Claretian Formation

II. Fr. Martin Alsina (1906-1922)

1. The “divine pious motion”

Fr. Martin Alsina, having in mind the existence of some missionaries who are unhappy or dissatisfied with themselves and with their vocation, wrote a circular letter on the Remedies against discontent in Religious Life.276 In it he expresses an inner desire on behalf of his brothers, namely:
“(…) I would like to see you all joyful, contented, lively and happy, yet I often hear cries of pain and anguish; there are also occasional cries of some who are dissatisfied even with their own vocation.”277

1.1. He painfully observed that “not a few live dissatisfied in the Congregation. And discontentment is one of the main evils that affect missionaries and their vocational fidelity.278 Seeking the spiritual welfare of the Brothers, when he writes about the discontentment in religious life and, particularly in the Congregation, he offers a very concrete remedy to eradicate this evil, which does not consist in solving the discontentment with superficial gestures.279 It goes to the root of the problem. This remedy lies in vocational fidelity, which he calls the “divine pious motion.”280

1.2. What is the “divine pious motion?” It is not a matter of the intellect, but of the will. Everybody understands and grasps the need of fidelity to the observance of the Constitutions, but not everybody practices it faithfully and wholeheartedly.281

With the “divine pious motion,” the person goes to the root of the problem, is led to do God’s will and to glorify him in everything. And this fidelity gives the religious inner unity, affective and effective unity in the diverse situations he must go through. From this unity emanates order and order brings forth peace and spiritual welfare.282 It is not only a source of vocational joy and happiness, but also a source and guarantee of vocational fidelity.

2. Personalised Formation

On the occasion of the erection of the Province of Bética, Fr. Alsina says that means for a good scientific, religious and apostolic formation are not lacking in the Congregation.283 But this formation must be personalised, from the very first moments, by means of personal work and discernment.284

Each one must cultivate his intelligence with the knowledge befitting his vocation so that he “may clearly perceive the affairs he must engage in, make the right judgement about them and ponder them solidly and accurately.” Each one has to cultivate his will, inflaming it with the zeal for the Gory of God and the salvation of souls, so that it may love what is good and virtuous, and firmly embrace it. He must also cultivate his character till it grows noble, firm, gentle and kind, with a view to fidelity, fraternity and mission. For this reason, Fr. Alsina encourages the members to cultivate their own gifts and personal qualities.285

3. Quality Formation

In one of his trips to Rome, Cardinals Rampolla and Vives recommended Fr. Alsina to foster in the Congregation “the most perfect formation of its members.” On this occasion, he wrote a circular letter on “The Formation of our members,”286 in which he describes how our formation should be.

3.1. In the first place, “formation should be directed towards forming Missionaries of the Congregation.”287 This will be achieved if the formandi make themselves fit and are apt to accomplish what is permanent and what is variable in the Congregation.
Permanent in the Congregation is its aim, to wit, seeking always and in everything the glory of God, the sanctification of its members and the salvation of people. Also to be taken into account in the formation of the missionaries are the variable elements, that is, the means that the Congregation keeps on adopting in its development throughout the years, in order to attain what is permanent: its aim. Formation must be directed towards obtaining the maximum ability and preparation so that the person may use all the possible means to achieve that which is permanent.288

3.2. Ours must be good, quality formation. What does good formation consist in?, Fr. Alsina asks. It consists in this:
“That all members come out as good Missionaries, to wit, Missionaries of the Congregation and Missionaries of their own time.”289

Missionaries of the Congregation according to its spirit and the aim it has in the Church. Missionaries of their own time, to the extent that they are open to all possible means, always in a state of renewal and adaptation, in order better to respond to their apostolic mission.290

Without this formation we would have useless, wretched and ridiculous individuals, who do not know how to present themselves and are incapable of exercising any sound influence at all on the people around them. All members, formators and formandi, should pray, study and exert great efforts to achieve the formation needed “in our time,” using “the best methods” towards a good formation.291

3.3. Formation, or vocational development, is a shared task where both formators and those in formation have their own function. In the circular letter on formation he writes “to all:”
“And we say to all, because formation is a joint task of directors and directed. To obtain a perfect image, not only the intelligence and the skilful hand of the artist are needed, but also the malleability of the material. How much more necessary will the co-operation of the directed with the action of the director be, since we are dealing with beings that are by nature free?”292

Therefore, the directors (Superiors, Prefects, Masters and confessors) and the directed (formandi and penitents) should co-operate to achieve a perfect formation.293

4. Solid Formation in Virtue

On his return from another trip to Rome, after a papal audience in which Pope Benedict XV exhorted him to extol the importance of fostering “a solid formation in virtue,” Fr. Alsina wrote a circular on this matter.294
From the moment they enter the Congregation, our missionaries should receive a “solid formation”295 and, to this end, they should be grounded on “solid virtue.”296 It is a guarantee of vocational perseverance in the face of the adversities and difficulties of missionary life.297

4.1. A solid formation should be grounded on the imitation of Jesus. It is attained if it is based on Christ, on knowing and loving Him, on the imitation of his life and works. A formation thus grounded will be like a “house built on solid rock,” capable of withstanding all the assaults and difficulties of missionary life. On the contrary, without a reference to Christ, formation will be built on sand, without a stable support or consistent foundation.298

4.2. A solid formation should also aim at the acquisition of the missionary virtues proposed in the Constitutions.299 In them we find the virtues that serve as basis for the missionary life that the Congregation demands. These virtues are lively faith, trust, humility, obedience, upright intention, prayer and fidelity to one’s vocation; those who enter the Congregation should assimilate and personalise them right from the noviciate.

5. Formation of Character

Delving into and developing some aspects of the previous circular, Fr. Alsina wrote on the Formation of Character,300 since a good vocational screening and a solid formation imply giving a special attention to the formation of the person’s character.301

5.1. In the first place, forming men of character means forming “men with self-control, who can also be masters of the circumstances in order to go after what is good, just, fair and rational, in every place, time and occasion.”302 It is imperative to form in the Congregation missionaries of character, missionaries that are masters of their own selves and of the circumstances in order to attain the three aims of our vocation: give glory to God, sanctify oneself and save people in every place, time and occasion. The imitation of Christ, conformity with him, the witness of virtue and the proclamation of the Kingdom are not possible if the missionary is not a man of character.303 And in the second place, the personal character of each one must be formed, since Missionaries with a
bad character are pernicious to the Congregation, to the community and to the ministry.304

5.2. A firm character is obtained by means of subjection and fidelity to each one’s “duties.”305 We are referring to a subjection that is an expression of the spirit of obedience, motivated by the love of Jesus and exercised in a climate of freedom, faith and love. In order to form a “firm, noble and lofty character, as befits a Missionary Son of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,” it is necessary to form the person in the truth, in the values of our life, in the actions and behaviour that are consonant with the missionary values. In all this, there should be a central motivation, which is no other than the “love of Jesus Christ.”306

This formative approach, the formula propter Jesum Christum, should start in the Seminaries and in the Noviciate and should continue in the years that follow Profession. On the one hand, these formative stages constitute the proper ground where the seed of religious and apostolic vocation may take root, develop and grow to perfection, and the good character may be formed. And on the other, this constant exercise would form the habit, the character, and this would be the best guarantee for a prosperous individual and corporate future.307

6. Mary in Formation

Mary is an essential reference to form Christ in the persons in formation. Solid formation, which is to be founded on Christ and on the imitation of his life and works, should be attained through Mary, our Mother. The Missionary should take Mary as the “basis and exemplar of his spiritual formation,” in order to mould in himself, “more gently and efficaciously, the image and the very life of Jesus, until he comes to a full identification with Him.308