National Directory

115

ASPIRANT STAGE OF DIACONAL FORMATION

the expectations and responsibilities of the aspirants, including the wife of any married aspirant. (192) 3. The aspirant phase, which will ordinarily last two years, involves discernment with emphasis on human elements, spiritual readiness, intellectual capacity, and pastoral abilities. (193) 4. The aspirant stage must create an environment in which the wife of a married aspirant can give her consent to her husband’s continu ance in formation. More essentially, it must ascertain her compat ibility with her husband’s diaconal vocation and eventual ministry. (194) 5. The objectives and content for intellectual formation at the aspi rant level should communicate a deeper knowledge of the faith and Church Tradition, as well as diaconal theology and spirituality, and should include meetings for prayer, instructions, and moments of reflection that will ensure the objective nature of vocational dis cernment. (204) 6. The conclusion of the aspirant stage of formation is determined through a formal assessment conducted by the committee on admission. (206) 7. A copy of the personal, handwritten, and signed letter prepared for the diocesan bishop by the aspirant requesting admission to the candidate stage of formation, as well as a copy of the personal, handwritten, and signed letter of consent prepared by the married aspirant’s wife, is to be maintained carefully in the candidate’s per sonal file. (207, 209) 8. After the aspirant stage is completed, the aspirant is selected by the diocesan bishop. The aspirant then begins the candidate stage of formation with the Rite of Admission to Candidacy, which is to be celebrated as soon as possible and in a proper manner. (210) 9. A retreat should precede the Rite of Admission to Candidacy. (212) 10. A certificate indicating the reception, date, and place, as well as the name of the presiding prelate, must be prepared and signed by the chancellor and officially sealed.This document is to be maintained carefully in the candidate’s personal file and recorded in the dioce san book on ministries and ordinations. (212)