The situation and condition of our present age have indeed influenced the commitments of young people to respond and live their vocation. Modern lives are offering lots of attractive choices and easiness that challenge young people’s perseverance to hold their commitment to vocation.
To understand formandi clearly and deeply as products of the present age has become an urgent and important call for formators to reform and develop their self-qualities. At the same time, there is a need to thoroughly find out the concrete ways that should be taken to revise the present formation system and process (i.e. short term and long term). Moreover, in order for formators to deal with the complexity of the problems using their own strengths and limitations, it is important and urgent to think of some concrete ideas that encourage the spirit of work among the formators as a good team, including intra-entity and inter-entity.
Under these circumstances, the recent Indonesian province formators’ meeting, which took place at the Good Shepherd’s House in Gisting, Lampung, on 6-8 January 2015, had a theme ‘To Understand Formandi As a Product of This Time’. The biennial meeting was attended by the Provincial Superior, Fr. Andreas Madya Sriyanto SCJ and the formators of Scholasticate, Postulate-Noviciate, Junior Seminary, the Pastoral programmes directors, the SCJ brothers’ coordinator, and the coordinator of the vocation promoters. 
In the opening mass of the meeting, Fr. Priyo SCJ, the formation commission supervisor, stated the importance of having the same ‘shoes’, which means the right and same methods to help formandi grow according to their time. The Scholasticate’s rector also mentioned that the main formator is the Holy Spirit that all formators should unite themselves with the Holy Spirit.
Fr. Yulius Sunardi SCJ underlined the vocation commitment, its factors, and some insights for formators. The recently graduated clinical psychologist also delivered some suggestions regarding the generation gap. According to him, the generation gap is important and necessary for formation. It should be noted here, however, to what extent the formators should go back to the starting point of formandi so that both can walk together to reach the target point.
Another input from Fr. Andreas Madya SCJ, the Provincial Superior once again emphasised the importance of understanding formandi as the product of this time. Formators, he said, should direct them with heart because they are not blank papers or clay, they have already had the shapes and cores based on their era and they are called by God. Next, Fr. Madya suggested the challenge that the Indonesian province has to face, in particular its international involvement.
Finally, the meeting issued a number of recommendations for the province, the formation commission and all formators. A mass was celebrated in the postulate-noviciate’s chapel to close the meeting, which was also attended by the postulants and novices.
