Initial formation: Divine Providence

I’m Fr Bruno César do Nascimento, MSC, and since 2018, I’ve been accompanying our formandi here in the province of Rio de Janeiro. I began this experience in the aspirantate, and since 2021, I have accompanied the formandi who are preparing for the novitiate, in the stage we call the Pre-Novitiate (here in Brazil, we call this stage the year before the formand enters the novitiate).

To talk about my experience as a formator and in the formation of candidates for religious life, I can’t fail to mention my experience in the formation process, from the moment I entered the aspirantate to the post-novitiate. I feel that the congregation appeared on my path as a divine providence. I don’t know what would have become of me if it hadn’t been for the MSC! As with any process, it was difficult to understand the formation dynamics at first because I was a timid young man and closed in on myself. Little by little, I opened up and discovered who I was and what I could become as a person. I embraced all the opportunities that the training gave me. I grew a lot in human-affective aspects, fraternal relationships, taking care of myself, and the sense of belonging in spiritual life. Growing and maturing was always a burning desire.

At the end of the post-novitiate, my formator asked me if I would like to serve the congregation in the formation of future MSCs. At first, I felt a little afraid and insecure. Then I asked him: ‘Why did you make this offer to me?’ He told me: ‘We believe in your potential and everything you’ve developed during formation. We hope you’ll accept this appointment!’ With that in mind, I’ve been living this experience during my initial training. Offering those in formation what I received from the congregation during my formation process.

It’s a challenging mission. However, I do my best to help those in formation to be more human, to make contact with their life stories, to touch the wounds and potentiate the springs in each of them. By having this experience, they can increasingly feel loved by God to love everyone, especially the most impoverished. This is an important step on the road to choosing consecrated religious life.

I am happy to be able to help in the formation of future MSCs, and at the same time, I realise the responsibility of this mission. It is an opportunity to ensure my ongoing formation. With those in formation, I am constantly living my formation! May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be loved everywhere, forever!

Bruno Cesar, MSC