Fraternal Correction: the experience of a community

Fraternal Correction as a “special gift” from our confreres

I would like to share my own experience dealing with fraternal correction as a special gift from our confreres. For the past five years, I have been a formator in the community of Pre-novitiate, Jakarta, Indonesia and I am continuing my service. We normally do the fraternal correction twice a year. The first one is done in the end of September. This aims at knowing each other better since the candidates have been living in the community for almost three months. The second one is made during the Lenten Season, so that they will get the result exactly during Easter time.

We want to underline the meaning of the correction itself as “a special gift” from our confreres, just as Jesus Christ is a special gift for humanity. It is really true that fraternal correction is paramount to foster one’s growth toward a certain level of holiness and maturity. I found out this “truth” during the regular interviews with the candidates. Almost all of them say that through fraternal correction they grow intensively in their human and spiritual-vocational journey.          

Love our confreres: the foundation of Fraternal Correction

Within the basic formation of religious life, the community functions as a vital instrument of formation. Community is not just a group of people who live out their vocational life individually, since each person must walk together with other confreres, help each other in love and charity. Fraternal correction (Correctio Fraterna) is one of the significant tools in a formation community. Each one is truly aware of his own responsibility, of his own growth and also responsible for other confreres in love and charity. In the Gospel of Matthew, 18: 15-20, Jesus teaches us about "how to give advice to fellow brothers who have done wrong". He speaks of our "brother," the person close to us, and of our responsibility before Him. For some, it is not an easy task! Some of us would say: Why should I say something to my brother? Why should I jeopardize our friendship? Why should I risk losing the harmony between us? Wouldn't it be easier to … let it be? The fact is, that we don't allow it. We may not speak to him directly about it; however, we easily run to other people to gossip about it. Yes, because gossiping is a sin not only when we tell lies about other people, but also when we tell the truth about others, if that truth destroys their good name and reputation. Love is the main reason not to let our brothers get lost and eventually perish. 

Fraternal correction: Serious matter but enjoyable

Personal encounter assumes honesty and openness to know and to be known by others. Openness always requires sacrifice; a courageous attitude to somehow become vulnerable. Within our formation communities, where the members are mostly millennial generation, we need certain “creativity” to do the fraternal correction as “a serious matter” but “enjoyable”. The sense of friendship among this generation is very solid. This generation will be very responsible if we challenge them properly and appreciate them in an authentic way. They will accept gladly our suggestion as long as we trust them and they are fully involved in the process. They must be involved fully in the process. We challenge them to be more responsible and we appreciate what they have done, then the fraternal correction will be “serious but enjoyable”.

Here are some of the “tips” about what we have done so far:

1. Show the candidates what fraternal correction is all about!Fraternal correction first of all is not only to show the weak and negative sides of our confreres but also to show the sides through which I know personally my confreres. So, fraternal correction with a “narrative model” is highly recommended. How to do it? Tell a little bit more about your confreres, to the extent to which you know your confreres, the positive sides and the sides that need to be developed in their lives. It is not such an exaggeration but an “objective one” as long as you know them. Just as St. Paul, when writing his letter begins with greetings, sometimes praise the people, then goes to the important points to tell, so also fraternal correction is made by considering the correct choice of words to our confreres. Correctly formulated corrections will be easily accepted by our confreres. Likewise, showing the positive sides of friends will be a developing affirmation. Harsh criticism will only have worse consequences for our confreres.
2. Take some moment of prayer!Fraternal Correction must be made in a moment of prayer. This is mandatory as special time to involve God in our efforts to give input to our confreres. Without God, there is a danger that our input will be very judgmental and loses its fraternal aspect. A moment of prayer is meant as a “holy time” when we take a moment of silence to involve the Holy Spirit in our judgment. 
3. Make it simple!We usually take one week to provide an adequate time for each one to start giving an input to every confrere. Everyone has his own envelope that is put on the desk. Each person has to give corrections to each confrere in a piece of paper and put the corrections in each confrere’s envelope. Don’t open the envelopes before “all” has been done! The envelopes will be opened together at the fixed time agreed by the whole community.
4. Evaluate the correction!Keep in mind that the results of corrections are not the whole picture of yourself, so input from friends must be judged wisely. If necessary, we can also ask for clarification to our confreres without spirit of antagonism. Inputs from friends are always important, as a form of their responsibility towards me. So, one should avoid these two extreme attitudes: becoming restless because of the false vision of self: "I am what people say about myself" and ignoring completely the inputs from friends labelling them as "useless". The results of the corrections need to be taken seriously as an important input in cultivating our maturity and holiness. In this case, we receive the results as "special gifts” from our confreres.
5. Be humble!If the candidates are well prepared and informed, they will be ready to give the correction in humility and accept the corrections as "special gifts" from other confreres.
6. Thanks be to God! Yes, you can do it! Great! As formator, don’t forget to give the appreciation to the candidates right after the fraternal correction is done! This will provide them a positive understanding of fraternal correction for the next stage of their formation journey.

Fraternal correction and personal project of life

Finally, the results of the fraternal correction will be a very helpful and useful instrument for each candidate in the planning and writing of his personal project of life. By reflecting on the results of this Gospel activity, each one gets useful inputs on what to improve and develop in his own human maturity and spiritual journey. Of course, for the Personal project of Life activity, each candidate still needs deep personal reflection and the input from the formator.

Fr. Yohanes Leonardus Suharno S.X.
Bintaro, February 2021