Workshops are scheduled so you’ll be watching 2-3 video segments per week.
The schedule has been designed to give you ample time to spend on each workshop. Discernment is a process, so we don’t want you to feel rushed. To help you get the most out of this program, we encourage you to spend time thinking and praying about each of the tasks and to be open and honest in your conversations with your mentor and formation companion.
You should plan on talking to your mentor at the end of every workshop (about every 3-4 weeks).
You are responsible for reaching out to your mentor and scheduling a time to talk with them.
IMPORTANT:Your mentor is volunteering their time to walk with you through this program – should your mentor not hear from you for four consecutive weeks, we will assume you are no longer interested in continuing the program, deactivate your Franciscan At Home account, and give your mentoring slot to another discerner.
Prior to talking to your mentor, please send them your workshop progress. Details on how to do this will be included in the weekly instructions.
Plan on talking to your formation companion every 2-3 weeks.
Some (but not all) workshops will ask you to discuss what you are learning with your formation companion. Even if discussion is not prompted by a workshop, we encourage you to talk with your formation companion at least every few weeks.
Workshop tasks are to be completed by Sunday at 11:59pm of a given week.
If you do not start the first online formation workshop on time, if you consistently fail to complete the tasks in the given timeframe without contacting us, or if you fail to contact your mentor for four consecutive weeks, you may be removed from the program, your Franciscan At Home account deactivated, and your mentoring slot given to another discerner.
To make the most out of this program, we recommend:
Doing your best to live a balanced, regular schedule while you are participating in the program. In particular, get enough sleep.
It’s very difficult to discern well if you are in a constant state of exhaustion or stress. Feeling overly tired or worried can be confused with spiritual desolation.
We understand your state of life might make this difficult, but we encourage you to do your best to take care of your body as you’re taking care of your soul. It’s amazing how much more fruitful your prayer life will be if you take care of yourself.
Do your best to live an active Sacramental life.
In particular, try to stay close to the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation. Daily Mass, time in Adoration, and frequent Reconciliation can all help foster your spiritual life and can make you more receptive to God’s call.
Do the program tasks consistently and take your time on them.
The program is intentionally designed to have you do 2-3 tasks per week.
Since these tasks will ask you to do exercises that can affect your spiritual life, it is important to take these steps at a reasonable pace.
Spending ample time on tasks will allow for more fruitful reflections and will help you get more out of the formation workshops.
Try your best to meet program deadlines.
Since you are being accompanied in this program by multiple other people, it is important to be respectful of their time and their own discernment journeys.
If you are consistently late submitting workshops, it will be difficult for your formation companion to stay at the same pace as you. This will make the program less fruitful for both you and your formation companion.
When you receive an email notification about starting a new workshop, we recommend reading through the workshop tasks so you can plan ahead and allow enough time for the tasks.
Reach out to our team if there’s anything we can do to help.
Our team is here to serve you and we are always happy to answer questions or fix problems.
Please contact usin particular if your formation companion or mentor isn’t responding.
Registration Steps:
Create your free account with the Catechetical Institute. Complete this step by clicking here.
Please only create an account and do not begin any formation courses yet. There will be additional instructions on how to begin formation once you have received your mentor assignment.
Submit your Mentor Request Form to let us know who you would like to work with. Complete this step by clicking here.
Please request a mentor of the same gender as you.
Please do not request any mentor whose profile is marked “FULL”.
We will do our best to match you with someone you request, but this may not always be possible.
If you are interested, you can connect with other discerners by joining our private Facebook Group. This group is only open to people who have been accepted to the program. Joining is not required. Click here to join
Once you join, we encourage you to post a brief introduction of yourself to the group. Everyone in the group is discerning, so feel free to share as much or as little about your journey as you’d like!
