Rediscovering Vocation Ministry

“Vocation Ministry to be truly for our shared church, mission, must be viewed as a ministry aimed at serving the youth by helping them hear the voice of God in the cacophony of their lives.”

The recent National Vocation Convention renewed, rekindled, spiced up, liven up, stirred up, reawakened, breathe life into the spirit/person of each vocation minister and certainly has brought back life to the MINISTRY. The Convention’s foremost goal was to provide the vocation ministries the skills / to equip them with the proper know-how, to help them be effective in the field of promoting vocation.

Reverend Mother General’s topic “ The Vocation Promoter Today” stressed on the constant challenge of WITNESSING – the importance of good witnessing in promoting vocation. Fr. Mike de Silva, RCJ’s subject “Strategies in Promoting Vocation” accentuated on the methods/ approaches to be considered in vocation promotion. Each Vocation Promoter, he said, should learn how to pattern her life with Jesus’ life, making Him her model in all the things she does. He pointed out, “Every moment in the life of Jesus is vocation promotion. Jesus was all the time calling / inviting people to consider God in their lives.” S. Ma. Erlinda Flores, RVM’a area under discussion “Journeying with the Aspirants” gave the vocation promoters notable/valuable tips and guidelines to be considered in journeying with the aspirants. She underscored “prayer and listening” as the most important things to bear in mind when one journeys with an aspirant.

The convention did not only teach the vocation promoters the skills they needed to know/ learn but more importantly, they were given a refreshing viewpoint on the subject of vocation promotion. Fr. Peter Pojol, SJ in his Keynote Address- “Promoting Vocation for Church Mission” – laid emphasis on what is most defining /essential in promoting vocation. He said (1) vocation promotion as ministry is service and not an office with easily measurable output; (2) it is not only about recruitment or concerning ourselves with increasing the number of vocation to the religious life but it is primarily to help young women /men discern; Fr. Peter said that a successful vocation promotion is when vocation promoters help a person make a good discernment and in the end make a good decision/ choice in her/his life. (3) it is collaboration and not competition, it is allowing a serious, free discernment. (4) the central goal of vocation promotion is to “plant the seeds.” harvest should only be a follow on/secondary.

We continue to pray and work for more vocations to the religious life, but then again we have to keep in mind that our task includes, more importantly, providing avenue for young ladies to discern/ to discover and recognize what is God’s great plan for them- to help them discern and eventually decide (whatever state of life they are called to respond to).

See National Vocation Convention Photogallery, click here!