FOSTERING VOCATIONS

27- §1. With unceasing prayer, apostolic zeal, and the witness of their own lives, all the brothers should cooperate in recruiting and fostering vocations for the whole Church and for our Congregation.

§2. The Minister General shall establish a vocation program and, as the needs require, should have one or more vocation directors engaged in this apostolate in cooperation with diocesan authorities.

28- §1. With full respect for the freedom of each person, the seeds of a vocation in young men, whether educated in or outside of our Congregation, should be nurtured diligently.

§2. Students in our seminaries should not exclude appropriate human experiences nor relationships with their own families.

§3. Prior to the study of theology, students should take a course of studies which is organized in accordance with the local law and custom, so that those who decide to choose another way of life can pursue their education elsewhere without serious inconvenience.

TITLE II

ADMISSION TO THE FRATERNITY

29- §1. Any sufficiently mature Catholic who, aware of a religious vocation and of its obligations, has freely submitted a request in writing may be admitted to the Fraternity, if he is endowed with the qualities required by the common law of the Church and by our own and is not prevented by any impediment (cann. 597, §1; 643). The superiors along with the vocation director(s) should then evaluate in the candidate the signs and qualities of a genuine vocation to our Fraternity.

§2. In each candidate the following are required: a right intention, freedom, adequate physical and psychological health which is to be evaluated within the context of the candidate’s family and his affective family relations, necessary intellectual, moral and spiritual formation, and the ability to live the fraternal and apostolic life of the Fraternity.

§3. The General Statutes shall determine what testimonials and documents are to be presented for each candidate and, with due attention to the norms of common law (cann. 643, §1; 645, §§1-2) and local requirements, set the minimum age for entry into the novitiate.

30- §1. Entrance into the postulancy program is facilitated by the vocation director. When anyone inquires about our Fraternity, he is to receive him kindly and encourage him and provide information about our way of life.

§2. The Minister General with the consent of his Council is to appoint a Postulancy Director. The Postulancy Director ensures the requirements for admission into religious life outlined in canons 641-645 are satisfied.

§3. After having consulted with the Postulancy Director, the Minister General with the consent of his Council, admits the candidate into the postulancy program, having obtained the consent of the Bishop of Birmingham.

§4. Postulancy shall be for a period of one year in order for the candidate to experience community life, and to prepare for entrance into the novitiate. The postulant’s knowledge of Catholic doctrine, the vowed life, and spirituality are fostered during this period.

§5. If it becomes evident to the Postulancy Director that a candidate’s vocation lies elsewhere, the postulant is requested to leave. The postulant may freely depart at any time.

§6. The Minister General with the consent of his Council may extend the period of postulancy six months.

§7. The norms which regulate a postulant’s finances shall be determined by the General Statutes.

31- §1. Admission to our Congregation which begins by reception into the novitiate is effected by the Minister General with the consent of his Council, obtained by secret vote, and the consent of the Bishop of Birmingham.

§2. Only the Minister General with the consent of his Council may admit a candidate who has left the Fraternity legitimately after completing novitiate or after profession. The Minister General shall determine a suitable probationary period before temporary profession without the obligation of repeating the novitiate and a time in such vows prior to perpetual profession, according to Constitution numbers 32.

32- The formation and testing of a vocation both by the candidate and by the Congregation extends over the entire period between reception and perpetual profession. It includes, therefore, the novitiate and the years of temporary profession which, without prejudice to Constitutions number 43, §2 may not be less than three years and no longer than six.

TITLE III

NOVITIATE AND PROFESSION

33- §1. To be admitted to the novitiate, it is required that the postulant file a petition in writing to the Minister General, requesting admission into the novitiate. The text of the petition shall be determined by the General Statutes.

§2. After consideration of the recommendation of the Director of Postulants, the Minister General with the consent of his Council shall determine if the postulant is to be admitted to the novitiate.

§3. Prior to entrance into the novitiate, the postulant shall make a retreat of at least five days.
34- §1. The beginning of the novitiate should be a public act. It should be conducted according to approved rites and the General Statutes and recorded in a book for this purpose.

§2. After the candidate has received the habit, name and title according to the General Statutes, he shall make a twelve month novitiate in a friary duly designated for this purpose.

§3. Only the Minister General with the consent of his Council may, by written decree, erect, transfer, or suppress the novitiate house.

§4. In particular cases and as an exception the Minister General with the consent of his Council may allow a candidate to make his novitiate in another friary of our Congregation under the guidance of an approved brother-priest.

§5. The Minister General can permit the group of novices to live for a period of time in another friary of our Congregation designated by him.

35- §1. With due regard for the prescriptions of canons 647-649, absence from the novitiate house which lasts more than three months, either continuous or interrupted, renders the novitiate invalid. An absence of more than fifteen days must be supplied.

§2. For a just reason the Minister General may allow first profession to be anticipated but not by more than fifteen days, and also to be made outside the novitiate.

§3. The Minister General or the Local Minister or their delegate may admit a novice in danger of death to profession. Should the novice recover he will return to the same status as though he had never made profession.

36- §1. The novitiate constitutes the indispensable foundation of all religious formation and, therefore, it should be dedicated solely to instructing candidates thoroughly and soundly in the way of life of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word.

§2. Under the guidance of the Director appointed by the Minister General with the consent of his Council and pursuant to the norms of canons 650, §2 and 651, novices are to be trained to engage in the various works of our Fraternity progressively, all the while cultivating that union with Christ which must the wellspring of their every apostolic activity. Therefore, they are not to live an artificial life but one consonant with the life they will live as professed religious.

§3. Excluded from the novitiate year are studies directed toward the obtaining of diplomas or in view of professional training.

§4. Although some separation of the novices is required, they may, according to the prudent judgement of their Director, retain appropriate relationships with their families and have contacts with the other religious of the community as well as other persons.

37- §1. Admission to temporary profession, renewal of temporary profession, and admission to perpetual profession is reserved to the Minister General with the consent of his Council and the consent of the Bishop of Birmingham.

§2. Two months prior to the end of the novitiate year, the novice is to petition the Minister General to make first profession. The text of the petition shall be determined by the General Statutes.

38- §1. Prior to profession, the Director of Novices shall present his report and opinion concerning each novice to the Minister General.

§2. The Minister General either in person or through a delegate should inquire into the intentions of the novices and also solicit the opinions of the other brothers of the friary.

§3. The temporary profession of vows by the brothers is made in the presence of the Bishop of Birmingham or his delegate. After temporary profession the newly professed, together with the Bishop or his delegate and two witnesses, shall sign the register of temporary profession.

39- §1. The perpetual profession of vows by the brothers is made in the presence of the Bishop of Birmingham or his delegate according to the approved ritual. Perpetual profession may be anticipated for a just reason but not by more than three months. The act of perpetual profession is to be recorded in a register (book) designated for this purpose.

§2. The formula of religious profession is the following:

“Since for the glory of God the Lord has given me this grace of living more perfectly and with firm will the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I, brother N.N., in the presence of the assembled brothers, and into your hands, Father N.N., vow for (. . . year(s); for the whole time of my life) to live in obedience, without anything of my own, and in chastity, according to the Rule of St. Francis confirmed by Pope Honorius III and the Constitutions of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word. I dedicate myself to preaching and teaching the Catholic Faith through the works of the apostolate so as to bring the lost sheep into the heart of the Church, close to Jesus in the Eucharist, to our Lady, and to the Holy Father. Therefore, with all my heart I give myself to this brotherhood that through the work of the Holy Spirit, the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, our Father Francis, and all the saints, and with the help of my brothers, I may fulfill my consecration to the service of God and the Church.”

40- §1. Unless the General Statutes determine otherwise, vows made at the end of the novitiate are taken for a period of one year at a time for three years and then if necessary are renewed as occasion offers until perpetual profession.

§2. The brothers who have professed temporary vows are bound by the same obligations as those who have professed perpetual vows, i.e. to observe the Rule and the Constitutions. They likewise share in all the graces and privileges of the Fraternity as do the perpetually professed. However, they do not have active and passive voice.

41- The period of temporary vows is intended to consolidate and perfect the formation begun in the novitiate and to complete the candidates’ and the Fraternity’s experience of each other. Temporary vows are already entirely oriented toward the one perpetual profession, for which it must be, as it were an apprenticeship and a preparation (Renovationis Causam, 7).

42- §1. If a brother in temporary vows wishes to leave, he may do so when his vows expire, or he may petition the Bishop of Birmingham after having received the prior approval of the Minister General with his Council, for a dispensation. Upon receipt of the dispensation the Minister General shall issue a formal statement to this effect, indicating the end of all obligations on either part. If the brother is in perpetual vows, he must petition the Bishop of Birmingham through the Minister General with the consent of his Council. If the brother is a deacon or a priest, appropriate arrangements must be made with the Bishop of Birmingham concerning his status as regards his incardination into the diocese, and all diocesan statutes must be observed. If he is not to remain in the diocese, his status must be clarified with the Bishop of Birmingham before he leaves the community. At the time of dispensation of any perpetually professed brother, the Minister General will issue a formal statement to this effect indicating the end of all obligations on both parties.

§2. The Minister General, aware of his duty, should not defer to a later date the decision to return a brother to the world which he could and should have made earlier (cann. 653, §1 and 696, §2). If just causes are present, including that of illness contracted after profession, in the opinion of specialists (can. 689), when temporary profession has expired, the Minister General after consulting his Council, can exclude the brother from subsequent profession.

43- §1. It is proper that when a brother pronounces his perpetual vows, he should have reached the degree of spiritual maturity required, so that the religious state to which he is committing himself in a stable and certain manner may really be for him a means of perfection and a greater love rather than a burden to heavy to carry.

§2. Since in certain cases the extension of temporary probation can be an aid to this maturity while in others it can involve drawbacks, the Minister General with the consent of his Council can extend the period of temporary profession, but not beyond nine years.

§3. The Minister General, after the perpetual profession of a brother, shall inform the pastor of the place where the brother was baptized about the profession.

§4. It is desirable that perpetual profession, whereby a brother is consecrated to God forever and definitively incorporated into our Congregation, should be preceded by a sufficiently long immediate preparation, according to the General Statutes, so that it can be considered a second novitiate.

§5. Two months prior to the expiration of temporary vows the brother is to file with the Minister General a petition wherein he requests permission to profess perpetual vows. The text of this petition is contained in the General Statutes.

44- A Director of post-novitiate formation program is to be appointed by the Minister General with the consent of his Council. An Assistant Director may also be appointed by the Minister General along with the consent of his Council, whose duty it is to serve those brothers in the seminary by overseeing the fulfilment of seminary requirements and advancement toward Holy Orders.
45- §1. Only the Bishop of Birmingham can permit a brother in perpetual vows to transfer to a religious institute.

§2. A religious in perpetual vows from a religious institute, provided the permission of the Holy See and of the Superior General of that institute with the consent of his Council has been granted for such a transfer, can be admitted to our Congregation by the Minister General with the consent of his Council and the consent of the Bishop of Birmingham (can. 684, §1). If he is a priest or deacon, his perpetual profession into our community effects his incardination into the Diocese of Birmingham with the consent of the Bishop.

§3. If, however, the transfer to our Congregation concerns a member of a secular institute or a society of apostolic life, the permission of the Holy See is required and its decisions are to be observed.

§4. In these instances whatever is prescribed regarding testimonials and the other norms required by our particular law, the time of probation prior to perpetual profession, and the requirements for its validity is to be observed.

§5. The time of probation is to last at least three years, the first of which, comparable to the novitiate, is to be spent under the guidance and supervision of an approved brother-priest. When the period of probation has been completed, the religious either makes perpetual profession or, if he refuses to do so or is not admitted to profession by the Minister General with the consent of his Council, he is to return to his own institute.