C I O F S LIST

Guidelines for formation of the friars for understanding and assisting the SFO (Part II)

II. Formation for the spiritual assistants

III. Actuation

II. FORMATION FOR THE SPIRITUAL ASSISTANTS

a. Preparation (School of Preparation)

The new spiritual Assistants and Animators need to have the possibility of preparing themselves for their specific task. It would not be excessive to have a school of specific preparation at the national or above-national level. The
material to be taught will be what has been indicated above, under Initial Formation, or:

a. history and sources of the SFO;
b. vision of the specific identity of the SFO;
c. ecciesiology and the SFO;
d. secular Franciscan spirituality;
e. the Secular Franciscan in the Church and in society;
f. Franciscan values of the SFO;
g. formation of the friars regarding the SFO;
h. practical aspects of assistance to the SFO;
i. the SFO and Franciscan Youth;
j. Franciscan Children, Associate Members, Friends of St. Francis.

b. Updating of the Assistants

For the continuous updating of the Assistants and Animators, the following are recommended.

a.Renewal courses every three years; information about assistance, about the various questions that arise and about what is happening in the SFO.
b.Reading of the reviews and organs of information of the different Orders in relation to the SFO and to assistance in the national and international fields.
c.Knowledge and exchange of programmes and initiatives between national Assistants, and also between regional Assistants, especially where there is a Conference of Assistants.

III. ACTUATION

a. Leaders or agents

1. The General and Provincial Ministers:

a. promote the interest of their own friars with regard to the SFO and the communion between the religious and the Secular Franciscans;
b. take care of the formation and the interest of all the religious with regard to the SFO;
c. see to it that the SFO has a place in the programs of the initial and ongoing formation of the religious (6);
d. in the visits to the Fraternities of the friars, and in the Chapters, be informed about the SFO and about the quality of the assistance given to it.

2. The Provincial and Local Spiritual Assistants:

a. are to be the first to promote, organize and animate courses and meetings for formation, in accord with the major Superiors and those responsible for formation;
b. point out formators, religious and lay, suitable for this particular formation of the friars at all levels;
c. take care of moments of guided experiences, especially with the friars in temporary vows;
d. seek, in their pastoral visits, to have contacts with the houses of formation of the friars, providing them with information about the life and engagement of the Secular Franciscans in the Church and in society.

3. Formators of the friars

a. Those responsible for the formation of the young friars "will disclose the beauty of following Christ and the value of the charism" (VC 66) shared with the SFO.
b. They offer opportunities for growth, adhering to the charism and to the mission of the Franciscan Family (Cf. VC 66);
c. They are to be "very familiar with the path of seeking God", undertaken together with the Secular Franciscans, "so as to be able to accompany others on this journey (VO 66).

b. Methodological indications

1. Experiential method

Use, at all levels, an experiential method: integrate the formation programs with concrete experiences followed by guided reflection on these experiences.

2. Collaboration

a. On the part of the formators:
- carry out the service in a team;
- the formators and leaders of the SFO and of the other branches of the Franciscan Family are to form part of the team;
- an exchange of ideas and teaching material is to be favored among the formators of the same linguistic area and also with those of other areas.

b. On the part of those to be formed:
- common moments, at different levels, with those to be formed who belong the other branches of the Franciscan Family.

3. Formation at a distance

- the methods of formation at a distance should also be used, through correspondence courses or networks for discussion and deeper study done together.
- it is necessary to take advantage of the modern means of communication whish offer new possibilities for forming oneself and for cooperating in formation through fax, e-mail and Internet.

4. Teaching material

The national and/or provincial spiritual Assistants are to take care to gather and continually update the specific material for formation of the Assistants and Animators with regard to the SFO, such as: sources, documents, texts of the Magisterium, manuals, leaflets, history outlines, reviews, different publications, posters, brochures, videos, music
cassettes, pages on the Internet, etc.

- Teaching material is to be made available to the educators and to the friars;
- Any necessary teaching aids that are not to be found or that are difficult to find are to be prepared;
- There is to be a fraternal collaboration between the different linguistic areas, and also with other areas, especially with those that have most difficulty in finding the material and providing the translations.

REFERENCES

(6) Cf. Statutes for Assistance, 6/3; 15; 22.