PARISH VOCATIONS COMMITTEE Fostering Awareness of Vocations to the Priesthood and Consecrated Life! Archdiocese of Vancouver Office of Vocations!
Invitation If we love our faith, we will be proactive and fervent in speaking about it. If we love our Church, we will be concerned about having enough priests and religious to serve it. If we care about vocations, we will do all we can to foster and nurture them. Promoting vocations and forming vocations committees in all parishes are a priority for our Archdiocese. These initiatives are critical for the future of the Church the Body of Christ. No longer can we be content with doing just the minimum, no longer can we be satisfied with the mediocre, no longer can we remain passive, for without priests and consecrated religious, who will spread the Gospel? If we are passionate about serving the Body of Christ, we must rouse ourselves from our lethargy and step out of our comfort zone. We must intensify our language of invitation, boldly and directly asking our young people, Will you become a priest or a religious? And we must also be willing to pray and work unceasingly to foster vocations in our own children, grandchildren, or siblings, and in the young people in our own parish and school. Brothers and sisters in Christ, I earnestly invite you to bear witness to our Lord by promoting vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. By organizing a Parish Vocations Committee and making it an effective force in your parish community, you will strengthen vocations efforts across the Archdiocese. The harvest is great, but the labourers are few. Will you help? With trust and prayers, Fr. Joseph Phuong Nguyen Vicar General and Vocations Director 1
Purpose What is a Parish Vocations Committee? A Parish Vocations Committee (PVC) is designed to help a parish nurture vocations by reminding parishioners to respond to God s call in their lives, especially the call to ordained ministry and consecrated life. The PVC pursues this mission through initiatives of education, prayer, promotion, and invitation. Membership The Parish Vocations Committee should draw its members from as many groups as possible who share in the life of the parish: parents, youth, and seniors; priests, religious, and the laity all those who take to heart the Church s need for leadership and who recognize that vocations are the future of the Church. Ideally the PVC should have five to ten members. It should receive input and support from the pastor and the members of the pastoral staff. The committee should always be looking for new members from the parish community and invite them to join the group. 2
Responsibilities Can. 233 1. The duty of fostering vocations rests with the entire Christian community so that the needs of the sacred ministry in the universal Church are provided for sufficiently. This duty especially binds Christian families, educators, and, in a special way, priests, particularly pastors. Diocesan bishops, who most especially are to be concerned for promoting vocations, are to teach the people entrusted to them of the importance of the sacred ministry and of the need for ministers in the Church and are to encourage and support endeavours to foster vocations, especially by means of projects established for that purpose. The PVC fosters vocations awareness in the parish through education, prayer, promotion, and invitation. Education PVC members should attend vocations awareness workshops offered by the Archdiocesan Office of Vocations and keep abreast of vocations trends and programs. Prayer Committee members should be willing to pray daily for vocations and organize a variety of opportunities for parishioners to pray for this intention. 3
Promotion The PVC should create and foster a pro- vocations culture in the parish, giving special attention to the formation of vocations in children and youth. It can do this by: o Providing vocations resource materials to the parish s PREP and school programs and to parishioners at large. Distribution of these materials could be timed for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the World Day for Consecrated Life, World Mission Day, Ordination Day, and other special dates. o Being aware of vocations activities in the Archdiocese and collaborating closely with the Office of Vocations to support initiatives such as the Vocations Pilgrimage, the Adopt- a- Seminarian Program, the Mite Boxes Program, the Archbishop s Altar Servers Award, and the visits of the Archdiocesan vocations monstrance Invitation With input from the pastor, the PVC should identify potential candidates for the priesthood and consecrated life, and extend a personal invitation to each person to consider that vocation. In carrying out this work, the committee should be aware of: o Discernment activities sponsored by the Office of Vocations and Christ the King Seminary, such as Vocations in Progress (VIP), St. Andrew Dinner with the Archbishop, discernment weekends at the seminary, and the Seminary Live- in Program o Discernment events sponsored by religious communities in the Archdiocese Another important aspect of the PVC s work is offering support and encouragement to the priests and religious in the parish. 4
Forming a Parish Vocations Committee Every parish is expected to form a PVC. This process includes the following steps: 1. Build the committee. Look for parishioners who: o Are willing to pray on a regular basis for vocations o Are willing to plan, attend, and support parish vocations events o Are open to on- going personal formation in vocations awareness o Have a passion for promoting vocations o Have a special regard for young families in the parish Consider the following as potential members: o Parents or relatives of priests, religious, or seminarians o Religious or priests who work in or are members of the parish o Members of the Serra Club, Knights of Columbus, Catholic Women s League, Couples for Christ, Youth for Christ, and Legion of Mary o Parishioners who serve as lectors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, or catechists, or are involved with youth or young adult ministry o Members of large families in the parish Reach out to potential committee members: o Meet with parish groups and organizations to talk about the PVC. o Create a committee newsletter. o Visit with families to speak about vocations. 5
2. Inform the parish about the committee s work. Place an article in the bulletin describing the committee s mission and goals. Speak at each Holy Mass on a given weekend to inform parishioners about the new committee and invite them to join in praying and working for vocations. Display information about the committee in a prominent place in the church or parish hall. 3. Hold your first meeting. Select a chairperson. Invite members to study the Archdiocesan Pastoral Plan for Vocations, Duc In Altum, and this Parish Vocations Committee guide. Establish goals and objectives for the year. Discuss the organizational duties of the committee, which include: o Holding regular meetings during which members should report on the progress of their work o Keeping a permanent file of documents on all its activities, including meeting minutes, correspondence, event plans, and information and resources received from the Office of Vocations 6
Some Resources Sample text of a PVC presentation after Holy Mass A reading from the Prophet Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? Who will go for us? Here I am, I said, send me! Good morning/evening! My name is. I am a member of the newly formed Parish Vocations Committee in our parish. Every parish in the Archdiocese of Vancouver is asked to form a committee to foster and nurture vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, and to make this work a priority for the coming years. Jesus said, The harvest is abundant, the labourers are few! If we do not strive to help others hear and answer God s call in their lives, especially the call to the priesthood, then we will have no one to blame but ourselves when we no longer have priests to administer the sacraments, or religious sisters and brothers to serve the needs of our Church. God has not stopped calling; rather, it is the people of God who have chosen to stop listening. We can change this; we must change this! I invite you today to respond as Isaiah did, Here I am, send me, and prayerfully consider joining our Parish Vocations Committee to promote, nurture, and increase vocations in our parish and the Archdiocese of Vancouver. The committee will assist in this mission through initiatives of education, prayer, promotion, and invitation. Members of the committee will attend a workshop provided by the Office of Vocations, and will be publicly commissioned by our pastor at the Holy Mass on. Please pray for the success of this committee and especially for an increase in vocations. If we become like the persistent widow of the Gospel and storm the gates of heaven with our petitions, our merciful God will hear and answer us. If you have any questions or wish to sign up for our committee, I will be available in the church vestibule after Holy Mass. Thank you and God bless you. 7
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Suggested activities for a Parish Vocations Committee Give a short presentation at the end of each Holy Mass on a particular weekend, briefly explaining the PVC mission and inviting parishioners to support vocations efforts. Initiate a parish- wide campaign of prayer for vocations: o Pray for an increase in vocations at every Holy Mass o Suggest that all parishioners and parish groups pray for vocations every day o Organize a Holy Hour during the Archdiocesan 40 Hours of Adoration o Organize a Holy Mass for Vocations at the parish o Obtain permission to place a sign in the Eucharistic Chapel, requesting prayers for vocations Encourage the pastor or his assistant to preach on vocations. Sponsor a vocations discernment evening for the parish youth, which may include dinner with a priest or religious to discuss vocations. Be aware of and promote vocations discernment events hosted by religious communities in the Archdiocese, and encourage those who may be called to the religious life to attend. Make sure the parish bulletin contains vocations information. Work with the parish Youth and Young Adult Ministry coordinator, PREP coordinator, and school principal to implement special programs on vocations. Provide them with vocations resource materials. Collaborate with the Serra Club and Knights of Columbus in their vocations outreach programs. Work with other parish committees and organizations to promote vocations. Celebrate ordination anniversaries, feast days, and birthdays of parish members who are priests, deacons, or religious, or are in priestly/religious formation. 9
Create a vocations corner/bulletin board in the parish. Keep it supplied with posters, prayers, brochures, and information sheets about the priesthood, diaconate, religious communities, and seminarians. Prepare a calendar of world, national, archdiocesan, regional, and parish vocations events. Publish the calendar in the parish bulletin or post it on the parish bulletin board. Make sure to include events organized by the Office of Vocations. Personally encourage those who may have a calling to the priesthood or consecrated life to respond. Visit families who have expressed or manifested their openness to the vocations of their children. Network with other Parish Vocations Committees in the Archdiocese. 10
Prayer of the Parish Vocations Committee Almighty Father, You have created us for a purpose. Grant us the grace to know the path You have planned for us in this life and to respond with a generous Yes. Guide us and bless our work as members of our Parish Vocations Committee. Make parishes, schools, families, and homes in our Archdiocese fruitful ground for Your gift of vocations. May our young people respond to Your call with courage and zeal. Stir among our men the desire and strength to be good and holy priests. Bless us with consecrated religious who are a sign of Christ s love for His Church. Through the intercession of Mary our Mother, we commend our prayers and our work for vocations to You, Father, through Christ our Lord. Amen. 11
What do we know? We know what surveys tell us again and again: The main reason young people do not consider the priesthood or consecrated life is that they have never been personally asked. How many priests received encouragement? o Encouraged by priests 68% o Encouraged by others Mothers 41% Friends 47% Parishioners 42% More than 40% of priests reported that someone discouraged them from considering the priesthood. Data from The Class of 2012: Survey of Ordinands to the Priesthood, Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. Like Samuel, some members of our family and parish may have received a call from God, but are unable to hear or understand what our Lord is asking them to do. Let us pray for them and encourage them to hear this call. 12
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O Jesus, Lord of the Harvest The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. Send, therefore, labourers into Your harvest. Repeat anew to modern youth the loving invitation to Come, follow Me. Remind them and their parents that those who love father and mother more than You are not worthy to be Your disciples. Encourage them with the promise that those who leave all for Your sake will receive a hundredfold in this world and in the life to come. Console them with the words so often spoken to the apostles: Fear not. Place in their hearts a spark of the fire of love which You came to cast upon the earth. Grant that it may enable them to enlighten the darkness of error and warm the coldness of sin by fulfilling Your last command: Go into the whole world and preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Amen. 14
Archdiocese of Vancouver Office of Vocations vocations@rcav.org www.rcav.org/vocations 604-443- 3254 15