From Monday 19 November through Friday 30 November 2018 the International Formation Center (CIF) gathered about 70 Vincentian confreres, representing 90 countries from around the world, at the Motherhouse in Paris to share and learn how they might better create and promote a culture of vocations in the Congregation of the Mission worldwide. All of the men who gathered were engaged at some level with vocation promotion.
Day 6: Saturday 24 November
MORNING: Fr. Amedeo Cencini (teacher at Gregorian University, psychologist) spoke to the group about the relation between New Evangelization and the creation of a culture of vocations.
We have a vocational crisis today, particularly in Europe. Faith is on the way to secularization; Christian roots are being lost. We are in a crisis; traditional vocation is in a crisis. Priests and parishes are the key places where faith is fed/practiced. Some vocations are in good shape: vocations of laity, missionaries who have families and these vocations are rising. So there may be a new way of living consecrated life. We are losing traditional vocations but we have a rise in the non-traditional vocation amongst the laity. In Holland laity are consecrating themselves to a vowed life to work within politics to help better the world; this is a new form of evangelization. We need to create a vocational culture. What does this mean? Pay attention to three elements: mentality, sensibility, and teaching (pedagogy) that constitute a culture.
Mentality: Are you being called by God? Daily God calls; he is the eternal caller. God calls because he loves. Vocation is at the beginning of the path and it is a call of love to God’s people; God is continually calling us. How many call you/contact you in a daily basis? Your mom, your friends, your teachers call. What if no one called you? If no one calls, no one cares for me. But God constantly calls us because we are important to him. God calls me because he wants me to be active and responsible in the story of salvation; it is not the end of the story but the beginning. God preferred that you exist rather than non-exist so vocation, being called by God is all about love. If this life is a gift then you can’t think about your life as your own possession. Because life is given to you it follows that you be responsible to others, give your life to others. You are free to choose what you wish to be, your profession, but you are not free from existing this gift of life. This is natural, normal, to give your life to others, it is not heroic, it is natural; it is inscribed into the heart of every person. Vocation is about realizing the design of God the creator. The redemption model means that vocation means participating actively and responsibly in the history of redemption; making yourself responsible. It is not just about YOU following Christ but you are following in the path of salvation for the world. A true Christian is responsible to others, you need to offer the gift of salvation to others. Vocation is more than self-realization and we are called to save others.
The second element is vocational sensibility/sensitivity. The objective of consecrated life is formation, having the same feelings as Christ. This is a model of conforming to Christ’s sensitivity. Out of the senses: feelings, emotions, desires, attractions, taste, passions, etc. we grow to be Christ-like. Sensitivity is all of these. We believe in a God who feels our pain. The ratio has no coverage of sensitivity. The interior of our lives is central. Formation is not only in your mind. Changing your mind is rather easy but every tried converting a feeling? Sensitivity engulfs all of vocational life. Faith is sensitivity. Most sexual abusers never ask for forgiveness because they have no sense of sensitivity, of feeling what another feels. We get to vocational sensitivity only if we work on other sensibilities: emotional, moral (finding what is just, what is good for me to do), human, intellectual truthfulness (those who seek with their minds, who are open to the mystery), spiritual/theological (seeing how/as God sees them, inside our heart God’s feelings, touching God’s compassion for humanity and for the sinner), prayer (entering into the mystery and conversation with God and not just repeating words; it involves listening for God’s gentle voice and conversing), truth, decision-making. You help others by activating these eight sensitivities. Every choice is directed by these sensitivities. In any young person, bring these alive. This is a question of growth within faith. Pastoral vocation does not serve our own survival (your own institutional)—that would be selfish; rather, it serves the growth of faith of those whom we accompany. Vocational catechesis is natural, real and just falling in love with yourself. My life has been taken so it must be given. If you don’t give your life you are still a child. What is normal is just giving back the gift that we have been given (what happens in any kind of dedicated life). Think about life in a relational sense; the example of this is Jesus who saved the world through his own dying/rising; he gave his life for all of humanity and we are asked to do the same thing that Jesus did; in a way we too become a savior. Develop a sensitivity to what is good and true. God doesn’t want obedient children but happy, engaged children.
There is a human and christian choice. Human choices don’t like the “forever” part of choices. Christian choice has maximum cost, there is a couage to say “no” to something; you cannot know what will be. Consecrated life is not a life of “perfection.” It is not a category of people who are “perfect.”
Pedagogy (teaching):
AFTERNOON: Br. Francisco B. Vásquez, C.M. (psychologist) talked to the group about the vocation of the Brother in the Congregation of the Mission within the context of creating a culture of vocations.
The key crisis: those who are calling and not those who are being called. In 2010 there was an international meeting of brothers in the Congregation. According to Vincent the vocation of the brother is to follow Christ Evangelizer of the poor. They want to be called “Vincentian Brothers” (Paules, Lazarists, Paulinos). The Brother is a vowed member of the Congregation who participates in the same mission and vocation as a Vincentian Missionary. The Brother lives by his consecrated vowed life.
In 2004 there were 171 brothers and in 2018 there are 125 brothers in the Congregation worldwide (-12.5%); the number of Brothers is falling.
Brother Francisco encouraged us to use whatever influences we have to help increase the number of brothers in the Congregation.
The first challenge is to change our language so that we can change our reality. Write about “Vincentian Missionaries” and not just “Vincentian priests.” Or we can use “priests and brothers.” Raise the possibility of vocations to the brotherhood where there are no brothers. 10 Provinces and 1 Vice-Province have no brothers at the present moment. There are some materials to help promote Brotherhood. Discern without prejudice—if someone is interested in brotherhood, don’t encourage them to be a priest instead. It is important to have a good discernment process for the candidate. The basic call for a Vincentian is to be a missionary; later they can discern priesthood or brotherhood.
Rev. Jim Osendorf, C.M.
Vincentian Vocation Director
Western Province USA
