Formation

“The training of candidates for the religious life is not only a matter of imparting knowledge. It is above all the delicate task of leading them to a profound and personal response to a call from God to conform their lives to the radical demands of the Gospel, in harmony with the life and teachings of the Church and in a generous and sincere love of their own religious family. It is very important to impart to the young religious a deeply human and throughly integrated spiritual formation. It should be an essential part of this formation to inculcate a sense of values such as truth, justice, love and respect for the human person. Religious formation can be effective only to the extent that Christ is formed in the candidate and the grace of Baptism is lived to the full.” (cf. Constitutions, St. John Paul II to Religious in India, 1986)

The Sister Servants of the Eternal Word require one year of postulancy, two years novitiate, and a minimum of five years in temporary profession before perpetual vows. Sisters learn discipline by living the religious life together and practicing habits of virtue necessary for community harmony and peace. In the environment of liturgical worship, they advance in maturity under the guidance of their director. Formal study includes the evangelical counsels, prayer, the doctrines of the Church, and a greater understanding of their divine vocation, and of their vocation to the community. Study is rooted deeply in Sacred Scripture, the necessary source of all their contemplative-apostolic life. (cf. Constitutions)

The Sister Servants currently fulfill their Directory of Studies through courses taught by the Sisters, and through the Augustine Institute. The Augustine Institute sends zealous professors to Casa Maria twice a year for ongoing study and formation for the entire community, which is an excellent source of continuing formation for those in perpetual vows.