General principles of pastoral work for vocations

26. It has been highlighted from different parts that we need to give a clear vocational stamp to pastoral work. To attain this programmatic objective we shall delineate certain theoretical-practical principles, which we deduce from pastoral theology and, in particular, from the "points of reference" connected to it. We shall concentrate these principles around some thematic affirmations.

a) Pastoral work for vocations is the original perspective of general pastoral work

The Instrumentum laboris of the Congress explicitly affirms this: "All pastoral work, and especially that with young people, is intrinsically vocational";(⁶⁹) in other words, to speak of vocation means speaking of the constitutive and essential dimension of ordinary pastoral work, because pastoral work, from its beginnings and by its very nature, is orientated towards vocational discernment. This is a service offered to every person, so that they might discover the way towards the realisation of a life project as God wants it, according to the needs of the Church and the world of today.(⁷⁰)

This was already said at the Latin American Congress on vocations in 1994.

However, the perspective is being enlarged: vocation is not only the existential project, but rather all the individual calls of God are, evidently always related in a fundamental life plan, spread over the whole of one's existence. Authentic pastoral work makes the creature vigilant, attentive to the many calls of the Lord, ready to hear His voice and respond to it.

It is precisely fidelity to this type of daily call that makes the young person, today, capable of recognising and welcoming "the call" of his life, and makes the adult of tomorrow not only capable of being faithful to it, but of discovering again and again its freshness and beauty. In fact, every vocation is "daily", is the response every morning to an appeal made anew every day.

Therefore pastoral work shall be permeated by vocational attention, to awaken it in every creature; it will begin with the explicit intention of placing the believer before the proposal of God; it will be used to provoke in the subject the assumption of responsibility in the order of the gift received or the Word of God that has been heard; in fact it will seek to lead the believer to commit himself before God.(⁷¹)

b) Pastoral work for vocations is the vocation of pastoral work today

In this sense it can really be said that we must "vocationalise" the whole of pastoral work, or do it in such a way that every expression of pastoral work might express in a clear and unequivocal way a project or a gift of God to the person, and stimulate in the same person a desire to respond and become personally involved. Either Christian pastoral work leads to this confrontation with God, with all that this implies in terms of tension, of dispute, at times of flight or refusal, but also of peace and joy related to the welcoming of the gift, or it does not merit the name.

Today this manifests itself in a very particular way, to the point of being able to affirm that pastoral work for vocations is the vocation of pastoral work: it is perhaps its principal objective, as a challenge for the faith of the Churches of Europe. Vocation is the serious case of present day pastoral work.

And then, if pastoral work in general is "called" and directed towards this challenge, it must probably be more courageous and frank, more explicit in going to the centre and heart of the message-proposal, more directed towards the person and not only to the group, more made up of concrete involvement and not of vague calls to an abstract faith which is far from life.

Perhaps it should also be a pastoral work that is more pro-vocative than consoling; capable, in any case, of transmitting the dramatic sense of the life of man, called to do something that no-one else can do in his place.

In the passage we have quoted, this vocational attention and tension is evident: in the choice of Matthias, in Peter's courageous address to the crowd, in the way in which the Christian message is proclaimed and received ("to the heart").

Above all it appears clear in its ability to change the lives of those who adhere to it, as can be seen from the conversions and the type of life of the community of Acts.

c) Pastoral work for vocations is gradual and convergent

We have already implicitly seen that, in the lives of individuals, there exist various types of call: to life primarily, and then to love; to responsibility to the gift, then to faith; to following Jesus; to the particular witness of one's own faith; to being father or mother, and to a particular service for the Church or society.

They promote vocations, those who acknowledge, firstly, that rich complex of human and Christian values and meanings from which flows the vocational sense of life and of every living person. They open their very lives to numerous vocational possibilities, later converging towards the definitive personal choice.

In other words, for a correct pastoral work for vocations, it is necessary to respect a certain graduality, and to begin from fundamental and universal values (the extraordinary good of life) and from the truths which are such for all (life is a good received which, by its nature, tends to become a good given), in order to move then to a progressive specification of the call, becoming more personal and concrete, believing and revealed.

On the more properly pedagogical level it is first important to form people to the meaning of life and to gratitude for it so as to then transmit that fundamental attitude of responsibility in the face of existence, which, by its very nature, demands from each one a subsequent, freely-given response. Hence we move to the transcendence of God, Creator and Father.

Only at this point is a radical and convincing proposal possible (such as the Christian vocation should always be), such as dedication to God in the priestly or consecrated life.

d) Pastoral work for vocations is generic and specific

Pastoral work for vocations, in short, necessarily begins from a wide conception of vocation (and consequently from an appeal directed to all), so as then to restrict and narrow down to the specific call of each one. In this sense pastoral work for vocations is first generic and then specific, in an order which it does not seem reasonable to change and which, generally, advises against any immediate proposal of a particular vocation, without an appropriate catechesis.

On the other hand, always on the basis of this order, pastoral work for vocations does not limit itself to stressing in a generic way the meaning of existence, but aims towards a personal involvement in a precise choice. There is no separation, nor less still a contrast between an appeal that underlines values common and basic to existence and an appeal to serve the Lord "in the measure of the grace received".

The vocations promoter, every teacher in the faith, must not be afraid of proposing courageous choices and total giving, even if these are difficult and not in conformity to the mentality of the century.

Therefore, if every educator is a vocations promoter, every vocations promoter is an educator, and an educator of every vocation, all the while respecting their specific charism. In fact every call is related to the other, and presupposes and solicits it, while all of them together go back to the same source and to the same objective, which is the history of salvation. But each one in its own particular way.

The authentic vocational educator not only points out the differences between one call and another, respecting the varying tendencies in each individual called, but allows people to see and actively recalls those "supreme possibilities", radical and dedicated, that are open to the vocation of each person and inherent in it.

Educating in depth of the values of life, for example, means proposing (and learning to propose) a path that naturally flows into the following of Christ and that can lead to the choice of path typical of an apostle, of the priest or religious, of the monk who abandons the world, of the lay person consecrated in the world.

On the other hand proposing this qualified following as the objective of one's life, by its very nature, demands a preparatory attention and formation about the elementary values of life, the faith, gratitude-gratuity, about the imitation of Christ required of every Christian.

This produces a vocational strategy that is better founded theologically and also more effective on the pedagogical level. There are those who fear that widening the idea of vocation will be harmful to the specific promotion of vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life; the reality is exactly the opposite.

A gradual approach to vocational proclamation, in fact, allows one to move from the objective to the subjective, and from the generic to the specific, without anticipating or rushing the proposals, but making them converge among themselves and towards the proposal which is decisive for the person, to be indicated at the right time and to be gauged with prudence, according to a rhythm which will take account of the subject in his or her situation.

Harmonious and progressive order makes the proposal, which is decisive for the person, much more provoking and accessible. In concrete, the more the young person is prepared to be able to move naturally from gratitude for the gift received to the gratuity of the good given, then the more it will be possible to propose to him or her the total gift of self to God as the natural, and for some, inevitable outcome.

e) Pastoral work for vocations is universal and permanent

There is a double universality: in reference to the persons to whom it is directed, and in reference to the time of life in which it is made.

Firstly, pastoral work for vocations knows no boundaries. As has already been said above, it is not directed only at certain privileged people, or those who have already made an option for the faith, nor only to those from whom we can expect a positive response. It is addressed to all, precisely because it is founded on the elementary values of existence. It is not pastoral work for an élite, but for the people; it is not a prize for the most deserving, but a grace and gift of God for each person, because every living person is called by God. Nor can it be understood as something that only some could understand or be interested in for their lives, because, inevitably, every human being wants to know himself and the meaning of life and his own place in history.

In addition, this proposal is not made only once in life ("take it or leave it") or withdrawn once it has been refused. Instead it must be a continual request, made in different ways and with creative understanding, that does not give up at initial signs of disinterest, which often is only apparent or defensive.

The idea should also be corrected that pastoral work for vocations is exclusively for young people, because in every time of life the Lord's invitation to follow Him is heard, and it is only at the point of death that a vocation can be said to have been fully realised. Indeed, death is the call "par excellence", in the same way as there is a call in old age, in the passage from one time of life to another, in situations of crisis.

There is a youthfulness of spirit that lasts through time, in the extent to which the individual feels himself continually called, and seeks again and again in every period of life a different task to fulfil, a specific way of being, of serving and of loving, a newness of life and mission to be carried out.(⁷²) In this sense, pastoral work for vocations is related to the ongoing formation of the person, and is itself ongoing. "The whole of one's life and every life is a response".(⁷³)

In Acts, Peter and the Apostles make no differences between people. They speak to everyone, young and old, Hebrews and foreigners: Parthians, Medes and Elamites represent the great mass without difference or exclusion to which the proclamation and pro-vocation is addressed, with the art of speaking to each one "in his own language", according to their needs, problems, expectations, defences, time or stage in life.

This is the miracle of Pentecost, the extraordinary gift of the Spirit. But the Spirit is with us always...

f) Pastoral work for vocations is personal and communitarian

This may seem like a contradiction, but in reality this principle explains the somewhat ambivalent nature of pastoral work for vocations which — when it is authentic — is capable of comprising the two polarities of subject and community. From the vocations promoter's point of view, nowadays, there is an urgent need to move from a pastoral vocations programme run by one person to a pastoral programme more and more conceived as a community action, of the whole community in its different expressions: groups, movements, parishes, dioceses, religious and secular institutes...

The Church is called more and more, today, to be wholly vocational. Within the Church "every evangelist must be aware of becoming a vocational 'lamp', capable of provoking a religious experience which could bring children, adolescents, young people and adults into personal contact with Christ. In this meeting specific vocations are revealed".(⁷⁴)

In the same way the subject of pastoral work for vocations is the whole Church. If it is the whole ecclesial community that calls, then it is the whole ecclesial community that is called, without any exception. In some way the point of departure and the point of arrival are identical, within the different ministries that make up the ecclesial fabric. But the principle is important; it is the reflection of that mysterious identification between the one calling and the one called within the Trinity.

In this sense pastoral work for vocations is communitarian. And, always in this sense, it is fine that, on the day of Pentecost, all the Apostles addressed themselves to the crowd and then Peter speaks in the name of the Twelve. Also when choosing between Matthias and Stephen and then Barnabas and Saul, the whole community takes part in the discernment by prayer, fasting, imposition of hands.

At the same time, however, it is the individual who must interpret the vocational proposal, and the believer, on the strength of his faith, who must in some way assume the vocation of the other.

Therefore the ministry of vocational calling belongs not only to priests or consecrated men or women, but to every believer, to parents, to catechists, to those involved in education.

If it is true that the appeal is addressed to everyone, it is also true that the same appeal is to be personalised, directed to a precise person, to his conscience, in the context of a totally personal relationship.

There is a moment within the vocational dynamic when the proposal goes from person to person and has need of that particular climate that only the individual relationship can guarantee. It is true, then, that Peter and Stephen speak to the crowd; but later Saul needs Ananias in order to discern what God wants from him (9, 13-17), as the eunuch needs Philip (8, 26-39).

g) Pastoral work for vocations and the unitary-synthetic perspective of pastoral work

The point of departure is also the point of arrival. Insofar as it is, pastoral work for vocations is the unifying category of pastoral work in general, as the natural destination of every effort, the meeting place of the various dimensions, almost a sort of element for verifying authentic pastoral work.

We repeat: if pastoral work does not "pierce the heart" and place the listener clearly before the strategic question ("what shall I do?"), it is not Christian pastoral work, rather an innocuous working hypothesis.

Consequently pastoral work for vocations is, and must be, related to all the other dimensions, for example to the family and cultural, liturgical and sacramental, to catechesis and the journey of faith in the catechumenate; to the various groups for Christian education and formation (not only with children and young people, but also with parents, engaged couples, sick people and the elderly...) and the different movements (from the pro-life movement to the various initiatives regarding social solidarity).(⁷⁵)

Above all pastoral work for vocations is the unifying perspective of pastoral work with young people.

It should not be forgotten that the time of growth is strongly projectual and pastoral work with young people cannot exclude the vocational dimension; rather, it must assume it, because proposing Jesus Christ means proposing a precise life project.

Hence a fertile pastoral collaboration, also in the distinction of the two environments: either because pastoral work with young people embraces other aspects beyond the vocational; or because pastoral work for vocations is not directed only at young people, rather it covers a wider spectrum with specific aspects.

In addition we can think how important a vocational-family pastoral programme could be; one that would progressively educate parents to be the first vocations promoters-educators; or how valuable would be a vocations programme among the sick, that does not simply invite them to offer their sufferings for priestly vocations, but helps them to live their illness, in all its mystery, as a personal vocation; that the sick-believer has the "duty" to live for and in the Church and the "right" to be helped to live in the Church.

This connection will facilitate pastoral dynamism because in fact it is connatural with it: vocations, like charisms, search each other out, they illuminate each other, they are complementary to each other. And on the other hand they become incomprehensible when isolated; you are not doing the Church's pastoral work if you are enclosed in your own specialised area.

Naturally the discussion works in two ways: pastoral work in general must flow into vocations promotion in order to encourage the vocational option; but pastoral work for vocations, in its turn, must remain open to the other dimensions, seeking outlets in those directions.

It is the terminus that synthesises the different pastoral interventions and allows them to bear fruit in the life of the individual believer. In concrete, more attention needs to be paid to pastoral work for vocations, but in exchange, it will provide a specific dimension destined to making the pastoral initiative in each sector true and authentic. Vocation is the beating heart of the whole of pastoral work!(⁷⁶)