REGIONAL VOCATION PROMOTION
SEMINAR
Bandra
– Mumbai
14-15 February, 2009
The Western Region had its Regional Vocation Promotion Seminar
in the Retreat House, Bandra on the 14-15 February 2009. There were 114
participants representing 12 dioceses.
The immediate management of this regional event was overseen by the Executive
Team of Vocation Promoters (ETVP) of the Archdiocese of Bombay as Fr Anthony J Fernandes happens to be the Regional Vocation
Promotion Coordinator. The team comprised of himself and nine religious men and women namely Sr.Vincy Joseph CFMSS (Secretary),
Sr.Manisha Gonsalves RSCJ, Fr.Brian Moras SDB., Fr. Vincent Vaz SJ., Sr.Gracy George SMI, Sr.Shalom CSST., Sr.Lawrencia Pereira
PSOL, Sr.Amala SJT and Sr. Sneha A. Vaz FC.
The theme of the seminar was - Vocation
Promotion: Mission and Challenge.
Bishop
Bosco Penha inaugurated the Seminar and gave the key note address. He first congratulated the ETVP and in his address he shared
his own calling. He urged the Vocation Promoters to be: happy and joyful witness
and show the human face of Christ. We first need to listen to the youth, to parents and to their difficulties and help them
to rely on Christ. He mentioned that every catholic is a vocation promoter.
Fr.
Gilbert gave us an enlightening talk on the Theological Perspectives of Mission in India
Today. He stressed that our mission needs to be context sensitive, based on
the life and mission of Jesus. In the ultimate analysis’ in order to respond generously to the call to proclaim Jesus
Christ in mission, we need to recognize the primacy of the experience of the Risen Christ. It is precisely from this personal
encounter with the Risen Lord that a fresh impetus to mission will surely emerge today. The litmus test therefore of our missionary
identity in this country of mysticism, is the quality of our witness (Jn 13, 13-16). We recall the challenging invitation
of Pope Paul VI, “our generation listens more willingly to witness than to teachers” (EN41)
Truly the evangelizer who
lives a life of service and is prepared to give up his/her life for the Gospel, is the most powerful witness! That is the
caliber of persons that are needed today, only these persons can awaken an apathetic
society to a new life. It is also important to remember that since Baptism makes everyone participate in the mission of Christ,
today, more than ever before there is the need to awaken the entire catholic community to the missionary vocation of each
and everyone. Without the active involvement of the laity, the Church cannot adequately fulfill her mission in the world.
Facing the new challenges of the Asian continent, we find inspiration and strength in the words of the Risen Lord; “As
the father has sent me so I send you” (Jn, 20:21, for indeed, “I am with you always, to the close of the age”
(Mt 28:20). Further quoting Pope Paul VI he said, we should move from a ‘Church
centered mission to a mission centered Church’. As vocation promoters we need to understand this context before
inviting young men and women to become priests or religious.
Fr.
Vincent Pereira spoke of the Psycho-Spiritual Aspects of Vocation Promotion amidst
numerous examples and good humour. He cautioned the group against manipulation of situations to suit ones own desires under
the pretext of it being God’s will. He spoke of the subtle script messages/injunctions
that we have acquired since our childhood particularly between the age of 0 to 6 years e.g. “become a priest or sister
and you will be secure.” No expression to feeling and to sexuality which backfires in later years. He cautioned us on
the possibility of ‘brain washing’ people regarding vocations to priesthood and religious life. A vocation freely
chosen makes you passionate and gives meaning to your entire existence.
Fr.
Cletus D’souza sdb spoke on Approaching Youth for Vocations. The introduction
to this topic was through an enjoyable and symbolic Emmaus interactive walk and an effective power-point presentation on the
culture of death. Following this he
urged that through vocation promotion we should bring about the culture of life
(Jn 10:10).
Explaining
the word YOUTH.
Y- Yes to life,
O -Other centered,
U -Unity and integration,
T- Trusting the youth and
H-Heroes and Heroines.
He said
we must understand the cries and crisis of FAITH, HOPE and LOVE that the youth are facing. To help the youth be ‘on line’ be a ‘peoples person.’ Be in touch
with the lingo of the youth. The vocation promoter is to be on fire with a sense of mission and offer HOPE: Happiness, Optimism,
Patience and Enthusiasm.
Fr Anthony
J Fernandes session on Creative Role in Facilitating Vocations gave us some practical
points. After the movie: Ambassadors for
Christ, three youth were invited to share how the youth of today perceive priesthood and religious life.The youth questioned
the group... How can priest preach on topics relating to marriage, when they have no experience? They suggested that priests
should be married. The dressing patterns of the sisters should change i.e. habit/sarees were not practical. There seems to
be no fun opportunities in religious life. Priests and sisters should be more outgoing and friendly. Sisters should not pray
all the time but instead be with the people. They should be given a chance to follow their dreams and take up careers in life.
Appropriate answers were given.
To the
question on: Why are religious vocations declining?? Parents do not encourage, want to see their grand-children, they want
a career for their child. World is ruled by money and youth looks for money. Religious life looks down upon this. Getting
up early, no cell phone, no freedom, over emphasis on prayer... Priests and sisters express different attitudes. Some are
approachable others are strict, disciplined, non joyful etc. The interaction with the youth was highly commendable
He then
gave practical tips some of which are: Holy Hours/prayers for Vocations, taking the help of laity, making good use of Vocation
Sunday, organizing retreats, camps and visits to a seminary/convent and social institution, using Mass Media - making a movie
on the congregation, preparing colourful posters and banners with catchy phrases. Making use of internet social networking
and free SMS.
The
session on Free to Love Like Jesus by Sr. Shanti Fernandes Rscj was quite enlightening.
We are the face of the congregation and the church and so we need to be effective in the role of vocation promotion. For us
to love is not a choice but a command to love and a condition - as Jesus loved.
Freedom
is to become oneself; able to make choices; consistent with who one is and with ones fundamental call. Is it possible to love
if we are not free? What made Jesus love? Jesus knew who he was and the purpose of his life. He was secure in his personal
identity. If we are in touch with our inner truth, we would be free to love like Jesus. Jesus related to each one from the
core of his being and he was able to touch and penetrate the core of others.
Love
has a transforming power. At times we confine ourselves to our narrowest identity. We tend to narrow our perspective and deny
all our expansive identities. In order to be free to love we need to become aware and accept our larger identities seeing
them as gifts and our resources.
Sex
is the most dishonoured word, however it is the sacred expression of ones deepest need of communication or contact at various
levels, namely spiritual, emotional, mental, physical, in order to fulfill ones personality. The only way to grow up is through
our sexuality. In all our interactions, we need to be aware of our boundaries. We can detect certain characteristics of aggressive,
assertive and non assertive persons. We may indulge in intimacy which is the capacity to gift oneself in love without the
fear of losing oneself. We need to reclaim the unity and complimentality of spirituality and sexuality.
The
session by Jaime and Ligia da Fonseca on Role of Family in Vocation Promotion
was also quite interesting. They spelt out the characteristics of a
Christian
Family. We as priests and religious need to understand this since vocations depend a lot on the family.
a Jesus is the Lord of the home:
Everything in it most clearly
glorify the Lord: decorations, speech, music, entertainment, books, media, etc.
b Constant
conversion to Christian values and relationships
A personal conversion to
Christ ought to be seen concretely in the way the family lives, and in the way the members of the family relate with each
other and other people. Where is the place of money? What are the priorities of the family? How does the family use its time?
Where is it going?
c Unity and orders prevails
through the faithful observance of the Christian roles of men and women (God’s
governmental provision for family)
God created men different
from women. Complementarity rather than competition is the rule: man in the role of providing, protecting and governing: women
in the role of helpmate and partner. Cite: Gen.2:18/1 Cor. 11:3/ Eph. 5:22
d The family is properly connected with the larger segment of the church.
Family life renewal cannot
take effectively unless the renewal of a larger segment takes place. A family cannot sustain itself unless other families
support them.
They
highlighted the media affecting all areas of life, right from the womb. With personal examples of their own family life they
showed us how family values and spirituality go hand in hand. The task of building a strong family is a God given task and
it requires God given efforts. They ended with the Psalm 127 Verse 1: Unless the Lord builds the house we work in vain. The
session was elucidated by a power presentation on family spirituality. Good vocations will come from God centered families.
Fr Patrick
D’Mello spoke of Principles of Personal Vision of a Vocation Promoter. The
first part was a personal mission statement writing workshop. We were helped to
prepare the Seminar Mission Statement, through brainstorming and group sharing. The
final vision mission statement reads thus:
IN LOVE
WITH JESUS, THROUGH A JOYFUL WITNESS, WE EMPOWER YOUTH TO DISCERN GOD’S CALL.
