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Editor: This article is taken from a more extended presentation given on the Holy Mountain for the La Salette Perpetual Profession Month held in July of 2022.

About Formation for the Missionary Vocation

01a p 06 Fr Jean Berthier MS jpgVenerable Fr. Jean B. Berthier, M.S. (1840-1908), always a La Salette Missionary at heartWe summarize what Venerable Fr. Jean Berthier, M.S. (1840-1908) said about the duties of a formator of priestly and religious candidates. He had several principles:

First: The candidates should be helped to become holy priests and brothers as best they can.

That element is the most important aspect and goal of all activities in the formation field. Then there is much time devoted to spiritual practice and training oneself to live constantly in God's presence through short and repeated moments, often by saying short prayers.

Second: The candidates must be educated to be proficient and capable priests, priests who in every situation can function appropriately, especially in difficult circumstances, as parish missionaries and as missionaries in mission areas.

To achieve that prowess, the aspirants must be cultivated very well in philosophy and theology. They must study theology so profoundly that they become truly good at helping the people of God who will be entrusted to them. In the MS formation program and the Holy Family formation program, everything that is not absolutely necessary for the formation of a holy and proficient priest is eliminated.

Third: Experiencing poverty is a test in purifying motivation.

He saw the very poor situation as an appropriate way to prepare "his children" for the difficult life of a parish missionary or an Ad Gentes (To the People) missionary. The environment in which the La Salette and Holy Family aspirants were educated was impoverished and primitive. That creates the possibility of accepting a large number of candidates in home formation, although the financial options are always minimal. . .

Fourth: Constantly watch for the need to adapt, especially in the formation system.

The whole formation system was able to function well over many years, but presumably only because the Founding Father had several unique talents and a distinctive character. From the young La Salette priests arose a strong reaction about ten years after the beginning of his formational work. That reaction became the reason for Fr. Berthier to withdraw from the formational work in 1889.

10g p 121 Grave classroom Page 122dThe classroom where he taught his seminarians in Grave, NetherlandsIn the Holy Family Congregation, the reaction came in the second generation, when it became clear that, on the one hand, most of the teachers and lecturers did not have the skills of the Founding Father. On the other hand, the houses of formation could no longer achieve the same results.

About the core of the religious formation

The Founding Father wrote in a spiritual will on September 8, 1903:

“In any case, it is good to simplify the study as much as possible while retaining everything necessary to form good missionaries. He must be given true teaching derived from the best sources of tradition. I advocate that all study of my books, where I have written the best material that has been able to accumulate over decades of study, on what is necessary for a priest, religious, and every category of layman. I am convinced that if they master what I have learned, teach it, and make it the benchmark of their ministry as priests, they will stay on the right path and do good. Therefore, I advocate that all will read all my books before they begin their holy service as priests.”

It seemed arrogant, but Fr. Berthier didn't mean that. He was confident in what he made, and he was able to help many people. This area was also questioned by the Dicastery of the Causes of Saints Congregation for the Saints of Vatican asked about this. (This Dicastery oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passing through the steps of a declaration of “heroic virtues” and beatification.) Fr. Berthier’s purpose was to help his young confreres to have a capability to resist in all situations, especially for some problematic areas . . .

The many and complex qualities of Fr. Jean Berthier, M.S.:

08a p 84 Berthier books Page 066cFr. Berthier, surrounded by the titles of his many booksDom Marie Auguste Rivoire, a former pupil of Fr. Berthier at La Salette and had become a Carthusian Monk, wrote on January 24, 1927:

“Father Berthier was a saint and a scientist; the ideal type of a missionary, hardworking, spent by his spirit, active and very spiritual, strict, challenging, but sweet and full of love, which attracts the heart and binds souls. He was a God-owned and prayerful man, a great devotee of Mary.
 
“He used moving words, interesting examples, his faith's magnitude, and an ample supply of supernatural ideas. His was a soul of steel and a will that was very strong and authoritarian, yet very sharp.
 
“What a priest from yesteryear, like a great saint; more to repent than to speak beautifully, a glorious preacher; a bright and burning heart that explains without alarming, warm without damaging.
“He was humble, simple, hidden, more purposeful on the fruit than on the impression; a man who loves poverty, simplicity, and work very much.
 
“His character was sound and in its own right – like many saints and almost all founders – soft by virtue, rich in talent, a mixture of authority and friendliness, who shows his craftsmanship and simplicity. He owned and developed everything that made his students and readers proficient for great, special, and enduring works.”