Franciscan Handmaids of the Good Shepherd
Mary Immaculate Convent, Thamarassery
Formation has the goal to help the candidate to grow into holiness and to become an integrated person. Our congregation considers as its utmost commitment, promoting and fostering in its members the integral development of the person by means of a religious, apostolic, doctrinal and professional formation adequate to the aims it professes and to the time, which are lived in the Church and the society.
STAGES IN INITIAL FORMATION
After having examined the required certificates, in consultation with the local fraternity and after seeking the approval of her council, the Provincial Superior accepts the candidates for the ‘come and see’ programs. The different stages of formation are as follows: Pre-Postulancy, Postulancy, Novitiate and Juniorate.
- Come and See
Goal;
To discern the vocation of the young woman to consecrated life.
To promote the growth in Christian faith
To acquire a preliminary knowledge of FHGS
- Pre-Postulancy
The congregation willingly accepts the young girls who, by divine inspiration, wish to attain this, share our ideal of consecrated life. In this, we follow the prescriptions of the Church and our legislation prudently and diligently. The formator is expected to accompany the candidate and discerning together with her, to adapt herself to our life-style, keeping in mind also the requirements of physical and psychic health.
Goal:
Develop a filial relationship with God,
Foster the human and Christian formation for the pre- postulant
Enable the pre-postulant to have greater familiarity with the FHGS charism
Assist her in the process of the discernment of her vocation
- Postulancy
The postulancy inserts the candidate into our religious family. It is the duty of the formatter of this period to accompany the postulant in her spiritual and human growth as it unfolds in the fraternal and apostolic life. Towards the end of this period, to consult with the community, The Provincial and the Council evaluates the report presented by Formator on the response and ability of postulant to live in the community according to the Charism.
Goal;
Acquire the readiness to renounce everything to become a disciple of Jesus Christ.
- Novitiate
The Novitiate is the time of initiation to religious life. The Candidate is accompanied progressively, in the knowledge, in the experience of faith and in assuming the evangelical and Franciscan values according to the style of our religious family. The Novices, docile to the action of spirit, accept in their heart’ God’s love.
Goal;
Led by the Holy Spirit and following the footsteps of St. Francis, acquire the readiness to renounce all possessions in order to be united with Jesus the crucified.
- Juniorate
The juniorate is a time of formation during which the religious, after having received the grace to profess publicly the evangelical counsels, continues her human and spiritual path, of offering herself to God and His people in the daily experience of living the vowed life. Being inserted into the community now she gradually learns to carry out responsible the apostolic commitments entrusted to her.
Goal
To grow in holiness as an FHGS sister, attaining maturity by integrating prayer life, community life and Apostolic life with a view to prepare herself for the perpetual vow and enabling herself to dedicate for the service of the church.