Coronavirus Dent on the Formation Program
Sr. Petronellah Musakanyi( L.C.B.L) Novice Directress, Harare
Every sphere and facet of
which is moreover, proper to the institute, that they life has been hit hard by the experience the institute’s fierce Covid-19 pandemic. manner of living, that they The formation of priests be formed by mind and and religious is not spared. heart by its spirit, and that The smooth running of the their intention and suitability programs of both initial be tested.” and ongoing formation To see to it that the above has been disrupted in purpose and objective is a big way. Seminaries accomplished, a formation have been closed and programme must promote various formation activities the formation of the cancelled or postponed. whole human person. Also the suspension of St Pope John Paul II the usual celebration of in the Post- Synodal Holy Mass, confessions Apostolic Exhortation, Vita and pastoral activities has Consecrata, supports this impacted negatively on the idea that for formation to be formation programme. The complete, it must include formation programme is every aspect of Christian an essential tool because life. Religious formation its implementation aims must therefore provide a at the holistic formation human, cultural, spiritual of an individual. If certain elements of the programme and pastoral preparation which pays special are affected, then the attention to the harmonious end product is also compromised. This write up integration of its various focuses on the effects of the aspects. These aspects are addressed through a coronavirus pandemic on the initial stage of formation, planned program for the novices. The Covid-19 specifically the novitiate pandemic has negatively stage. affected the smooth running The novitiate is an important of the planned lessons and activities of the Little stage of formation which Children of Our Blessed initiates one into the life Lady’s (LCBL) novitiate of the institute. Canon 646 formation programme. In of Catholic Church Law turn this sudden shift can specifies its importance: affect the integral growth of “The novitiate, by which the person in formation. The life in the religious institute begins, is ordered to this that main challenges posed by the novices better recognize the coronavirus pandemic their divine vocation and one to the novitiate programme Mukai Mukai-Vukani -VukaniNo.77 No.77| July | July2020 2020| |
are: the absence of Holy Mass and confessions from 30 March to 21 June 2020, the postponement of intercongregational programs and the suspension of pastoral activities. The two sacraments at the centre of Catholic faith, the Holy Eucharist and Confession, are vital for those who are in the path of becoming religious persons because they help them in strengthening their bond with Christ, the one who calls them. They are the most important ways, among others, that foster the spiritual life of those in formation. The Directives on Formation in Religious Institutes stress on the importance of spiritual formation since whatever the insistence placed upon cultural and intellectual dimensions of formation by this document, the spiritual dimension remains a priority. It further explains that the principal purpose of formation at its various stages, initial and ongoing, is to immerse the religious person in the experience of God and to help them perfect it gradually in their lives. So those sacraments are the other ways by which the novices have a profound experience of God. 23
