Formation!
When you hear that word, do you picture geese flying in formation to spend
the winter in warmer, more comfortable climates? That may be fine for
geese, but not for the Sisters of the Presentation, San Francisco!
A
classical definition of formation as it applies to religious life in the
Roman Catholic Church is the initial years of beginning the process of
exploring and experiencing the life of the religious community, of becoming
acquainted with the members and mission of the community, of deepening
one's relationship with God and with the community through prayer, education,
and experience in ministry.
Formation
is all that and more! Actually, a wonderful word to describe the process
of welcoming a new member into a Catholic women's religious congregation
is incorporation which means that the new member becomes part of
a prayerful, dynamic, dedicated, mission-oriented body of women. Our
purpose is to grow in love of God, and impelled by that love, to reach
beyond ourselves and our own interests to those persons most in need in
our society.
So
what does that look like? Each Presentation Sister is unique, with special
gifts and talents to offer in community and ministry. Our foundress,
Nano Nagle, was deeply moved by the plight of poor people in Ireland in
the 1700's. She educated poor children, tended the sick and elderly in
the back lanes of Cork, Ireland, and toward the end of her life, found
herself drawn by the plight of women caught in prostitution. And so today,
Presentation Sisters of San Francisco and Presentation Sisters all over
the world, are privileged to minister with the poor, the sick, the elderly,
the marginalized, the immigrant, and with women seeking to move out of
prostitution. These are the ministries for which we train our new members.
But
Formation, Welcoming, Incorporation for new members means much more than
adopting a new lifestyle. To become a Sister of the Presentation today
means to become a new person, bringing gifts and talents for community
life and mission, being open to the transforming presence of the Holy
Spirit, growing in love of God and love of God's people.
What
does Formation look like? Is it merely flying in unison like the geese or could it have something
more to do with direction and meaning? What do the beginning stages of
Formation look like?
Stage
1: Candidacy The beginning stage of Incorporation is the Candidacy Stage, when
new members are welcomed into the community, live with our Sisters,
experience the prayer and ministry of the Sisters. This period of time
usually lasts from six months to two years.
Stage
2: Novitiate The word novice means one who is new! This part of the process
is a two year period in which new members deepen their relationships
with God, study the life and mission of the Sisters, study theology,
and in general continue to interiorize and integrate their prayer, life
experience, values, education, and ministry. On a deeper level, new
members continue to discern with their Sisters, if indeed religious
life is the context in which they are most alive and challenged by the
Gospel of Jesus.
Stage
3: Temporary Vows The third stage occurs after the new members' Novitiate, when they
make temporary vows of Poverty, Consecrated Celibacy, and Obedience.
During this third stage, new members are engaged in full-time ministry
and continue to form community with the Sisters.
At
all stages, the member continues to discern her vocation to the religious
community.
We
acknowledge that in our life as Presentation Sisters something bigger,
more dynamic, more radical than ourselves, happens! That is the life
of God's Spirit, ever drawing us out to the winding lanes of Cork, of
San Francisco, of the world.
For
more information regarding the Sisters of the Presentation Formation
Program,
contact receptionist@pbvmsf.org or
call (415) 422-5001.
For
an interesting, illuminating discussion of the meaning of religious vows,
see Barbara Fiand's book Living the Vision, Religious Vows in an Age
of Change.
