Ingredients of Sa-Fa vocation animation 11

THE IMPORTANCE OF GENERATING SYNERGIES 

IN VOCATIONAL ANIMATION

Synergy is when two objects, or two people, act in the same way to achieve a certain goal. This term is also used to talk about couples and different levels of friendship, where people work hard to make the relationship work and both parties do the same thing. A familiar human synergy relates to the interaction of people and teamwork.

Vocational Synergy

Vocational synergy is related to "synodality", this means: walking and working together to get involved in the same vocational task, putting life and heart into the evangelical project to carry out the promotion of vocations. The members involved in this activity should collaborate with constancy and dedication, trusting in each other's abilities and possibilities.     

Synergy is cooperation in action. All actions that are generated for vocational promotion must first of all have the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and, in our case, with the support of the Holy Family and the teachings of Brother Gabriel.

How synergy can be generated in vocational promotion? 

It can be generated through the planning of a process of detection, convocation and work; developing a project with an evangelical flavor that opens doors to others; helping them discover and develop their vocation and persevere in the path and growth of that vocation, always with the disposition to accompany the candidates. 

Network: networking with other people creates a synergy in action to take advantage of the talents of other members, because "alone we go fast but together we go further". Teamwork, planned organically and accompanied collectively, produces energy to better reach people and to make possible more positive and correct responses in pursuit of the same objectives.

Inviting people and bringing people together, especially Brothers, priests and above all those who have already had some experience in the field of vocational promotion, in order to learn from their experiences, criteria, methodologies and testimonies. Creating networks of vocational animation with other religious Provinces, or areas of the Church to exchange ideas and experiences and involving more people in this pastoral and missionary work.

The most favorable places to find candidates, that is, the fertile ground to sow vocations, to carry the proposals and to work in synergy are: the community itself, the catechetical teams, youth ministry groups, schools, parishes, parents' groups, solidarity action spaces, missions, formation workshops, etc.

Always proposing to work as a team, walking together, sharing ideas and all the necessary information to organize projects and motivate more people to collaborate. 

Trying to offer a proposal of life that is attractive and charismatic: with living experiences of celebration and community; with a welcoming and warm attitude with each of the children, young people or adults who are invited, to build trust and so they can communicate their doubts and aspirations; in all cases facilitating the task that is done together.

Nowadays Pope Francis invites us to walk together, in a synodal way. He says that we are not islands, that we have to call and engage more people in the pastoral and missionary work to carry out vocational animation.

We must work in synergy with all the vocational animators, this is, in short, what the Church does and it is a sign of the times in which it is clearly seen, not only the ability to create synergies, but also the need of them for vocational animation.

Having created and initiated this course of Vocational Animation shows a synergy, since we are going to try to be attentive to the vocational signs and we are going to work in network to try to obtain the achievements we are looking for. Therefore, it is necessary to walk together in this search, with responsibility and a lot of desire, while simultaneously our own vocations will strength too.

As members of Sa-Fa Family we must awaken in each person the awareness that we belong to this family. Here is room for everyone and we must commit ourselves to transmit this charism and this life choice, and help people to discern their vocation, as Pope Francis said:

"Helping a young man or woman to choose his or her life's vocation, whether as a layman, laywoman, priest, religious, is to help him or her to find dialogue with the Lord, to learn to ask the Lord: what do you want of me?"