Uniqueness of Vincentian Formation
Your task
- You, as a grass roots committee, are invited to join in creating a document describing the uniqueness of Vincentian Formation.
- Remember that as the committee works it may see further refinements of the topic or choose to realign its approach some other way.
Possible Approaches
Working with a Draft Document
- An initial outline has been suggested as a starting point... "principles of Vincentian Formation" as presented by Dennis Holtschneider, CM at the national Vincentian Family Gathering held in Bellvile, Illinois.
Using St. Vincent's "Little Method"
- Why should we attempt to spell out a Vincentian approach to formation?
- What constitutes "Vincentian" formation?
- How is Vincentian formation different from other approaches to formation?
- Best Practices==
- What are some "best practices" to consider?
Thoughts to ponder
Being a Vincentian, Being a Formator - Robert P. Maloney, CM
Our Constitutions define the purpose of the Congregation of the Mission not as a particular concrete work, such as giving popular missions, or staffing seminaries, or laboring in missions ad gentes, but as a way, a pilgrimage, a journey: the following of Christ as the Evangelizer of the Poor. Our lives, both as individuals and as a corporate body, should have that guiding purpose. This purpose, the first article of the Constitutions adds, has three realizations; that is to say, the Congregation is fully alive when its members:
- make every effort to put on the spirit of Christ himself (CR I, 3) in order to acquire a holiness appropriate to their vocation (CR XII, 13);
- work at evangelizing the poor, especially the more abandoned;
- help the clergy and laity in their formation and lead them to a fuller participation in the evangelizing of the poor.
In the past I have written about each of these realizations of the purpose of the Congregation. In this article I offer some further reflections on the third. Following a methodology I have often employed, I will proceed as follows:
I. Formation in the life and writings of St. Vincent
II. The changing context and some challenging contemporary calls
III. The Vincentian today as formator
External Resources
- What are some valuable Vincentian Spirituality Resources available on the internet?
The Formation of our Confreres in the thought of St. Vincent: Elements of a Spirituality
Ten Characteristics of Vincentian Formation Robert Maloney (Second half of article
Vincentian Spirituality: A Spirituality of the Poor
