CHAPTER TWELVE

ONGOING FORMATION

520.All life is a vocation, all life is formation.

Initial formation leads the Salesian to make a project of consecrated life his own; he must then transform it into a lived experience during his whole life. Ongoing formation is the grace and the commitment that lead him to live the project “in a constant search for faithfulness”.¹ It is the natural and absolutely necessary continuation of the process he has lived in his initial formation.

521.Ongoing formation is a necessity rooted in the Salesian himself and at the heart of his Christian and Salesian vocation. And this, for many reasons:

- the evolving and dynamic nature of the human person requires him to be continually ready to renew himself in all the aspects and moments of his life;

- Christian life is a permanent vocation, a development of the grace of baptism; it requires an ability to discern and give a faith-response to the challenges arising out of the cultural situation. The Church herself is in a state of continual renewal and encourages the same in her members;

- the Salesian mission to the young, which is directed to that portion of humanity that is always new and unpredictable, demands a constantly renewed creativity and dynamism: “through what they ask of us the young prevent us from getting bogged down in the past; they educate us and prompt us to find new and courageous responses”;²

- the accelerated pace of change in the world influences us in a disturbing way and raises questions that need adequate answers from individuals and communities (for example, the challenges of the new culture, of secularization, of evangelization);

- the present-day expectation and universal demand for quality in every field requires that consecrated life be able to maintain a clear witness and an efficient apostolic service;³

- the animating role of the Salesian community as a nucleus for leading, guiding and training for pastoral action in the new context of sharing with the laity, highlights the need for a spiritual and apostolic revitalization, a doctrinal updating together with the appropriate recognized skills.

12.1NATURE AND PURPOSE

522.Ongoing formation is an attitude to life, a “global process of renewal”⁴ involving persons and communities in the different situations of daily life.

It takes place primarily in “daily life”, in the very realization of the mission: “living in the midst of the young and in constant contact with working-class surroundings, the Salesian tries to discern the voice of the Spirit in the events of each day, and so acquires the ability to learn from life’s experiences.”⁵

And it takes place as a community experience, as a fruit of brotherly sharing, mutual relationships and excellent communication, when apostolic zeal becomes incarnate in a common project, Christ becomes the centre of life and celebration, and the evangelical life is lived in a genuine way: and all this within the context of the Church and the Congregation.

On a wider level – the provincial, the inter-provincial and ecclesial level – ongoing formation is encouraged and supported by organized activities and by ordinary as well as extraordinary initiatives of spiritual and pastoral renewal and updating.

523.The subject of ongoing formation is first of all the Salesian himself. Nothing can take the place of his free and convinced effort. No one can follow the path of renewal in his place. “Every Salesian,” our Constitutions say, “accepts responsibility for his own formation.”⁶

It is the aim of ongoing formation to enable the Salesian to live his vocation in joy and maturity, in creative fidelity, and with a capacity for renewal, responding continually to the Lord and to the challenges of the mission. This attitude of his must turn into an ability to discern and to reflect, a constant effort to make progress in his spiritual life and live in a way that matches his experience, and a striving to qualify himself in order to carry out the mission with professional competence and animate numerous apostolic forces.

524.The subject of ongoing formation is also the Salesian community in so far as it is the bearer and witness in the Church of a gift of the Spirit and the educator of its members; also because it is itself in need of a continual renewal of its fidelity to Don Bosco and of discernment in the Spirit. The community is the subject of ongoing formation in its basic educative relationship with young people and the laity, with those with whom it shares its spirit and mission; it is this relationship which acts as a stimulus to renewal, including spiritual renewal, offering motivations, criteria of evaluation and suggestions for updating.⁷

For this reason the community, as subject of a spiritual and apostolic experience, lives according to a project and responds as one to the Salesian vocation.

12.2THE FORMATION EXPERIENCE

525.Ongoing formation keeps alive “a general and integral process of constant growth, deepening each of the aspects of formation... based on pastoral charity and in reference to it”.⁸ It employs methods suitable for adults, taking their experiences and lived situations as the starting point.

12.2.1Human formation

526.Ongoing formation is concerned with the growth of each confrere. It stimulates and supports his progress towards full maturity, taking account of his situation and his limitations; it aims at forming him into a balanced and adult personality, aware of his own identity and faithful to it. It seeks to create in him an interest in his interior freedom, his affective maturity, his serenity of spirit, his love for the truth and a correspondence between his actions and his words.⁹

The mature Salesian develops the kind of sensitivity that gives him an openness to the human situation about him and an ability to strike up relationships as an adult with other adults of all ages, especially in his own community, and with young people.

He feels stimulated by the young: they need to find in him a “new” man, one who can inspire them to imitate him, one who can awaken the good that lies within them, their human resources and Gospel values. Caring friendship, a family atmosphere, simplicity and kindness, and the advancement of each person’s dignity become for them a truly original experience, a convincing “witness”.¹⁰

A person’s development requires that during the various stages of his life, attention be paid to his biological, physical and psychological aspects and that he be offered illumination and guidance, both personal and communitarian.

12.2.2Spiritual formation

527.The Salesian cultivates his spiritual life as an experience of God in his relationship with the young, in his faith-inspired view of events, and in discernment. Conscious of being an instrument of God’s presence and action, he experiences the joy of proclaiming Jesus Christ and his Gospel.

He deepens his spiritual life by sharing with his community his experience of faith and the mission. Together with his community he lives the presence of the Spirit as “a lasting source of grace and a support for his daily efforts to grow towards the perfect love of God and men”.¹¹

He follows the spiritual path the Church offers him and the project of consecrated life the Constitutions propose as a practical way to holiness. He makes use of special occasions such as spiritual retreats and the extraordinary opportunities of renewal offered him. ¹²

He cultivates the radical gift of himself to God and the unity of his life in him, avoiding the pitfalls of dissipation and superficiality. His filial dialogue with the Father leads him to join work with prayer and to live the union with God in his ordinary activities and in each and every situation.

12.2.3 Intellectual formation

528.The intellectual aspect of ongoing formation is not limited to the accumulation of knowledge or the updating of skills, aspects which are certainly necessary; it is above all a help to advance in wisdom in order to be able to live a deeper life of consecration and accomplish the mission with the necessary competence in various circumstances and situations and in different roles.

It is best seen in the attitude and ability to combine work and reflection in a way that makes it possible to openly and intelligently face the various situations of life and to have sound criteria of discernment that are coherent with the Christian faith, the Church’s guidelines and the Salesian charism.

Care is also to be taken of doctrinal and professional updating, a knowledge of the local cultures where one is living and working, and new professional and technical training¹³ in order to be able to set about the educative and pastoral service in a suitable way, animating and guiding persons, projects and works.

Ongoing formation finds its path and stimulus in the impetus given by the universal and the particular Church, by the experience and the guidelines of the Congregation, especially General Chapters and the teachings of the Rector Majors, and by provincial and inter-provincial programmes and initiatives.

The updating must take the Salesian’s age into consideration, since every stage of life has its own spiritual susceptibilities, pastoral concerns and intellectual pursuits which, if cultivated properly through study and reflection, sustain the confrere, enhance his experience and increase the efficacy of his apostolic life.

12.2.4Formation to youth pastoral ministry

529.The Salesian is called to rekindle the gift of pastoral love he received in his religious profession, so as to be able to live out his mission of education and evangelization, including the mystical and ascetical aspects of the total gift of himself to God and to the young, and the apostolic drive of the da mihi animas.

In the first place, the work of education and evangelization, when assumed and realized as a community project, is a veritable school of formation: it is conceived, planned and evaluated together as part of a broad collaboration and sharing of responsibility in the educative and pastoral community, and lived as a spiritual and ecclesial experience.

“The web of relationships created by a lively and efficient educative and pastoral community,” writes the GC24, “becomes a setting for intense ongoing formation, touching on human, pedagogical and Salesian aspects. These relationships are a vehicle for messages, they prepare us to use new languages, they foster a more attentive listening to what the world and youth culture are saying, especially when the educative and pastoral community encourages the young to take on leadership roles.”¹⁴

Through a reciprocal giving and receiving, the Salesian acquires a renewed understanding of his Salesian identity, shares Salesian spirituality, updates his skills, and becomes capable of animating a large educational setting, guiding groups and counselling individuals.

530.The various kinds of settings and works in which the Salesian is called to operate, and the different roles which are entrusted to him need specific preparation and constant commitment to retraining; they become a requirement and an opportunity for renewal and for constantly developing new skills for the sake of the mission.

There is a permanent school of faith to be found in closely embracing the mission of the Church, in her needs, in pastoral communion with the universal and the local Church, and in the relationship with the world of youth and of education.

12.3 COPING WITH SOME SITUATIONS IN LIFE

531.The Salesian “sees his ordinary activities as effective means of formation, and he also makes use of any other means of formation that may be offered him.”¹⁵ “At every stage of life [he] seeks and finds a new task to fulfil, a particular way of being, of serving and of loving”.¹⁶

There are certain situations and circumstances that arise during the span of one’s life; if they are properly handled, they can turn out to be particularly useful moments for a newer understanding and manifestation of one’s vocation experience.

The stages of life can be more or less foreseen, but they are also affected by personal circumstances and social, cultural and pastoral situations that are unexpected and have an impact on a person’s entire experience.

12.3.1The stages of life

12.3.1.1 THE FIRST YEARS OF FULL INVOLVEMENT IN EDUCATIVE AND PASTORAL WORK

532.The first years of full involvement in pastoral work are especially important for the Salesian priest and brother because they offer new challenges, but they can also pose problems.

The transition from a directed and supervised life – such as that obtaining in formation communities – to full personal responsibility for one’s apostolic work generally entails a re-arrangement of one’s life, an adjustment to a new pace of life and work, and calls for a new synthesis in one’s life.

Some needs begin to be felt much more strongly, such as: self-affirmation, the quest for fruitfulness, and the impulse of personal initiative and creativity. As he confronts the existing reality of Salesian life, he begins to experience tension as well as the difference and discrepancy between what he learned and what he actually finds in daily life. He may also feel inadequate for his new roles and responsibilities.

533.The Salesian therefore strives to deepen his motivations and to keep a unity in his life, resisting dissipation and avoiding aloofness, seclusion and a slackening in the pace of his spiritual growth. He makes a deliberate effort to live God’s design in the new context of his life and to discover new ways of being faithful to him.

This is the stage in which the confrere reinforces his sense of community, his attitude of shared responsibility, and his readiness to share with others: he makes it a point to meet experienced confreres who can share with him and guide him with their friendship, patience and spiritual depth; he makes the most of the opportunities that can help him grow in his enthusiasm for Christ, his spiritual renewal, his keeping himself up-to-date and his reflection.

534.The community strives to offer him a family atmosphere, to show him confidence and provide him with ample space to carry out the mission, to help him develop his skills and continue his formation, and above all, it obtains his participation in the spiritual growth process of the community. The Rector is well aware of his particular responsibility of providing him fraternal solicitude and guidance.

In a special way, the Province follows up the priests and brothers who are in their first years of the apostolate. In addition to giving them support at local level, it offers them a steady form of assistance to enable them to carry out their mission fruitfully. It organizes periodical meetings to help them continue the spiritual effort they made during their initial formation, and to afford them opportunities for sharing their experiences and reflections on community living and apostolic work.

12.3.1.2 THE YEARS OF FULL MATURITY

535.The confrere’s total dedication and the discharge of his duties and responsibilities develop in him a sense of security and self-confidence. As a result of this stability, he is better prepared to offer a competent service in his field, is more serene in the exercise of authority, more capable of resolving conflicts, and more open to others, their needs and aspirations.

Nevertheless, with the passing of the years, there can be occasions when he feels inadequate to cope with the youth situation or to face the new cultural and pastoral situations. He can be assailed by questions about his own experience of community life, his affectivity, his spiritual progress, the fruitfulness of his self-giving.

He needs to be watchful so as not to fall into the danger of a life “of routine”, a loss of his vitality and initial enthusiasm, an exaggerated activism or a certain “individualism, accompanied either by a fear of not being attuned to the times, or by forms of inflexibility, self-centredness or diminished enthusiasm”.¹⁷

536.The Province supports the confrere by offering him encouragement in his spiritual life, opportunities to prepare himself for the roles entrusted to him and also meetings and initiatives to sustain him in the tasks he performs and the situations he faces.

The Regulations ask that “all Salesians in their mature years should periodically be offered the possibility of spending an appropriate period of time for their renewal”.¹⁸ It can be a high point of his vocation, for example, on the occasion of a jubilee of profession or priestly ordination, a prolonged period during which he withdraws from ordinary life in order to “reread” it in the light of the Gospel, to examine himself in depth concerning his own project of life and to consolidate his interior life. Activism yields to an intense encounter with himself and a search for deep spirituality.

On such occasions, the Salesian redefines the Christian and Salesian convictions about his own consecrated vocation and reaffirms the motivations of his decisions. He refines the meaning of his life with greater serenity and wisdom, with clearer motivations, and with a sense of self-donation, in the pursuit of human maturity and spiritual fatherhood.¹⁹

12.3.1.3 ADVANCED AGE

537.A long life is a gift to be welcomed and put to good use, an opportunity to live in a Salesian way, according to the characteristics of apostolic consecration and the spirit which sets the tone for our whole life.²⁰ For this period of our vocation too, we have before us for our model and encouragement our Father and Founder, Don Bosco, in his failing years and in his time of sickness. He refused to withdraw into himself but kept in contact with the young throughout his whole life, always full of ardour for the mission and for the missions, busy animating his confreres, totally surrendered to God, concerned about others, and aware of the apostolic value of patience and suffering.

The personal condition one reaches and lives in this stage of life will vary from person to person, depending on each one’s health, possibility of activity, service and also involvement in the community.

538.This is the stage of life that offers gifts to be appreciated, risks to be faced and riches to be shared. There can appear in this period certain limitations that have to be accepted and certain not-so-positive features that have to be overcome. There are those who, after years of closely identifying themselves with a role or a professional activity, now have to reduce their commitments or give up certain jobs, and as a result feel as if shunted to the sidelines; they find it hard to accept the aging process. There are also those who, experiencing their inadequacy in certain situations, are not much inclined to change and tend to close in on themselves.

For those instead who are ready to change, this period opens the door to new ways of expressing personal harmony, brotherhood and service. The confrere learns to grow old gracefully, establishing a precious but different kind of presence in the community and continuing to offer it the fine values he embodies, as for example, the ability to reflect, wisdom, the contemplation of fundamental realities and other characteristics proper to this age.

539.The elderly Salesian must be helped to accept his new situation and to incarnate in it a deep sense of his vocation, mindful that his consecrated life still maintains its full significance in all circumstances as a radical and continual availability to do God’s will. He strives to live fully inserted in the fraternal and apostolic community, and offers his resources of witness and prayer, experience, wisdom and advice. He seeks suitable spiritual and pastoral nourishment and the possibility of carrying out those forms of service and apostolate of which he is still capable.

And when he falls sick or has to suffer or depend on others even physically, or when the moment comes for him to encounter Christ, the Salesian is helped to live his fidelity to his consecration to the very last moment and to make of his life a total gift which opens out into a full and definitive union with his Lord.

12.3.2Some particular circumstances

540.Not only the stages of life, which are quite predictable, but also circumstances, both seen and unforeseen, form the substance of a person’s experience of his vocation and his ongoing formation. At any age in his life there can occur particular situations or moments that require a new endorsement of the values and motivations of his life. The critical situations can be due to external factors (a change of community or work, new assignments, lack of success, difficulties in the community) or personal factors (illness, difficulties in interpersonal relations, loss of motivation, spiritual aridity, crises of faith or identity, or vocational clarification and new spiritual inspirations etc.).²¹

The love and concern of the confreres and of the Rector are able to perceive these moments before it is too late, and to offer support in the form of greater trust and the necessary guidance.

The confrere seeks, and is helped to seek, the valuable assistance of prudent persons who can enlighten him on his situation and sustain him in his efforts to discern the consequences for his vocation of what is happening in his life. The Rector and the confreres pay close attention to his situation; in a delicate and timely manner, and in ways that are most appropriate, they offer understanding, support and suitable guidance.

Such moments, if lived with a concern for one’s formation, can become opportunities for renewing one’s surrender to the Lord, for learning the truth about oneself and for drawing close to the Paschal mystery.

12.4THE ANIMATION OF ONGOING FORMATION

541.Ongoing formation is an attitude and a mentality, a climate and a pedagogy of life, a process, a programme and an organized service. It is the responsibility not only of each confrere but also of the community at its various levels and of all those entrusted with the task of animation and formation. Many and varied are the ways in which this ongoing response is expressed in a life that is continually lived as a vocation.

12.4.1At personal level

542.As the first one responsible for his own formation,²² the Salesian seeks to respond to the increasingly new demands of his vocation. He knows that growing in his Salesian identity, which calls for a self-examination deep down within himself, is the most fruitful way to accomplish his ongoing formation. Updating and qualification are part of that formation, but it has to reach his interior life, his mentality and the core of his being. Only in this sense does it become a profound change and renewal.

This is why, in docility to the Holy Spirit, the confrere develops his aptitudes in a constant effort of conversion and renewal. Engaging in “a formation process which will last all his life”,²³ the Salesian takes advantage of some of the practical ways in which this task can be accomplished:

- he cultivates “the ability to learn from life’s experiences”,²⁴ paying attention to communication, dialogue and the revision of life, especially in the community and in his interactions with the young, and keeping an open and discerning mentality,²⁵ one that is ready to listen, to accept other people’s ideas and communicate his own;

- he nurtures an attitude of pastoral discernment in various situations,²⁶ making use of the means that daily life offers (shared mission and experience, self-examination in the light of the guidelines of the Church and the Congregation, paying attention to situations, to reading and study);

- he takes an interest in his own spiritual progress or project of life, observes the directives of the Constitutions faithfully, takes pains to pray well, make a good meditation and lead a proper sacramental life, makes good use of guidance and personal reflection, makes time to strike deeper roots in his life of consecration and avoid weariness and superficiality;

- he makes the most of the formative aspects of his community’s daily programme of activities and draws profit from the extraordinary opportunities for ongoing formation that are offered him; in the educative and pastoral community and in his contacts with the Salesian Family he remains open to initiatives of formation together;

- he seeks to carry out his duties with the competence required by the situation and by the times;²⁷ he knows that to animate, educate and guide in the present cultural and religious context means to become capable of facing problems connected with life, the relationship between faith and culture, the field of ethics and morality, spiritual and sacramental pedagogy, and the social dimension;

- he chooses, with the help of his superiors, the area of qualification best suited to his personal talents and the needs of the Province. He is always ready to periodically qualify himself further,²⁸ in doctrine as well as in his professional ccompetence, and he takes advantage of the opportunities offered him in the form of study days, conferences, courses, pastoral meetings and other formation initiatives.

12.4.2At local level

543.The Constitutions say that “the natural environment for vocational growth is the community which the confrere joins with trust and in which he gives his responsible collaboration. The very life of the community, united in Christ and open to the needs of the times, is itself a factor in formation, and hence must continually move forward and be renewed.”²⁹

Here are some expedients that can contribute towards truly making the community a place of ongoing formation:

- create in the community a climate and a style of life and work that fosters the growth of individuals and of the community:

. the family spirit disposes one to encounter others, gives him a readiness to listen and to dialogue, creates a mentality of searching and discerning together by drawing on everyone’s experience, and leads one to learn through everyday experience;

. an atmosphere of faith and prayer strengthens the inner motivations, disposing one to live them in the radical way of the Gospel and with apostolic generosity;

. a good arrangement of the work itself, the community and pastoral project, and the assessments encourages the Salesian to engage in a process of revising his attitudes towards religious life and his methods of work and to relaunch a quest for quality in his life and mission.

- make use of all the moments, means and aspects that community life offers to promote ongoing formation:

. the moments of community prayer such as meditation, spiritual reading, the good night, the monthly and quarterly recollections; the moments of evaluation, participation and shared responsibility (including especially the community day³⁰);

. communication with the provincial community and with the Congregation and a ready acceptance of the exhortations and guidelines that come from them;

. information, readings, an up-to-date library;

- establish a yearly programme of ongoing formation;

- ensure that formation takes place together within the educative and pastoral community through reflection, planning and evaluation, and initiatives shared with other members of the Salesian Family;

- offer those in need the possibility of frequenting specific moments or programmes of renewal and updating (initiatives, experiences, courses, etc.).

544.The Rector is the first animator of the experience of ongoing formation in his community. Suitably prepared for his role, he:

- fosters a climate and a pattern of internal and external relations which enhance the daily life of the community (“common spiritual direction, conferences, good-nights and informal meetings”³¹);

- communicates to the confreres the Salesian principles of life and work; to this end he makes known and uses ecclesial and Salesian documents as his favoured sources, and cultivates communion with the Province and the Congregation;

- animates the Salesian mission by ensuring that the Assembly of the confreres and the local Council assume their responsibilities, and encouraging meetings that contribute to brotherhood, updating and relaxation;³²

- promotes processes of relationship and formation with the Salesian Family and the educative and pastoral community, safeguarding the Salesian charism in the Salesian educative and pastoral plan, and encouraging the Salesian community to carry out its specific role of animation; he makes intelligent use of means of animation such as Salesian news and concrete sharing experiences.³³

12.4.3At provincial level

545.The Province is a community that imparts, and at the same time receives, formation.

It accomplishes the mission by concretely translating the Da mihi animas and the Preventive System into an experience of life and into works and activities, within a well-defined historical and geographical context.

The Province’s own project, the way it lives its Salesian identity, the criteria guiding its spiritual progress, its sharing of the Salesian mission and spirit with the Salesian Family and with the laity, and very many other aspects of its life are the first way in which it animates ongoing formation because in them it offers an ideal to be lived and a model from which to draw inspiration for living in a Salesian manner.

 >From this point of view, a great deal depends on the kind of equilibrium the Province is able to maintain between its front-line endeavours, the qualification of its personnel, the qualitative strength of its communities and its ability to convey a message to others through its Salesian life and mission. There are some situations in which the ongoing formation of the confreres and communities will receive a boost from new enthusiasm and the launch of new apostolic ventures; there are others instead which will require a readjustment to new situations and a concentration of energies for the sake of a better performance and service.

546.There are in every Province various occasions, opportunities, services and structures that, in different ways, constitute the animation of ongoing formation in the provincial community, in the local communities and in every confrere.

In the first place, there are the processes that involve the confreres in evaluating and redefining the Province’s Salesian life, such as, for example, the Provincial Chapters and assemblies, and the formulation and revision of the Provincial Plan and the Directory.

Then, there are the meetings of Rectors, of the various provincial teams and groups of confreres.

Finally, there are all those initiatives – those which impart a capacity for discernment, prompt a renewal of methodology, guide the animators, systematically qualify the personnel, and foster a commitment to establish qualified teams and centres – all these make a significant contribution to the provincial community.

547.There are some practical requirements that affect for the better the experience of ongoing formation in the Province. Here are a few of them:

- ensuring the proper functioning of animation and government, especially the annual provincial visitation, the spiritual retreat, the Provincial Chapter (preparatory phase, actual event and implementation), and the activity of the Provincial Council, the Delegate and the Commission for formation;

- planning a concerted programme of action, which implies, in particular:

. drawing up “an organic plan for the ongoing formation of the confreres with a view to their spiritual renewal, their pastoral qualification, and their educational and professional ability”³⁴;

. translating the above-mentioned plan into a yearly programme of ongoing formation in the Province;

. formulating a plan for the qualification of personnel and committing oneself to implement it resolutely, even if it should entail an outlay of finance or personnel; paying special attention to the preparation of experts in Salesianity and committing them to serve the confreres and the communities; making sure that qualified confreres are occupied in specific tasks within the Province’s plan and continue in the field of their own specialization;

. having a formation programme for the SDBs and laity together in which are provided: “contents, experiences and periods dedicated to formation; a definition of the role, relationships and manner of collaboration between SDBs and laity; coordination between the various sectors and structures of animation; the role and interventions of the Provincial and members of the Provincial Council in formation activities; the availability of centres, groups and structures of provincial animation”;³⁵

- promoting meetings:

. of the provincial teams, in order to create convergence and prepare people for the roles they must discharge;

. of Rectors, of those responsible for formation, of pastoral animators, of economers and of other confreres; these meetings are occasions for deepening Salesian identity in its educational and pastoral dimensions;³⁶ while they treat specific aspects, even of an administrative or organizational nature, they do show a concern for the religious life and spiritual and doctrinal advancement of the Salesians;

- offering and organizing particular initiatives:

. preparing ordinary and extraordinary initiatives of spiritual and pastoral formation for all the confreres according to a programme which spans several years and takes into account the progress of theological doctrine and new pastoral questions;

. seeing to it that the spiritual retreats have “particular efficacy in promoting personal growth and province-wide union, and become more effective because of the previous preparation of the confreres, the updating of the way of conducting the retreat, and the updating also of the animators”;³⁷

. organizing a centre or a provincial team for spiritual and cultural animation, in association with a Salesian study centre or a spirituality centre, where such a centre exists;

- fostering collaboration with the other groups of the Salesian Family in the field of ongoing formation, with the help of extraordinary initiatives or systematic and planned activities proposed and animated by teams comprising members of the different groups;

- keeping an openness to the calls for renewal and qualification emanating from the Church, the Institutes of consecrated life and the sectors close to our mission.

548. The Provincial, assisted by his Council, and with the help of the Delegate and the provincial Commission for formation strives to ensure the practical requirements referred to.

To provide for the ongoing formation of the confreres:

- he supports their efforts, through his personal contact, and offers them opportunities for renewal;³⁸

- drawing on the help of the provincial Commission for formation, he organizes with his Council a programme of activities and initiatives that encourages and supports the ongoing formation of the confreres, and in this context he assumes as his primary concern of government the formation of the principal animators (Rectors, those responsible for formation, Delegates);

- he follows with particular attention the day-to-day life of the local communities;

- he encourages inter-provincial collaboration.

549.The Delegate for formation, with the help of the provincial Commission for formation, has the duty of:

- sensitizing the confreres and communities to the need for ongoing formation;

- coordinating different initiatives so as to give continuity to the work of formation;

- indicating contents, preparing materials and organizing appropriate services for a renewed approach to the spiritual retreat, prayer days or prayer sessions, long renewal courses, meetings for the updating of specific categories, study sessions on documents of the Church and the Congregation; dissemination of bibliographical information;

- drawing on the contribution to ongoing formation of the other Delegates and animators;

- keeping in touch with the Delegates of other Provinces and with the one responsible for inter-provincial coordination.

12.4.4At inter-provincial level

550.Some initiatives for the animation of ongoing formation on a wider scale are:

- different kinds of linkage between the Provinces for sharing experiences, organizing programmes and initiatives, preparing animation materials, and supporting the work of animators;

- establishing - at the level of a Region, a linguistic grouping or Provincial conference, and according to possibility and convenience – centres for ongoing formation. These centres offer their services to the Provinces, the communities and individual confreres in a variety of ways, organizing, for example, courses or programmes, preparing and distributing materials for the animation of communities or arranging for the translation of Salesian texts;

- creating - at the level of a Region or Provincial conference – groups of people who are qualified in Salesian studies and able to offer their services, publishing, holding seminars and specific courses of updating for confreres in the phase of ongoing formation.

551.The Regional Councillors follow up the implementation of the inter-provincial programmes of ongoing formation and keep in contact with the Provincials responsible for them. To this end they foster a greater collaboration and coordination among the Provinces.

The General Councillor for formation has the care and responsibility for the integral and ongoing formation of the confreres. He encourages and supports the efforts made by the Provinces. In agreement with the respective regional Councillor, he asks them to plan and implement the practical guidelines concerning the formation of the confreres; he follows with particular care the progress of the centres of ongoing formation.

552.The Salesian, as the first one responsible for his formation,³⁹ strives to live in a continual attitude of renewal and response to his vocation. For this he adopts a suitable pedagogy to grow in his personal spiritual life, makes every day a special moment of formation, cultivates a discerning attitude and acquires the ability to learn from life’s experiences;⁴⁰ he keeps himself up-to-date and open to the Church’s exhortations and particularly to the situation of the young and the working-classes; he considers his community the natural environment for growing in his vocation and takes an active part in it; he lives his belonging to the Province and to the Congregation, and gladly accepts their suggestions and initiatives.

553.Every community should have a programme of ongoing formation catering for the different aspects of Salesian formation; the programme should be evaluated and renewed annually. It should give suitable importance to the community day, the monthly and quarterly recollections, the moments of planning and assessment, and the formation activities in the educative and pastoral community and with the Salesian Family.

554.“The local communities should schedule their activities in such a way as to ensure that the confreres participate in times of prayer and of community reflection, as well as have the time necessary for personal and continuous updating.”⁴¹

555.Let the Rector accord a priority to the religious and pastoral animation and the spiritual direction of his community. “His first task is to animate the community so that it may live faithful to the Constitutions and grow in unity.”⁴² “He also has a direct responsibility toward each confrere; he helps him realize his own personal vocation and carry out the work entrusted to him.”⁴³ Let him ensure that daily life lived in fidelity to the Constitutions and Regulations becomes a good formation experience, and that there is effective collaboration and shared responsibility among the confreres. Let him encourage the animating presence of his community within the educative and pastoral community, and cultivate its communion with the Province, the Congregation, the Salesian Family and the Church.

556.The Provincial Formation Plan⁴⁴ should include a plan for ongoing formation with a view to the spiritual renewal, the pastoral preparation and the educative and professional competence of the confreres.⁴⁵ When formulating it, attention must be paid to the various roles and functions and to the different ages, situations and periods of life (the first five years of full involvement in the apostolate, the period of full maturity, important anniversaries, old age...).

557.“All Salesians in their mature years should periodically be offered the possibility of spending an appropriate period of time for their renewal. Provinces should take this need into account in their planning, and each confrere should respond to it for his own good and that of the community.”⁴⁶

558.The Provincial animates the integral and ongoing formation of the confreres,⁴⁷ in the first place giving a formation dimension to the ordinary government of the Province. In this endeavour let him involve also his Council and the provincial animators, especially the Provincial Commission for formation and the Rectors. Let him be ready to collaborate with other Provinces, with the Salesian Family and with the Church.

559.The Provincial Commission for formation collaborates with the Provincial and his Council in animating the process of ongoing formation of the communities and the confreres,⁴⁸ and in seeing to the formation of Salesians together with the laity. In line with the Provincial Formation Plan, the Commission offers a programme of initiatives in the area of guidance, paying attention to the different situations of the confreres in terms of their age, specific vocation, and different roles.

560.The sharing of the Salesian spirit and mission with the laity calls for a sound formation together,⁴⁹ which finds its ideal setting in an educative and pastoral community that functions well.⁵⁰

The Provincial Formation Plan should include guidelines for the formation of Salesians and laity together; it should envisage certain experiences, contents, the persons responsible and the periods to be dedicated to formation.⁵¹

561.Let the Regions, linguistic groupings or Provincial conferences collaborate in initiatives and programmes of ongoing formation and, if possible and convenient, let them establish a team or a centre for ongoing formation.

In particular, let them organize at inter-provincial level periodical initiatives for the specific preparation of Rectors or other groups of confreres. Such initiatives are under the responsibility of the Provincials of the Region or of the Conference concerned, of the Regional Councillor and of the Councillor for formation.⁵²

562.It belongs to the General Council to approve the creation of inter-provincial and regional centres for ongoing formation. Those responsible for these centres should depend on the General Councillor for formation and on the Regional Councillors.

563.Advantage should be taken of the initiatives organized in communion and collaboration with other groups of the Salesian Family, and also the opportunities offered at the ecclesial and inter-Congregational level. “An attitude of ready acceptance should be fostered to formative opportunities offered by different organisms of the Church and of society.”⁵³

564.“Provincial conferences or linguistic groupings must see to the provision of an adequate and up-to-date Salesian bibliography in the vernacular. In addition it is hoped that study groups will be formed at regional level, which will be able to provide in due course Salesian publications and other services.”⁵⁴

565.The General Council will organize initiatives to specifically prepare Provincials for their role of animation and government. Opportunities for formation are also available to them, for example, at the level of the Provincial conference, in regional meetings and in Team Visits.