CULTURE OF VOCATIONS IN SCHOOLS: Practical tips from all over

 

Coined by St. John Paul II, the term "culture of vocation" was born from what he calls "the urgency of cultivating 'basic vocational attitudes'...higher values." 

"Every Christian community, every member of the Church, needs to consciously feel responsible for promoting vocations," Benedict XVI points out, "especially now when the voice of the Lord seems to be drowned out by ‘other voices'"--the worldly priorities of our time. 

Recently, Pope Francis has stressed that promoting vocations is "the soul of all evangelization"--the mission of all Christians. 

Since culture means "the full range of learned human behavior patterns," here are tips on new behaviors we can learn based on several materials on the web and in books. They are classified into three:

1. Regular prayer for vocations since winning new vocations is the best way of showing love. 

2. Make people very aware of God's calling us through vocation. 

3. Encourage everyone to find and seek their personal vocation. 

1. Best way of showing love and regular prayer for vocations: ask students and parents to pray for vocations, and teach that "winning vocations is the best way of showing love" (St Josemaria) 

1. Tell children and parents the teaching of St Josemaria: helping someone to find their vocation and unite with Christ through that vocation is "the best way of showing charity" and charity (love) is greatest commandment and virtue, the only things by which we will be judged. Each Catholic is responsible for promoting vocations in the Church. (cf Benedict XVI)
2. "Prayer is the first and indispensable service we can offer to the cause of vocations. Vocation is always a gift from God." (Pope Francis)
3. Introduce in Religion classes the Chalice Program or Vocation Crucifix Program for families to pray for vocations. A Vocation Crucifix or Chalice is taken home by a family for one week, to pray for vocations for the Catholic Church, and also for the faithfulness of each member of the family to the universal vocation to follow Jesus in holiness and mission. And then it's passed on to another family. "Prayer for vocations can be offered at any time during the day, perhaps before the family’s main meal, or whatever time is most convenient." 
4. The secret of places with many vocations, says Pope Francis, is that the leader sends "a letter every month to people who wanted to pray for vocations such as old ladies, the sick, newlyweds, etc. with a thought and aid to accompany the prayer."
5. Have the students write a prayer for vocations they can say each day; or at least once a week.  When the class meets, pray together one of the prayers the children have written. 
6. Make the class recite age-appropriate prayer for vocations. It would be good if the prayer includes finding and embracing one's own vocation. 
7. Use the excellent USCCB Prayer to Know One's Vocation found here. 
8. Invite students to offer mortifications and sacrifices for vocations. 
9. Pray for vocations in the school Mass intentions regularly. During Masses when many parents are around, include a prayer for vocations. 
10. During Eucharistic Vigils, the school community prays for the holiness of everyone and for vocations. "Abundant fruits come if the thoughts and hopes of a school turn around Jesus in the Eucharist." (cf. St. Josemaria) 
11. Teach children to pray well, in this way they can hear the voice of God. (Benedict XVI; cf Msgr. Fernando Ocariz) 
12. The Church celebrates World Day of Prayer for Vocations on the Fourth Sunday of Easter (Vocation Sunday). Since this is summer vacation time in the Philippines, the school can choose another day within the school year as Vocation Day. One possibility is Monday after the Baptism of our Lord, for students to commemorate their own Baptism, which, together with the Confirmation and Eucharist, "ground the common vocation of all Christ's disciples, a vocation to holiness and to the mission of evangelizing the world." (CCC 1533) 

2. Vocation awareness: make students and parents aware that God continues to call each one to his service, and of the importance and attractiveness of vocations

1. The "vocation crisis" is really a "vocation awareness crisis," because "God continues to call men and women into service, but we have created an environment where people no longer have the ears to hear that call." (cf. Sr. M. Louise O’ Rourke) The US bishops dedicate one week to National Vocation Awareness Week. 
2. According to Fr. Randy de Jesus, the National Coordinator of the Directors of Vocations in the Philippines, among the very successful best practices that draw dozens of vocations are the following: Vocation Festival, Vocation Camp and Vocation Posters.
3. The Vocation Festival is a day that includes: (a) prayer before the Eucharist (Holy Hour), (b) talk on vocation with open forum where the students can ask priests, nuns and others who have the vocation about their life,  (c) vocation exhibit with booths of the different Catholic groups, (d) talent show and fun program.  
4. The Vocation Camp is a weekend camp especially for altar servers, with talks and fun activities.
5. Ask bishops, priests and Church leaders to talk and discuss about their vocation, and about the urgent concern for having more vocations for the Church and the world.
6. Take children to an ordination ceremony or the first Mass of a priest.
7. Ask students and parents to show support for seminarians and priests, praying for their work.
8. Make students and parents write letters of gratitude during the priestly anniversary of chaplains and other priests. Some of these letters can be published so the students see how much the vocation is appreciated.
9. Ask people who have inspiring works of vision and service to talk with the children. Ask alumni or alumnae who have answered God's call to talk about the joy of their vocation and let the children ask them questions. Other possible resources speakers are relatives or friends of students, former teachers and chaplains, priests of the diocese, etc. 
10. Let students personally interview people who have received a vocation. 
11. Make the children aware that marriage is a vocation. Ask fruitful Catholic marriages to inspire the students. 
12. Discuss with parent leaders the foremost issues of formation in the school and what they can do to lead the other parents to live according to the Christian ideal and follow the Christian vocation in their families, and promote vocations. 

3. Encouragement to seek personal vocation: in one-on-one chats with children and parents, talk about the universal vocation to holiness and apostolate and the importance of finding their own personal vocation. 

1. In 2022, when the ordinands in the US were asked when they first considered a vocation to the priesthood, 30% said Elementary, 24% High School, 21% College, 17% Adulthood, 8% Preschool. The percentages have been more or less the same for previous years. In schools, "the potential here is great!" (cf. The Harvest) 
2. Study of US bishops: If one person encourages someone to consider a vocation, this doubles the likelihood that they will do so. If three people offer encouragement, respondents were more than five times more likely to consider a vocation.
3. Conduct regularly a Christian Practice Survey, asking the students if they are aware that God calls them to holiness and deep friendship with Jesus Christ, if they perform specific acts of piety and service, if they have thought about their specific vocation and their level of interest to the call. 
4. Incorporate the Vocation Curriculum guide of the USCCB. See here. 
5. 90% of our vocation comes from our parents. (St. Josemaria) The family is "the most excellent seedbed of vocations." (St. John Paul II)  Make parents see early on the dangers of an ever-increasingly materialistic and sex-crazed culture that their young children will face, that will prevent them from being generous to the universal call to holiness and apostolate. Help parents teach chastity; (See resource for parents here.) and all the Christian virtues.  
6. Help parents to see clearly what the Catechism teaches: "Parents should respect and encourage their children's vocations. They should remember and teach that the first calling of the Christian is to follow Jesus." (CCC 2253) 

Sources:

• Pope Francis on How to Promote Vocations 
• 20 Ways to Promote Vocations in Schools - USCCB
• The Harvest: A Guide to Vocation Ministry in Education - contains 75 activities for vocation ministry
• Creating a culture of vocation in today's Irish Church - Sr. M. Louise O’ Rourke
• How to promote vocations - this is a PDF file that includes 10 tips for each for parents, teachers, catechists, priests, youth ministers, etc. on how they can promote vocations. 
• Top Ten Things to Promote Vocations - USCCB
• The Catholic Family and Vocations by Fr. Hardon, S.J. 
• St. Josemaria's Teachings on Winning Vocations

Image is by GovernmentZA in Flickr

St. Josemaria’s Teachings on Winning Vocations

Importance: best charity. “Winning new vocations is the best way of showing charity to souls.” 

More effort, more vocation. “Anyone who tries to win new apostles gets vocations. Anyone who makes little effort to win new apostles obtains few vocations. Anyone who makes a lot of effort to win new apostles gains many vocations.” 

Vocations: result of youth formation.  The apostolate with the youth "is directed towards giving Christian formation to young people and as a result, also to help many discover their vocation.” (Catechism of Opus Dei)

Doing what has been established systematically so as to get vocations. “Many vocations should come. And if they don’t it will be our fault for not doing what has been established, for not doing things in a cheerful, systematic, constant, holy way.” 

• Young people teaching catechism and visiting and interacting with the poor has "divine efficacy" and "proven effectiveness"
• "If you faithfully employ the traditional means, everything will go well."

Apostolate of friendship: source of greatest fruit. “The greatest fruit is what each one obtains personally by the apostolate of friendship.” 

Rely entirely on prayer, the most effective way. “Prayer is the most effective means of winning new apostles. We rely entirely on prayer. We must ask God for more vocations: vocations from every sector of society, from every walk of life.” “Vocations, Lord, more vocations!”

Abundant fruits by being centered on Jesus in the Eucharist. “If the center around which your thoughts and hopes turn is the Tabernacle, then, my child, how abundant the fruits of your sanctity and apostolate will be!” 

Key role of parents. "We owe 90% of our vocation to our parents."

Think of worldwide need to keep zeal. Spread the zeal. No fear. “By often considering the need for vocations all over the world, we will keep our zeal for winning new vocations enkindled.” 

“Zeal for winning vocations! Set those around you on fire!” “Enkindle your zeal for winning vocations, and cast aside all fear.” 

Patience and never stopping. “Seek new vocations calmly, slowly, at God’s pace…But no matter what never leave this task.” 

Vocations to the priesthood and religious. “It grieves me to see a priest or religious not seeking vocations for the diocesan seminary or novitiate.” 

Daily prayer for priestly vocations. “The Church needs priests, and always will. Ask the Blessed Trinity for them each day through our mother Mary.” 

Responsibility for winning vocations. “What I want to hear from you is an account of your apostolic fruit, the vocations you have won, and the souls you have brought closer to God.” 

Relevant article:

Pope Francis on Promoting Vocations

POPE FRANCIS ON HOW TO PROMOTE VOCATIONS

Promoting vocations "is the soul of all evangelization and all of the Church's pastoral ministry." — Pope Francis

There were two instances when Pope Francis delved specifically and deeply on vocational ministry:

• Convention "Rise, go and do not fear. Vocation and Holiness: I am on a mission" (RG)
• Conference on Pastoral Work for Vocations (PWG). This will be the main outline of this article, with RG providing some anecdotes from the Holy Father. 

Here are his key insights—including a sharing of actual best-practices that produced results!

Three convictions about promoting vocations 

1. All pastoral action is oriented, by its very nature, to vocational discernment

• Its ultimate goal is to help the believer to discover the concrete way to carry out the project of life to which God calls him.
• Promoting vocations:
• soul of all evangelization and of all the Church’s pastoral ministry
• close connection with evangelization, education in the faith - leads to a personal encounter with Christ,
• special - pastoral care of the family. Parents to: 
• assume their mission joyfully and responsibly to be the first vocational animators of their children
• free themselves and free their children from the inner barrier of selfish, calculating perspectives or of power, which often occur in the bosom of families, even those practicing the faith.

2.  Promoting vocations finds its most appropriate “humus” (fertile ground) in youth pastoral ministry

• Vocation
• not to be raised only at the end of the whole process or to a group that is particularly sensitive to a specific vocational call
• must be constantly raised throughout the process of evangelization and education in the faith of adolescents and young people.

3. Prayer must occupy a very important place in promoting vocations

• Jesus: "Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Mt 9: 38). 
• Prayer is the first and indispensable service we can offer to the cause of vocations. Vocation - always a gift from God
• Prayer for vocations presupposes:
• praying and working for fidelity to one’s vocation
• creating environments where it is possible to listen to the Lord’s call; promoting the “Gospel of the vocation”, working tirelessly to create a vocational culture [Benedict XVI in the US said this means "to teach young people to pray and pray well", so "we will be cooperating with God’s call."] 
• Pope Francis asked bishops of dioceses which were "blessed with vocations." "What did you do?" "First of all, a letter from the bishop, every month, to people who wanted to pray for vocations: old ladies, the sick, newlyweds... A letter every month, with a spiritual thought, with an aid, to accompany the prayer. Accompany prayer...We need to look for a way. The first task is prayer! Praying is the first thing. To pray with the heart, with one's life, with everything, with the desire that what I am asking be done. Pray for vocations." (RG) [See a collection of Prayer for Vocations here.]

Three challenges of promoting vocations

1. Trust in the young and trust in the Lord.

• Trust in the young
• there are many young people who seek full meaning in their lives
• Stay awake to awaken young people to be centered in the Lord. Help the young to focus on Him
• Trust in the Lord
• Be sure that He continues to awaken in the People of God various vocations 
• Say no to temptation that in some environments vocations are not possible

2. Clear knowledge of our society and the current generation of young people

• So as not to give answers to questions that nobody is asking
• Today young people must be on the move. To work for vocations it is necessary to make young people walk, and this is done by accompanying them. The apostolate of walking. And how to walk, how? Inventing pastoral actions that involve young people, in something that makes them do something: during the holidays we go for a week to do a mission in that country, or to do social assistance in that other country, or every week we go to the hospital, this one, that…, or to feed the homeless. (RG)

3. Conviction that following Christ is worthwhile

• Total gift of self to the cause of the Gospel is beautiful and can give meaning to our whole life

Five Characteristics of Promoting Vocations

1. Differentiated - Jesus calls each one by his name. Offer what is needed for each person. 

2. Narrative - Young people want to see the model of Jesus in a concrete life

3. Ecclesial - based on Vatican Council II; participate in the life of the Church

4. Evangelical, and as such, committed and responsible

• Start from the center of all pastoral ministry: Jesus Christ
• Place the demands of the Gospel to live radically and sincerely, to accept responsibly the consequences of faith. 

5. Accompanied - create an atmosphere of trust, make young people feel that they are loved; with personal relationship 

6. Persevering - sow and wait patiently for the seed to grow. Our job is to plant. 

7. Youthful

• dynamic, participative, cheerful, hopeful, risky, confident
• filled with Jesus - the only path they have to travel, the only truth to which they are called to adhere, the only life for which it is worth giving everything (Jn 1.35)

Two Truths of Promoting Vocations

1. There are no magical answers

2. We are called to a true “pastoral conversion” - not only of language, but also of lifestyle, if we want to connect with young people and propose a path of faith and offer a vocational proposal.

It is true that a boy or a girl hears the Lord's call, but the call is always concrete: "I would like to become like this or like that". It is our testimonies that attract young people... Once a mother superior went to speak in a college; instead of speaking of the challenge of education, of the young people who are being educated, of all these things, she began to say: "We must pray for the canonization of our founding mother", and she spent more than half an hour talking about the founding mother, that this must be done, asking for a miracle... But the teachers thought: "But why does she tell us these things, while we need more... Yes, that's fine, that she be beatified and canonized, but we need another message". In the end, one of the teachers—I met her—said , “Mother, can I say something?” – "Yes" – Your founding mother will never be canonized." – "But why?" – "Eh, because she is certainly in purgatory." – "But don't say these things! Why do you say this?"  "Because if you who are the mother superior is so – let's say – silly, to say the least, your founding mother hasn't been able to form you". It is the testimony: that they see living in you what you preach. (RG)

RESOURCES ON VOCATION PROMOTION

• 20 Ways to Promote Vocations in Schools
• Top Ten Things to Promote Vocations