, for rain, for the thaw of glaciers, for many small sources developing energy, dynamism for themselves and for others.

In the majority of Institutes of consecrated life is to be recognized with increasing clarity and conviction of the urgency of scheduling of a training that promotes continuity and gradualness. And that is increasingly shared.

Final consideration

       Do not forget that training, both initial and continuing today must take account of digital culture. It affects so in persuasive way, especially on young people, and has a weight and a value on the experience of everyday life. Can not miss the training to the responsible use of media, which are not only devices in the hands of the user and / or channels of information, but a new environment that surrounds and permeates the lives of people, regardless of the use made of it. Therefore it is essential, even for the religious, education to the proper and critical use of new technologies, to learn to distill what you can learn or enter the network, even becoming "digital apostles".[vi] The task of distilling involves insight, an exercise that runs along the whole of life, knowing how to distinguish between the many streets and the wide constellation of choices, both in online and offline world, those that lead to good, the truth up to reach the goal: "To grow to the fullness of Christ" (Eph 4:13).

       The training project is a key strategy, a progressive and gradual maturation of human, spiritual and intellectual. A project that has to deal, inter alia, with the powerful tools of the era of digital communication, both in the initial stage as in the permanent training process as learning, in a line of continuity and progression. A dynamic design and creative, driving force that draws propeller by  the breath of Christ, Spirit of love, of giving and communion.
 

Pina Riccieri fsp
pina.riccieri@gmail.com