Human formation

When new individuals begin to attend meetings of Secular groups or communities, they first attend that particular group or community for six months. Then they are taken into formation, a training that lasts five years. One of the aspects of formation is human formation - and that has always intrigued me. It is about personal growth in terms of our humanity - it is about our becoming more truly human, more like humans are meant to be. The individual has a mentor who is an old hand in Carmel and that person should be able to show the aspirant how Carmel is to be lived. That's the theory, but of course we are all fallible and all sinners, and formation is ultimately down to the grace of God. Sometimes the formation doesn't seem to work very well and an individual who hasn't really got it can disrupt the community spirit. The plans of the Divine Providence are inscrutable and formation can only take a person so far. One good thing is that in Carmel 'you can teach an old dog new tricks' and I have seen older entrants change quite beautifully as they grow into the community spirit under the loving touch of the Holy Spirit.