Congregation of the Mother of Carmel
PRE NOVITIATE
Formation Target
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To grow unto the likeness of Christ
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To participate in the life and mission of the Church through CMC charism.
Vocation back-up
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We are smart tech for Christ through Contemplation and self less service.
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The shining CMC charism calls young girls and women to challenge their potentials to ensure souls for Christ.
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Formation Arena
01/
A first look to CMC (Candidacy)
02/
Through CMC a glance to the Jesus of the Gospel (Aspirancy)
03/
Refreshing oneself at the mirror of Crucified Jesus (Postulancy)
04/
The Sweetness of Contemplation being at the foot of the Cross (Novitiate)
05/
Isolating oneself fully for Christ through the final yes (Tertianship)
06/
Heaven oriented daily march by serving the people of God (ongoing formation)
Initial Formation
Candidacy
This period must be utilized to give the candidate human and Christian formation. Godliness has to be founded upon humanness. Therefore natural virtues should be nurtured. A training to imbibe Christ’s human qualities also should be given at this stage. For this, attention should be paid to reading and reflection of the Word of God. At the same time, this is the occasion for the candidate to discern effectively her call to CMC. She comes and sees CMC community, the spirit prevailing in the community, and their life-style. We have to choose for the CMC, those who have fascination to this way of life.
Aspirancy
The word aspirant comes from the Latin word aspirare which means desire earnestly. A training which will enable a person to attain the inner freedom to make such a choice by oneself, must be received during this period. Inner freedom means, being made capable of fulfilling all requirements without yielding to other considerations. The candidate should be trained to accept her entire life with inner freedom in the light of faith, as God’s providence. Each one who accepts God’s call should understand that, God calls only whom He likes and engages them for special mission, and that the call is a free gift from God. The young virgin should become ready to accept God’s call, and respond to it with this personal conviction.
The conviction about God’s call, and the salvific plan implied in it, will enable the candidate to respond freely to God’s call. She should show forth an open attitude to learn God’s plan about her. She must become attracted to Christ, the historical man, through the study of the Word of God. She must encounter Jesus in the gospels and in her daily experiences. Her mind and heart must become filled with love for Jesus. The candidate should be able to make a fruitful use of the atmosphere of prayer, reflection and encounter, necessary for this. As she realizes that, training in charity is very important, she should train herself to make a plan of life for attaining perfection. The main theme in this period is a life of faith experience.
Postulancy
Postulancy is the time to know and live Christ’s discipleship through CMC life-style; she must love Christ the Lord, who was ready to give up everything out of love for humanity. This personal relationship with Christ the Lord enables her to imbibe His attitudes and values. During this period, we aim at giving a formation which will inculcate in the candidate a fervent desire to follow the Crucified Jesus, by renouncing everything, and a good will to grasp and contain the CMC spirit and life-style. The candidate should become ready to find her entire hope in God.
Following Christ is not merely an intellectual process. Realizing and sublimating the natural tendencies in her, she must become ready for renunciation in the mental, emotional and intellectual areas in order to encounter Jesus. This renunciation is to possess the one who is her all in all. From the conviction that is truly her call, she has to get ready to choose the evangelical values. In order to grow in this discipleship, she should be able to give importance to the value of pleasing God as opposed to the value of pleasing the world. During this period, we give her training to commit herself to the service of God and others, by fostering the call received as a gift. For this she should attain awareness of the vicious tendencies and attitudes, arising from selfishness and pride, try to overcome them and cultivate virtues of love, humility, patience and docility.
NOVITIATE
Novitiate
Novitiate is the central period of religious life. To contemplate Jesus of the gospels in mind and heart, with undivided love and imitate Him completely, is the goal of novitiate. It is by taking the cross and following Jesus that this goal is attained.
This is an ascetic period to assimilate CMC life-style personally. The novice who is specially chosen to tread the path of spiritual life (cf. Con. 103.2) and get used to it should pay special attention to identify her with the personality of Jesus Christ. Her prayer and life must be permeated by interiority; reflection must become her second nature and the spirit of renunciation, the rule of life and source of strength in life. The novice must have the readiness to do mortifications on her own responsibility and sense of need. Thereby, a transformation from within should take place. Along with that she should realize her exalted position in the Church as CMC sister and be trained to see her call, mission and the apostolate she will take up in future in an ecclesial attitude. The novice should attain the experience that Jesus is the sole object of her love and the Supreme Beauty that her heart strives to possess. She should manifest her preferential love for the Lord, who is the all surpassing value of her life (cf. Con. 033).
The novice must be led to the core of religious life, so that it will be clear to her that following Christ does not consist in fulfilling some devotional practices or in performing certain works. She should be attracted to this core, rather than to external structures. Through this, the novice will know from experience that the inner reality of contemplative prayer and that of religious life-style is love. Thus, the novice should be able to bring about in her a life-style which finds prayer and activity as one.
In short, through prayer, study and meditation, she must become transformed into a changed person by acquiring an integrated personality, identifying herself totally with the personality of Jesus, and assimilating all His values, towards the end of the novitiate. Each novice should have the conviction that, this relationship is not an emotional decision or response. On the contrary, she is entering into a lifelong, everlasting relationship which can never be broken.
Juniorship
The goal of the juniorate is the unfolding and deepening of the temporarily professed sisters’ vocation, by practical life experiences and helping her, on to maturity (Con. 103.3. §1). The first five years after first profession, marks a decisive period of formation. This is the period to confirm forever through practical life the time bound yes, pronounced in the first profession. This training period is to live the special charism of our Congregation in its fullness, to perform the mission of religious life in a better way, and to prepare oneself intellectually for the apostolic function. The guarantee and alertness received from the first profession are made use of during this period. By co-operating fully with the circumstances, Divine Providence prepares for her; the junior sister has to grow unto the likeness of Jesus. This is what she has to do practically.
JUNIORATE
Common Juniorate
After the novitiate period, common juniorate is the most important period in the CMC plan of formation. This common formation period conducted in the Generalate of the congregation or in a common house is a rare and valuable occasion for each junior sister, to see CMC beyond the limits of her province, to understand its nobility and richness, and to make the religious fellowship with different congregations, an experience through contacts with members of those congregations. Moreover, this is a time for the junior sister to assimilate deeply and intensely and integrate in to her life, the CMC spirituality, values and life-style, which she imbibed, through her practical life experiences of the past four years awareness and renewal programmes, self-study and reflection. This gives her a chance to assess her life journey in the community up to this time, to lay the foundation for renewed life, by offering everything to Jesus her beloved Lord.
Deepen in CMC life-style the juniors sisters are getting ready to be ready to be sent to work for the salvation of souls. They acquire good training and knowledge in spiritual life, sacred sciences and teaching of the Church.
Tertianship
This is a period which is intensely dedicated for the immediate preparation for the final yes. Six months are dedicated only for contemplation of the Word of God. Thus they are able to look themselves and see whether they are ready integrally to give themselves for God and His people through CMC. This final commitment is everlasting, perfect, and without turning back, by which they establish an inseparable spiritual relationship with Jesus, the spiritual bridegroom.
ON GOING
Ongoing Formation
Formation into the “likeness of Jesus” is a process to be continued until death. “It is of great importance that all members continue to further their religious and spiritual education, in order that they may respond effectively to the demands of our CMC vocation. If the sisters are to cope with the challenges and changes of our times, great openness and readiness are needed.
Though the personal responsibility to reach the goal is for each one, it is the duty of each member in the community, to help each other in this process. The obligation of the superiors is to make the necessary help available. They are appointed to confirm the members of the Congregation in its charism, to nurture it and to lead them to the goal. The help from the community and province level should be seen and given in the perspective of this unity and obligation.
Renewal Programmes like examination of conscience; Monthly Recollection; Annual Retreat; 10 days Prayer; Batch wise and Year wise gathering; Jubilee courses (Silver, Ruby and Golden) assist ongoing formation.
Renewal Team (CRT & PRT)
(Con.103.4) In order to facilitate the ongoing formation and spiritual renewal of the sisters, there is a Central Renewal Team (CRT) at the General level and a Provincial Renewal Team (PRT) at the Province level. CRT members and at least one sister of the PRT work as full timers for spiritual renewal of sisters.
The General/Provincial Councils carefully execute all that are described in the CMC Plan of Formation (Ratio). The General Synaxis decides the renewal programmes that help the sisters of different age and stage to confront challenges of the present time.