VOCATIONS FORMATION WORKSHOP

Sr. Patricia Alexander, WIF, Diocesan Director of Evangelization, attended a Vocation/Formation Training Workshop at the Franciscan Institute for Personal and Family Development in Vieux Fort, St. Lucia, on August 1-7 and returned to the Virgin Islands with a new approach to guiding those who are considering a future as a priest or religious. Sponsored by the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother and the Conference of Religious of the Antilles, the workshop was part of a three-year program. Sr. Julie Marie Peters, SSM, and Fr. Joseph Harris, CSSp., were the presenters, and participants were from the religious congregations serving the West Indies.

Fr. Harris presented a paradigm shift from Vocation Ministry as recruitment model to a Vocations Culture which involves all baptized Christians. This model highlighted five pastoral priorities: prayer, evangelization, experience, mentorship and invitation.

Prayer: To pray is to encounter Christ. All the synoptic gospels connected the vocation of the apostles to the prayer of Jesus. This understanding of prayer integrates our community life with the life of the church, hence converting our religious communities and parishes into schools of prayer for all.

Evangelization: According to Pope John Paul II, "it is not enough to discover Christ; you must bring Him to others." Furthermore, by knowing Christ, evangelization propels us to help others know and understand the life and mission of the Church.

Experience: This is an encounter with Christ through the Church's liturgy and religious communities.

Mentorship: This speaks of the choice to witness, to accompany and to guide in a joyful manner.

Invitation: Invitation is about the openness in charity to share one's life with others, thereby providing a listening ear and space to those we encounter, so others may encounter themselves and God. According to Fr. Harris, "Order only comes when everyone has the same habits; laws of the church are to create good habits in life."