Formational Processes

FORMATION IN THE VMY

[This presentation was given during the First International Gathering of the Advisors for the Vincentian Marian Youth Association (Paris, July 15-20, 2014)]

INTRODUCTION

Experience shows us that the less Christian the environment in which the life of the child, adolescent or young person grows up and develops, the greater the need for alternative educational environments for initiating or maturing in the faith. The VMY came into existence in order to respond to this need by offering adolescents and young people a place for their integral growth, a place where, from the perspective of the Vincentian charism, they could experience a Christian way of life, experience a young Church and experience the power of a commitment on behalf of other youth and on behalf of the poor. This was the desire of the Blessed Virgin who in 1830, invited the Vincentian Family to evangelize young men and women, especially those most poor, those in vulnerable situations and those marginalized and excluded from participation in society.

The Church today continues to ask the various associations and movements to make "a commitment to catechize, to teach and to form Christians".

The formation of the young men and women who are members of the VMY is a concern for all those who are responsible for this Association. From the time of the First General Assembly that was celebrated in Rome (2000) until the time of the more recent Assembly in Portugal (2010) the importance of continuing this ministry of formation has been highlighted. Formation has been the focus of our dedication and attention: catechesis, conferences, meeting, retreats, publications, etc.,

The International Council, as a response to this need, has presented the National Councils with a document in this regard (a document that all of you are familiar with). This document continues to be valid for all the groups and yet it seems to have been forgotten. We are referring to the Booklet, Formation Processes and Transition in the VMY. That document was the fruit of years of reflection and it was intended to promote a review of the formation process that had been implemented in each country. This review was to be carried out in light of specific common criteria that would guarantee the unity of the formation process in the Association as a whole.

After the Third General Assembly that was held in Portugal in 2010, the International Council committed itself to the elaboration of a new document that would have as its purpose that of supporting the countries in this area of formation. The document would serve as a guide for those countries that had not developed their own formation process and/or for those countries that wanted to revise their program. This guide, which attempts to attend to the basic formation needs of the Association on a human, Christian, Marian and Vincentian level, divides the formation process into four phases: coming together, initiation, deepening our understanding, commitment … each stage having it proper thematic focus.

We are aware of the fact that we are animated by the same Spirit and that we share a common charism, but we also realize that there are differences among us and even though those differences enrich our Association, those same differences make it difficult to develop a formation process that covers every need that people will encounter in every stage of formation in every distinct country. Therefore we prefer to leave that task to the discernment of the National Council.

Yet for this formation to be effective it is necessary that certain criteria be taken into consideration.

IMPORTANT FORMATION GUIDELINES FOR THE VMY

• Our first General Assembly, held in Rome in August 2000, has led us to recognize that organizing and enriching our formation programs is vital for the future of the Association. These programs should be capable of creating among youth:

• A genuine enthusiasm to discover the great potential that lies in their heart, bringing to light all its richness and creativity.

• A desire to be deeply rooted in Jesus Christ, to be filled with the prayerful spirituality of the Magnificat, and to be committed to Jesus in the community of the Church.

• An explicit commitment to the cause of the Kingdom, evangelizing and serving the poorest of the poor … and doing this in a Vincentian manner.

[1.1] Formation is a dynamic and on-going process that begins in the family, continues in the school and in the parish, and lasts a lifetime. The purpose of this formation is root the life of the young men and women in Christ so that they may attain an experience of faith and a knowledge of the Son of God which in turn will enable them to take their place in society and in the church as mature believes (Eph.4:13). Therefore, to form young men and women is to bring Jesus to them, or better yet, it is to bring others to Christ. In the VMY we want to offer a formation that liberates and changes individuals so that they become the subject of their development, so that they become responsible men and women, protagonists of their plan for life. We want young men and women to become aware of their commitment to society and to the Church so that in turn they might contribute to the building up of the Kingdom of God.

[1.2.] In order for the formation that we offer to touch the very heart of the person, we believe that each National Council should organize a well-defined general formation program, and should not be satisfied with engaging in various pastoral activities that are related to some overall plan. In VMY we opt for a pastoral plan that involves a process, a comprehensive and systematic process that is guided by a general formation program. Such a program allows the members of the Association to achieve a deeper and clearer personal, Christian and Vincentian identity. It is a program that is developed in an orderly succession of phases and educational stages that are directly related to a person's growth process as well as the objectives of our Association. Different groups should be able participate in these programs: children, adolescents, young adults and adults.

[1.3.] The general formation program must be contextualized and inculturated: it must be designed from the perspective of the reality of the young men and women and from the perspective of the Association in each country or continent. Only in that way can formation programs respond to the concrete needs of the participants. Fr. Robert Maloney said to the Provincial Visitatrixes of the Daughters of Charity, “Let the groups retain their indigenous flavor, Filipino, Congolese, Spanish or American. This requires discernment, creativity and freedom of spirit”. With a creative fidelity to the charism of the VMY, we have to seek those common expressions that reveal the charism within our particular culture. Only thus will the formation that we offer be able to respond to the challenges presented by the lights and shadows of the situation of the youth as it is unfolding in the different regions of the world and in the various cultures where young men and women find themselves.

[1.4.] This project takes form through diverse formation phases or stages … the objectives and methodology of these programs must be evaluated, differentiated according to the level of maturity and degree of commitment of the recipients. Different approaches will be developed in each country and this will be done in accord with the General Plan of Formation and the guidelines outlined by the Commission on Youth of their respective Episcopal Conference.

[1.5.] The whole program, in each of its stages, has to respond to an overall Christian experience that takes into consideration every dimension of the human person. In order for the young person to move forward in this process and to move forward together with his/her group, there is a need to be accompanied by an advisor. Young men and women should be helped to develop in the four basic areas that respond, not only to different dimensions of the person, but are also in accord with the nature, objectives and spirit that is proper to the Association.

Each country will adapt the following four basic dimensions to their reality:

* Human-Christian maturity: Special attention should be given to personal and harmonious growth and to the acquisition of those values, attitudes and criteria that will give direction to the life of the young men and women. People should be helped to experience their own life as an integral part of salvation history, and should also be helped to experience the person of Jesus and his message, the sacraments of initiation and the integration of faith and life as a path to conversion.

* Community and Ecclesial Experience: Young men and women should be helped to open themselves and develop their potentials so that they can relate with other people, that is, relate with people as a result of participating in a group in which they are able to share their faith. They should be helped to experience the call to form part of the people of God, to cultivate the values that are proper to a Christian, to integrate themselves into the life of a concrete Christian community (parish and diocese), and to accept as one’s own the interests of the local and universal church.

* Marian-Vincentian Spirituality: Young men and women should be helped to organize their life by following Jesus Christ, the evangelizer of the poor. They should be taught to live and to pray like Mary, clothing themselves in the spirituality of the Magnificat and in the attitudes of charity, humility, availability and simplicity. At the same time they should be provided with the opportunity to dedicate themselves to some specific project of evangelization and service on behalf of those who are poor.

* Social and Missionary Commitment: Young men and women should be assisted in becoming critical believers who analyze their reality and are also aware of the various options for making a Christian commitment. They should be provided with the possibility of apostolic ministry with other young people and/or among abandoned and vulnerable members of society. They should be made aware of their socio-political commitment, their commitment as Catholics and the possibilities of serving as a missionary (to go where the Church and the poor need them).

The formation process has the group as its privileged center of implementation.

For VMY, life and ministry occurs in small groups where faith and life is shared. This is something more than a mere methodological recourse; it is a basic element of our formation process. It is here where the young men and women are invited to follow a process of formation and maturation in the faith, to experience living Christian community, to have a spiritual experience and gradually commit to an apostolic task according to the Vincentian charism.

Today the community of believers who live out the faith and love effectively is the greatest evangelizing sign and the most effective instrument for initiation into a Christian experience. That is why we opt for the creation and animation of groups where the youth are able to share their life experiences, mature in faith and assume a commitment in favor of the Church and the society.

Experience has taught us that we cannot focus all our energies on the group and then leave the individual young man or woman to become lost in the group. These young persons need to be guided by an individualized process. The decision to guide a group is related to the practice of providing the group members with some adult advisor who will share his/her experience as a believer, who will help the young men and women to see their lives in an objective manner and who will facilitate a prayerful reflection on multiple life events and situations. The support and encouragement of these advisors enable the youth to overcome their difficulties and embrace new challenges. This service should be offered in such a way that the young men and women are able to become protagonists of their own life, able to personalize their faith and become willing to enter in a process of discernment as they attempt to discover God’s plan for them.

This journey with young men and women and this participation in the vocational discernment process is the mature and indispensable fruit of the formation process, the height of all human and Christian growth. In the VMY we call this special moment within the process a time of transition. There can be no authentic pastoral ministry with youth unless these young men and women are provided an opportunity to explore various vocational options. We believe that this process of vocational discernment should be present in every phase of the formation process because it is through this process that these young men and women will discover the specific plan that God invites them to undertake in service of the Kingdom.

FUNDAMENTAL LINES

• Initiation into the Christian life - faith/life. This is a process for those who never had the opportunity to participate in a genuine catechesis and accompaniment or those who have been unable to complete such a process. Here experience and reflection on the Word of God as a permanent point of reference are emphasized.

• Another focal point is conversion that will enable the individuals to acquire a lifestyle that is in conformity with the Gospel. Individuals will be helped to make their own profession of faith as a result of their commitment and lived experiences.

• As a result of genuine religious experience that is nourished by prayer, liturgy and the sacraments individuals become integrated into the Christian community.

• Individuals complete this program when they make a commitment to create a better world through their apostolic and missionary witness … a witness that involves a specific vocational option.

• Helping young people grow in the faith through a process of maturation is possible when attention is given to three fundamental aspects:

---With regards to faith, the essential content should be presented through a catechetical process that results in establishing a sound doctrinal foundation.

---This process should provide an adequate and harmonious development of said content through a catechetical method that will assure its assimilation.

---With regards to maturation … young men and women should be offered the opportunity to engage in activities that will help them to personalize their faith.

• The catechetical method that underlies this program has a twofold function: to help the group integrate its members and to help the members become integrated into the group.

This process is woven together by three important threads: human experience, the Word of God and the profession of faith. The young person's human experience, which is the starting point, should be analyzed in light of the Word of God. Such a process allows the young men and women to be questioned by the same Word of God. The result of this confrontation is a profession of faith that is manifested in three different but complementary ways: [1] proclaiming and expressing what one believes (profession of faith); [2] contemplating and celebrating that faith together with other brothers and sisters (prayer and sacraments), [3] making it real in one's life (commitment).

This three-fold profession of faith, which is animated by the Word and that flows from the experience of the young person, allows for the gradual integration of the young men and women into the ecclesial community. The art of educating in the faith consists in weaving the three threads so closely together that the faith of the young person and the life of the young become one.

This unity is achieved by accompanying the young men and women as they journey through the different phases and events of their life. This process of accompaniment can continue for an extended period of time (for many years, and can even extend into adulthood) … until all the various dimensions of their existence are enlightened and transformed. These are not strictly chronological phases that must be completed in succession and they are not stages that all members have to pass through (or for that matter, have to pass through for the same period of time). They are formational stages that facilitate maturation in faith. The most important factor here is not the content (even though this may be of much interest to the participants) but rather the opportunity to engage individuals in an experience that will allow them to personalize this process and take responsibility for it.

PHASES IN THE PROCESS

From the start to the finish there is a well-defined process in which we can distinguish four events or phases, each with their specific objectives and procedures.

In each of these phases there is a given time frame and some specific celebration called the "transition": these are moments in which the young person, the catechist and the group discern whether one has achieved the fundamental objectives of a certain phase and therefore, is prepared to move on to the next phase. It is important to prepare for these steps both individually and as a group so that the young men and women might be able to begin to personalize their faith.

COMING TOGETHER

General Objective:

• To discover and accept one’s personal identity, human values, faith and the need to believe as a member of a group.

• Specific Objectives:

• To know oneself, others, God and the VMY.
• To organize and establish themselves as members of a group.

Thematic Focus: The person: human and Christian.

Time: one year.

INITIATION PHASE (CLOTHING ONESELF WITH A VINCENTIAN, MARIAN AND CHRISTIAN IDENTITY)

This is the most intense phase of the program --- the longest and the most profound because it aims to provide a complete initiation into the Christian message and life. This phase includes all those activities through which the Association attempts to help the young men and women discover, celebrate and live the uniqueness of Christian life and to do this within the context of the Church. We need to allow sufficient time for the faith to enter into the deepest recesses of the person, to inhabit that place where profound convictions are formed and thus transform life.

General Objective:

• To help the young men and women discover the call to change their life through a personal encounter with Christ, through the Word of God, through participation in the Association and through ministry on behalf of the poor.

Specific Objectives:

• To initiate the young men and women into the life of prayer.
• To help the young men and women discover and accept the demands of the Christian life.
• To live in community with the other members of the group and to work together as part of a team.
• To provide the young men and women with opportunities to engage in apostolic service and to do this in a Vincentian manner.

Thematic Focus: God – Jesus Christ

Time: One year (minimum)

DEEPENING OUR UNDERSTANDING

General Objective

• To discover the community and ecclesial meaning of the VMY in order to make this meaning come alive through a commitment to the evangelizing process in the local parish.

Specific Objectives

• To move out from an experience of the group to the larger youth community and as prayerful and committed individuals to accept the need for self-formation and at the same time to engage in organized activities.
• To initiate a conscious integration into the parish (ministries: word-worship-charity)
• To deepen their understanding of the role of Mary in the Christian community and in the VMY.
• To obtain a better understading of the thought and the ministry of Saint Vincent and Saint Louise.

Thematic Focus: Mary and Saint Vincent

Time: Two years minimum

COMMITMENT AND MISSION PHASE

This last phase is more pastoral and points the young men and women toward a particular life option. It includes activities that are specifically directed toward these young adults who have been initiated in the faith and who have opted to live the Gospel in the midst of the Church (and to do this in accord with the Vincentian charism).

General Objective:

• To accept in a Vincentian manner a stable commitment in the church and in the world and to do this from the perspective of a specific vocational option.

Specific Objectives:

• To express one’s faith in the different situations in which one finds oneself.
• To come to a lively experience of Christ in the sacraments.
• To complete one’s integration into the adult Christian community of the parish
• To analyze in a critical manner the reality in which one is living
• To clarify one’s proper vocational option.
• To engage in a permanent manner in service on behalf of the poor

Thematic focus: the Church

Time: one year

One can find more detailed information about all of this in the document concerning formation process that is posted on our web site, under the heading of formation.

There are many way of structuring such program. Each National Council should feel free to implement the model that best responds to their proper reality. The VMY can never become closed in upon itself … the members of the Association are called to give live to the church and to the world. Therefore the formation process should help the young men and women acquire a broader vision of the world and the church in which they are called to serve and minister.

The more common channels through which the Association tries to accomplish its ministry of formation are the following.

• Study of the Gospel: helps the group members draw closer to the person of Jesus, discover his way of life and thus able to respond and become authentic disciples.

• Catechetical meetings: group meetings are the most appropriate time to offer catechetical formation. During these sessions we should encourage the creation of an atmosphere of participation and communication.

• Retreats, spiritual exercises: key events of the process (offered at the time of important feasts in the liturgical year).

• Encounters are festive moments for sharing with others the journey of faith and life. These heighten the youth’s sense of belonging to the Association and make them feel united as they become engaged in a common project. These encounters can be local, diocesan, provincial, national or international in nature.

• Summer activities: vacation time offers many possibilities for formation: camps, volunteer work, courses, etc…

• Service activities: these allow young people to be formed in service, that is, they learn by doing.

• Formation courses for moderators, catechists, coordinators and facilitators, etc: concrete ways to provide formation to specific groups of people … those courses that can be offered periodically and are one way of multiplying moderators.

• Youth Ministry Courses for Advisors: are necessary if we want our advisors to carry out their ministry in an efficient and competent manner.

• Use of instructional texts and publications adapted to youth: for example, guides and other publications from national youth commissions in each country as well as materials published by the International Secretariat of the VMY, by the National Council or by other branches of the Vincentian Family, etc.

• Frequent use of the Website: our challenge is to make our sites a meeting place for the exchange of experiences and materials as well as for the mutual enrichment of the members.

PROFILE OF A GOOD FORMATOR - ADVISOR

The Vincentian advisors and formators have an important ministry, that is, they present the faith to the young men and women of the VMY. Therefore, advisors and formators must be good teachers and must know the art and the science of teaching so that they can communicate the gospel and touch the lives of others. In order to have an effective proclamation of the gospel we must be clear about two areas of fidelity: fidelity to God and fidelity to the concrete experiences of the young men and women who are the beneficiaries of our proclamation of the good news. The following ten characteristics are taken from an article written by Robert Maloney, CM and entitled, Some Qualities of a Good Formator. This article was published in Vincentiana, Volume 46, #4-5, July-October, 2002, p. 427-433.

[1] Deeply rooted in the person of Jesus

This seems so obvious, but there is nothing more important. In our context, all formation leads toward "putting on the Lord Jesus Christ."' The formator must not simply know about Christ; he must have personal experience of the Lord himself. It is only the person who is genuinely filled with the Spirit of the Lord who is able to communicate that Spirit to others. A good formator breathes in and breathes out the Spirit of the Lord.

[2] Fully immersed in the Vincentian charism St. Vincent has given us a wonderful gift. The charism of the Vincentian Family remains strikingly relevant today as the forms of poverty multiply and the gap between the rich and the poor grows continually wider. The formator must know Vincent himself, the history of the branches of the Family he or she accompanies, their spirituality, their mission, their works, their concrete and effective love for the poor. It is these elements especially that the formation process aims at transmitting to future servants of the poor.

[3.] In contact with the world of the poor

It we are to form others and lead them to a fuller participation in evangelizing the poor, we must ourselves know the poor and their world. The good formator has been evangelized by the poor. She has experiential knowledge of the most abandoned. She has heard their stories and been shaped by them. His or her personal experience of the Lord is not an abstract one; rather, the good formator knows Christ especially as he reveals himself in the person of the poor. These first three characteristics might seem immediately evident, but they are too important to be presupposed. The good formator must know Christ, must know St. Vincent, must know the poor.

[4] Capable of being a guide on the spiritual journey

Not everyone who makes the spiritual journey is a good guide. A guide needs experience and training to sharpen his natural gifts. He knows the paths wayfarers tread in the course of the journey: the high roads, the low roads, the pitfalls, the traps. Good guides have fallen and risen many times. They know how to reanimate those who are discouraged and to temper with experienced counsel the impatience of the overzealous. The best guides walk with those they are forming, at times quickening the pace, at times slowing it down, at times pausing for rest.

[5] A good listener

St. Vincent would be quick to say that every good formator must be humble. Is there any virtue about which he talked more frequently? The wise formator reaps before he sows. He listens to the needs of those in the formation process. He allows himself to be evangelized and changed by them. Many a good formator has found himself saying: “I think I got more out of teaching this course than my students did!” One hopes that both students and formators are mutually transformed in the process.

[6] A good communicator, skilled in using contemporary means for engaging others in the formation process

After listening, the formator must also speak. Her language, however, need not be exclusively verbal, especially today. In a visual age, it is very important that the formator use modern means of communication. Such means engage the various senses of the students and draw them more fully into the learning process. Today films, music, computer presentations, Internet and a variety of other audio-visual aids are ready at hand for the formator.

Pedagogy is both a science and an art. It is crucial that we engage the formees themselves in the learning process so that they become active agents in their own formation. They themselves, after all, have the primary responsibility for their own formation. One hopes that they become “multiplying agents,” able to pass on to others the gifts that they have received. In order to achieve these goals, the good formator must know how to work not just with individuals, but with groups. He must be able to stimulate the formees to help one another in the formation process.

[7] Knowledgeable about the social teaching of the Church

A few years ago I wrote an article on this subject. While the Church has proclaimed her social teaching eloquently for more than 100 years, it remains largely unknown for many, even most, believers. This social teaching has particular importance for our Vincentian Family, since it focuses especially on the most needy. In fact, it is the foundation for the Church’s “preferential option for the poor.” I suggest that all Vincentian formation programs should impart a healthy dose of this teaching. It should be well-packaged, so that students can learn it and then transmit it to others.

[8] Capable of relating and working as a member of a team and of cooperating with others as a team member

In our Vincentian Family we are called to serve not simply as individuals, but as members of a Family. Especially when we work at formation, it is essential that formators represent and in some ways “sacramentalize” the family spirit and capacity for team work they seek to hand on, rather than projecting themselves as individuals.

They should be capable of working with other formators of our lay groups, standing at their side, being at their service, promoting their gifts, multiplying formation agents among them. Teamwork is essential.

[9] In touch with the various groups in our Vincentian Family

These groups have a common heritage but at the same time distinctive charisms. It is important that we appreciate both the common and the distinctive elements within our family tradition. As a Family, we have a long healthy history in this regard with much cooperation among the members of the Congregation of the Mission, the Daughters of Charity, AIC (formerly the Ladies of Charity), the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Miraculous Medal Association, the Vincentian Marian Youth groups and, most recently, MISEVI. Besides these, many other groups share in our tradition. In recent years we have had increasing contact with the Religious of St. Vincent de Paul, the Federation of Sisters of Charity in France, Germany, Austria, Italy, and India, the Charity Federation in the United States, and numerous others.

[10] Truly missionary

The mission-oriented formator has a global point of view. He knows that beyond the surrounding mountains lie other towns and villages where the gospel must be preached. He knows, as he views the ocean, that its waves break on other continents, on other shores, where the poor also live and labor. St. Vincent himself, in an age where travel was difficult and communication was limited, looked beyond France both to the East and the West and to the North and the South. By the time of his death, his family was already quite international. Today, with rapid transportation and almost instantaneous communication, it is even more imperative that our formation process draws us toward a global vision. Even as I speak, it is heartening to see how quickly members of our family in distant countries are responding to the campaign against hunger.

St. Vincent was a wonderful formator. People gathered around him eagerly and were captivated by the vision he communicated. My hope is that we, his followers, can revitalize our formation ministry in his spirit.

Like St. Vincent, the good formator today teaches much more by his witness than by his words, much more by his life than by his lessons, much more by his person than by his plans. The good formator is able to articulate deep rootedness in God and deep rootedness in the sufferings of the poor. He is able to connect the soul of the Vincentian Family with the soul of the world. He is able to express a creative, contemporary sense of our charism in shifting, complex, contemporary circumstances. He is able to look painful reality in the face and communicate hope at the same time. He is able to draw wisdom out of our tradition and express it in an updated, concrete way. He is able to stare at data that is sometimes depressing and find patterns for a promising future. Like St. Vincent, he is able to draw others to believe deeply and enthusiastically and to make their belief real through concrete, effective, practical charity.

PEDAGOGY

Pedagogy is a word of Greek origin which means the art of teaching and educating children. In the Greek culture, the pedagogue was the servant who was entrusted with the task of accompanying children, leading them through the process of their schooling and instructing them.

Today the concept has taken on another meaning and as Vincentians we are invited to look at Saint Vincent and Saint Louise as pedagogues, as servants who accompany others, who lead them to the school of the Master, who instructs them in light of the charism that God has given them and in light of their experience in life. Vincent and Louise were not theoretical or systematic pedagogues but they were educators and guides for countless people during their era … they accomplished this task with a special style and art that enabled them to teach and educate and accompany others.

I believe that this pedagogical style can be verified in the praxis of Saint Vincent and Saint Louise. I will now refer to some aspects that can be highlighted in the pedagogical style of our Founders.

--- A pedagogy of experience: This is my experience, this is my faith!

Those words that were spoken by Vincent de Paul reflect the sources, the criteria and the motivating forces behind his thought and activity. People develop themselves through their various experiences and to a large degree people are their experiences. I know through experience… experience has shown us … I appeal to experience, to your own experience … these are expressions that are repeated in Vincent’s writings and reveal the fact that experience was an important source of his knowledge and a key criteria in his decision making process and in his activity.

For Vincent experience was the privileged place of God’s revelation as well as the privileged place for an encounter with God. Experience was also a pedagogical resource to educate and accompany and help other people in their process of discernment.

In this same sense Saint Louise is noted for educating children and being very attentive to the concrete situation in which the children lived. This enabled her to focus her education on the person and thus educated the children for life.

--- Transformative pedagogy --- a pedagogy of action: All our work is action

Vincent viewed himself as an ignorant man and relativized the value of great ideas. His character made him sensitive to empirical and concrete knowledge. He saw little value in great theories and arguments that did not transform life, that did not lead to action … We do not believe in a people just because they are knowledgeable.

Vincent was insistent on the fact that the Christian life was not some intellectual or affective task that had to be achieved, rather the Christian life demanded action. Such love had to be expressed through actions and the truth: Let us love God but let it be with the strength of our arms and the sweat of our brows.

Saint Louise was also a practical woman with regard to education and we highlight here the fact that she was concerned about teaching the children things that would be useful for their life and was not interested in teaching them elevated truths that would only encourage their vanity.

---Liberating and personalized pedagogy --- concern for the integral development of the person; to liberate the human person is to love God

Vincent experienced the gospel as a liberating force for everyone but especially for those who suffered and experienced injustice. Therefore, in order to give life to the gospel Vincent committed himself to the ministry of human promotion, promoting the whole person and all people. According to Louise de Marillac educational ministry had to be focused in a preferential manner on those who were most poor. Each person was to be the focus of education and the dignity of the person was to be highlighted as more important than the person’s role or function in society.

---Integrated pedagogy --- integrating faith and life

The objectives of education were the gospel and life: [1] the gospel showed that there was a need for religious instruction so that God might be known. Children and young men and women were to be helped in coming to an understanding of God’s love for them. The gospel has to be proclaimed to the poor. [2] people had to be prepared for life, and thus there was a need for vocational and professional education.

Louise de Marillac showed us the importance of being attentive to the religious-transcendent dimension of the person. This meant creating an environment in the classroom that provided the students with a new vision of the world and of history, a faith filled vision of those realities.

--- Coherent pedagogy (witness) --- coherency between how one lives and what one teaches

Saint Vincent and Saint Louise taught their followers to teach with a pedagogy that would stimulate and encourage people … the result of such an approach meant that the students and witness were important elements. This approach also demanded coherency on the part of the formators, coherency between what they taught and how they lived … teacher were to live what they taught and in this way they were communicating and transmitting life itself. It was for this reason that Louise insisted on on-going formation for formators and looked for teachers who were enthusiastic and convinced about that which they were teaching.

--- Participative, community pedagogy (team work)

Vincent wanted men and women who were able to work with others in an organized manner. In light of the many forms and faces of poverty a multi-faceted and coordinated response was necessary (in light of the situation of poverty it was necessary to work together)

Louise continually insisted on the fact that ministry should be coordinated and there should be a unity with regard to criteria and methods. She wanted the students to become authors of their own growth and development (their human and intellectual development).

--- Pedagogy that enables people to view history with the eyes of faith --- To see thing as God sees them

Vincent taught his followers to see the presence of God in history, to discern the signs of the time. We also have to discern events and situations in order to find in them signs of God’s loving plan. This approach leads people to follow Divine Providence step by step (CCD:II:521), to be attentive to those signs in which God reveals his will and then enables people to commit themselves to following and carrying out God’s will.

In light of this Vincentian perspective [1] we have to view the poor as our lords and masters … the events and the needs of the poor are an infallible teacher; [2] we have to view reality with the eyes of faith … to see things as God sees them; [3] we have to understand that events and the needs of people are indisputable signs of God’s will; [4] we must realize that the poor and their cause are privileged signs of the presence of God.

--- Pedagogy of charity, the creator of justice --- It is only for your love alone that the poor will forgive you the bread you give to them.

Here we present the pedagogy of charity as the supreme value. Our Founders were not mere social reformers who were moved by sociological or political currents, rather they were persons who believed in the strength of affective and effective love and felt that they had been anointed by the charity of Christ: It is for your love alone that the poor will forgive you the bread you give to them. It was for this reason that our Founders taught that [1] the social responsibility of faith must be accepted and lived out; [2] charity must be organized and its four complementary dimensions must be taken into consideration, namely, providing assistance to people, promotional activity, prophetic denunciation of injustice, clarify and lead to conversion the consciences of those people who hold political, social, and/or financial power; [3] people must be educated with regard to the political dimension of their faith.

--- Pedagogy of the characteristic virtues (simplicity, humility, charity …), simplicity with regard to means, the style that was so characteristic of Mary of Nazareth

The value of simplicity is a style that is proper to Saint Vincent and Saint Louise and is revealed in their pedagogical attitudes, for example, simplicity in their explanations, using familiar language when conversing with others, avoiding elevated and pretentious and/or affected phrases when preaching or teaching. Vincentian education is directed toward the simple, utilizes humble means and motivates people toward the practice of charity.

---Creative and charismatic pedagogy: Love is infinitely creative

Here we refer to educating individuals in the values that are proper to the Vincentian message: a critical sense with regard to the various situations that one will encounter, a sensitivity which means keeping one’s eyes open to the situations of poverty and injustice. People must be challenged to create community in the midst of a competitive society, invited to reach out to others with affective and effective love and to establish bonds of solidarity with them. They must be further challenged to strive for personal and structural freedom and justice, to strive to live their lives with meaning, promote authentic human development, plant seeds of hope, etc…

CONCLUSION

If we as Vincentians want young men and women to discover, to follow and to commit themselves to Jesus Christ and his message, if we want this young people to be transformed into new men and women who in turn transform the society in which they find themselves, if we want to be especially attentive to the most poor and vulnerable members of society, then we must provide them with an adequate process of faith formation and we must walk with them as then engage in this process.

Saint Vincent was an extraordinary formator. People wanted to gather around him and they were awed by the vision that he transmitted to them. I hope that we, the followers of Vincent de Paul, can revitalize the ministry of formation and do this in accord with Vincent’s spirit.

Like Vincent de Paul, today good formators teach more effectively with their witness than with their words, more effectively with the example of their life than by some theoretical lesson, more effectively with their person than with their well-thought out plans. Good formator are able to unite a solid grounding in God with a profound identification with the suffering of those who poor.

Finally, in the name of countless young men and women I want to thank those who are engaged in this ministry of personal accompaniment and I also want to invite those who feel called to this ministry to not hesitate to do so. Perhaps this is the time to recall the words of Father Pedro Castillo who stated that when we offer others this service of accompaniment we should be mindful of the words of Saint Paul: I planted, Apollos watered, but God cause the growth. Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything but only God, who causes the growth … we are God co-workers (1 Corinthians 3:6, 9). Now we must put our hands to the plow and move forward. Thank you for the marvelous ministry that you are engaged in and for the incredible gift of your time that allows you to be present here today. May God bless you all.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Cf. MARIA LUISA MORANTE, El carisma vicenciano en la educación, en “El Carisma vicenciano en la Educación”, CEME, Salamanca 1997, 55 ss.

2. Cf. SOR MARIA LUISA MORANTE, “El carisma vicenciano en la enseñanza”, en “El carisma vicenciano en la Educación” Ed. CEME, Salamanca1997, 55ss.

3. Cf. JOSE Mª IBAÑEZ, “Educar en la sociedad de hoy según el espíritu de Vicente de Paul”, en “Mensaje Vicenciano y juventud actual”, CEME, Salamanca 1987

4. Cf. CELESTINO FERNANDEZ, Medios de comunicación, mensaje vicenciano y juventud actual, en “Mensaje vicenciano y juventud actual”, CEME, Salamanca 1987.

5. Formational Processes and Transition in the VMY, Juventud Mariana Vicenciana, Editorial La Milagrosa, García de Paredes, 45 – 28010 Madrid.