2 minute read
REFLECTION
FORMATION
The formation period is coloured by different things, and challenges and difficulties are part of it. Brother Gabriel F. Soares writes: “Sometimes I was desperate, or sad, and sometimes I just wanted to give up. Looking back, I am happy with all these experiences. Why do I say that? It taught me to answer my calling in a mature way.”
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The days pass, like flowing water, and now I have been a member of the Congregation of the Brothers CMM for about 3 years. In the beginning I did not know exactly who I was (‘Who am I?’), but during the formation period I got to know myself better. That is important because every human being is a gift from God, including his strengths and weaknesses. In the atmosphere of brotherly love in living together in community during formation, I also got to know the others, and I learned to accept their strengths and weaknesses as well.
When I entered the Congregation, I was afraid and shy, but after a few months I felt at home and dared to open and share my experiences with the novicemaster. The formation period thus became a guide in my spiritual pilgrimage with God. Two things are very important on that road: prayer and work.
Without prayer I don’t know what the meaning of my life is. With prayer I try to hear God’s will within me. Prayer is also the response (‘Lord, here I am’). About work, our Constitutions say: “He who does not love labour, does not have the spirit of the Congregation" (Const. I, 135). Work can be very simple or routine (sweeping the floor, peeling potatoes, watering flowers). Yet it is meaningful, both to myself and to my vocation.
On my path, I am sure there will be more challenges and temptations to face, but my faith that God is always present and faithful will accompany me on my way. Living with fellow brothers during the formation period made me happy and joyful because we helped each other and respected each other. After the formation period, it is inevitable that everyone leaves for another community, but the feeling of solidarity remains. I would like to describe that togetherness in a poem: God created everything in pairs, there is day, there is night, there is darkness and there is light. Likewise with encounters and togetherness there will always be separation, because nothing in this world is eternal.
I am still grateful to God for all the experiences I have had, all these experiences have really helped me to get me where I am today, and to prepare me for what is yet to come.
