INGREDIENTS OF SAFA VOCATIONAL ANIMATION 2

 

INGREDIENTES DE LA ANIMACIÓN VOCACIONAL SA-FA

INGREDIENTES DE ANIMAÇÃO VOCACIONAL SA-FA

INGREDIENTS OF SA-FA VOCATIONAL ANIMATION

LES INGRÉDIENTS DE LA ANIMATION VOCATIONNELLE SA-FA

1.      Trust in God.

 

The first conviction is that, since it is God's doing, the mystery is present and His ways are different from our ways. That is why one of the attitudes is trust in Providence, in the master of the harvest, especially when we are desperate not to see fruits or there are problems.

Trust in God and give oneself completely. As we know, God is the master of the harvest and we are only an instrument that He uses to harvest the fruits. Prayer is always important, for this reason Brother Gabriel said that “prayer is the cornerstone of our Institute"[1].During his life he put all his vocational work in God's hands, with the conviction that He is the source of every vocation. It is God who makes his call felt in the heart of each person. We must confidently hand over all our work of vocation animation under His care. We do not feel bored in our mission when we entrust our vocation and that of others under His care.

Praying and being patient when our work seems fruitless. The time we feel devastated, let us ask God to make the way clear for us to see well the reality and search His Will along with those who are put by Him to witness our religious call in a suitable way. Having courage and patience are the key to give fruit. We do our part and let God do His part. “Therefore pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send labourers into His harvest” Mt 9, 38.

Cultivating the positive conviction. One of the most important aspect of the vocational animator is conviction. We should be convinced first that we have vocation and we live our vocation with positive attitudes. The way we live our religious vocation will help us to attract youngsters who see us doing the same.

God has a loving plan for us and is willing to communicate it insofar as we want to seek and discover it. God´s communication to the human beings can take place through external signs (for example, the demands of the reality in which we find ourselves), but it can also be communicated through personal interior motions. We must responsibly search what God want from us in the concrete circumstances of our life and know how to live in permanent discernment under the breath of Jesus´ Spirit who guides us.

Vocation is:

 

• A creative act that arises from God´s free will. Out of free love, God calls people by name (Gen 17:5; Is 43:1, 45:4; Jer 1:5f; Jn 10:3-28; Gal 1:13f; Eph 1:3-14). God enters into a dialogue with man to show him who He is, in which place he has to be and what project He has planned for him. The call is programmatic (it communicates a project), authoritative (it irrevocably links), and transforming (it illuminates the meaning that people's lives should have).

• A mysterious event. It happens as something new surrounded by historical circumstances, so it must be discovered and discerned. It can be understood only from the awareness of the presence of God that illuminates the life of the person giving clarity and security to act. God and the signs of His presence will always be his only security.

• The human being in dialogue with God collaborates in the mystery of his vocation and accepts the call that is made to him involving his whole personality and his whole life. It is similar to falling in love in which all things are interpreted from love, but what makes one to go out of oneself and one's own interests to seek those of God. It is a dynamic reality: God calls us in every moment of life.

• A gift for a concrete mission. Man is called by God and sent on a mission that helps to build God's reign in the midst of humanity. Vocation has as an essential component human response, it implies the dedication of people with the talents they have received and it is destined to give concrete fruits (Ex 3; 4, 1-19; LG 11; AG 2, 5.36).

Vocation is rooted in the deepest dimension of the human being; it centers and realizes him in the deepest dimension of his existence; it gives meaning and value to the whole life; it integrates all his tasks and occupations; it is inserted in the essential missions of life, such as being a man or woman, forming a family, dedicating oneself to the service of great causes.

 

We are chosen by God. We have all been called by God to life, called to be His image and likeness. Vocation is a free gift. It is God who chooses who He wants. The words of Jesus to his apostles apply to every vocation: "He called to himself those he wanted and they followed him" (Mk. 3:13); "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last" (Jn. 15:16). We can accept or reject his invitation. God offers us a plan of love and we respond in freedom

 

As Christians we are all called, personally and in community, to meet, become like Him and follow Christ in life. The central section of Mark's gospel (Mk 8:27-10:52) tells us that discipleship is not simply admiration, but movement and continual change; that there is no discipleship without the cross and the joy of being united to Christ. Every Christian is called to be part of the ecclesial community and has, therefore, a vocation.

 

With baptism begins the realization of the response to His call: the people of those who are called is formed. Later, we may receive the general call to live in Christ (the call to conversion), the call to form the Church (the ecclesial community), or to be an evangelizer, according to the charisms of evangelization. The Second Vatican Council tells us that we all have a call to holiness: a call to live intensely the love to God and men (LG 2, AG 2, GS 22)[2].

What is vocation for you? How do you live your trust in God in the vocational animation?

 

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[1] Brother Gabriel Taborin: “New Guide” Pg. XXVIII.

[2] Cfr. Alfonso Pedrajas Moreno, SJ “¿CALLED AND CHOSEN? The careful task of vocation ministry” Files: 12, 13, 14, 15 y 16.