INGREDIENTS OF SAFA VOCATIONAL ANIMATION 3

 

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

2.      Responsibility to be fruitful.

 

The second conviction is the importance of this task for the future of the Institute, and at the same time, the concern to be fruitful, that is, to have "offspring". God calls, but we have the responsibility to put in place the means to make this appeal channelled and crystallized. Cooperation with grace is indispensable.

 

Pope Francis points out this aspect of fruitfulness in his Exhortation Christus Vivit: " The Lord calls us to share in his work of creation and to contribute to the common good by using the gifts we have received. For our life on earth reaches full stature when it becomes an offering. Here I would repeat that " I am a mission on this earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world" (Evangelii Gaudium, 273). It follows that every form of pastoral activity, formation and spirituality should be seen in the light of our Christian vocation”[1].

 

As well, in Evangelii Gaudium, he reminds us of some principles that are valid for pastoral work and that can also be applied to the mission of vocation promotion:

 

- Time is greater than space. It is important to initiate processes of vocational accompaniment and discernment and to wait patiently for their fruits. The activities that are carried out have more influence on the candidates than the spaces where they are carried out.

 

- Unity prevails over conflict. In the vocational task, as in any other human reality, problems of different types arise: doubts, abandonment, misunderstandings, competition…. The wisdom of life teaches us to take charge of problems by becoming aware of their existence, without denying or rejecting them, but rather welcoming them. This allows us to see in them an opportunity to create communion from the differences, to get enriched and grow by overcoming them, taking into account the final goal: to make the seed of vocation germinate.

 

- Reality is more important than ideas. Surely we have participated in courses, meetings or vocational presentations, or we have read books, articles or magazines on vocational themes. Many times all these ideas start from ideological or idealistic paradigms that have little do with reality. That is why after the initial excitement, one begins to wake up from the dream and realizes that one does not know how to land or put them into practice. The Christian logic of the incarnation invites us to think about vocational ministry with our feet touching the ground, to reflect and make proposals from the harsh reality that we live, without fleeing from it to a paradise that only exist in the imagination. For this reason, it is basic to highlight the lived experience and the attitudes of the vocational agents.

 

- The whole is superior to the parts. The routine and the urgencies often make us focus excessively on the concrete, this generates tension and stress. We need times where we can breathe, climb the mountain of our life with Jesus Christ and contemplate God's plan for the vocational animation we are doing. Widening our gaze to recognize the essential in the articulation of the nuances, should lead us to be satisfied if the activities have achieved the objective (to be an opportunity for a vocational call), even if all the activities planned have not been able to be done[2].

 

Do I want to be fruitful in my work as a vocational animator?

What importance do the processes, the communion, the experience and the essentials have in my vocational work?

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[1] Pope Francis: “Christus Vivit” N° 253 y 254.

[2] Cfr. Evangelii Gaudium, págs. 222-237.