Servants of the Lord
and the Virgin of Matará

Our Formation

We want to form the members of our Institute in human and Christian maturity so that they reach the extent of the full stature of Christ (Eph 4:13).
With their works, members should demonstrate that they have God in their hearts because every tree is known by its own fruit (Lk. 6:44), and faith, if it has no works, is dead (Jas. 2:17).

Const. [195]

Stages of Formation

Aspirancy

“As experience has long shown, a priestly vocation tends to manifest itself in the preadolescent years or in the earliest years of youth..

John Paul II

The first stage of formation is the Aspirancy . It is for all those who demonstrate a desire to devote themselves to God at an early age. “The goal of the aspirancy is to help those adolescents who have manifested the seed of a vocation, to discern more easily and to be able to respond to it.”   Const [232]

Postulancy

The period of postulancy is a time of first contacts with the members of the Institute, with the purpose of familiarizing the candidate with the charism of the order and with the obligations of the novitiate.

The duration of the postulancy, in our Institute, is not fixed but it will not last more than two years. (cf. Const. [236-237])

Noviciate

Life in the Institute begins in the novitiate. The novitiate lasts for one year. “The novitiate, through which life in an institute is begun, is arranged so that the novices better understand their divine vocation, and indeed one which is proper to the institute; so that they experience the Institute’s way of life, and formtheir mind and heart in its spirit; and so that their intention and suitability are tested. 

After an assessment period, the novices will receive the religious habit. 

At the end of the novitiate, the novice will profess for the first time the temporary profession. The temporary profession will be made during the first three years for a period of one year each, and then for a three year period.

After al least six years of temporary profession,  the religious wil profess the perpetual vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and marian slavery. 

Juniorate

Upon finishing the novitiate, a new period of formation begins characterized by philosophical and theological studies, always in accordance with the spirituality and mission of the Institute, so as to accomplish an authentic overall formation: human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral.
According to our own charism, we strive to orient all our studies toward the evangelization of the culture, for which we will spare no efforts or means. We are not content with a merely superficial knowledge of philosophy and theology that is incapable of understanding the modern exercise of atheism in all its depth, and is thus incapable of providing a remedy for it.

Ongoing Formation

Religious life is a process of continual conversion that does not end with the years of formation, but must be maintained and must grow every day.

We believe that permanent and ongoing formation is fundamental. To accomplish this, in addition to ordinary measures  such as conferences, retreats, courses, exams, etc., extraordinary measures should be taken whenever possible, for example: the 30- day spiritual exercises every ten years, pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to great shrines of Christianity, etc.