A just-released study of more than 5,000 former full-time volunteers shows that 37 percent had considered a vocation to priesthood or religious life. Twenty-seven percent said they had considered such a vocation “very seriously.” A total of 6 percent had actually entered religious life or diocesan priesthood or were preparing to enter.

The 6 percent proportion who became sisters, brothers, or priests (or were in formation) represent a higher level of church vocations than is typical for the general Catholic population. Furthermore, the proportion of former volunteers who have considered religious life or priesthood is also higher than normal for Catholics.

The study was sponsored by the Catholic Volunteer Network and was conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA). Learn more from CARA or Catholic Volunteer Network. 
 

Photo:  Courtesy of Redeemer Ministry Corps

For resources and ideas about how to commemorate this day, click here.

To download a free prayer card, click here.

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has awarded the National Religious Vocation Conference a $2.55 million grant to establish a fund to assist religious communities with candidates who have student loan obligations. In addition, the GHR Foundation has approved a grant of $193,000 for the initial costs of setting up an office for the fund.

This funding comes in response to a 2011 study NRVC sponsored that revealed that student loans held by young people were a serious barrier that complicated, delayed, or thwarted many vocations to religious life.

Within the next month, a project director will be hired to oversee the establishment and incorporation of the fund, and help with selecting a board that will in turn hire an executive director.

Although specific issues regarding structure, governance, and procedures have yet to be established, here is some general information about the fund:

1. The fund will make grants to religious institutes to cover candidates’ loan payments during the period prior to final vows.
2. The fund will assist congregations in developing policies and resources so they can work more effectively with inquirers and candidates who have educational debt.
3. While the fund will be separately incorporated as a charitable trust with its own board separate from that of NRVC, its governance will be integrally linked to the NRVC.
4. To counterbalance the dominant narrative of decline, the fund will serve as a sign of hope to the Church and those who are discerning a vocation that religious life has a future and that student loans are not insurmountable to the pursuit of a religious vocation.
5. NRVC membership is a requirement of eligibility. Only a registered member of NRVC from a canonically recognized religious institute may apply for a grant from the fund.

NRVC thanks Dr. Kathleen Mahoney, project director, who has judiciously and wisely shepherded this project from its genesis two years ago. In addition, we extend appreciation to those who served on the original working group that developed the concept and framework of this fund: Sister Ellen Dauwer, SC; Sister Barbara Mullen, CSJ; Father Anthony Vinson, OSB; Sister Anne Walsh, ASCJ; and Father Daniel Ward, OSB.

NRVC also recognizes with gratitude the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and the GHR Foundation for their exceptional generosity, their continued confidence in NRVC and its mission, and their common support of religious institutes and their ministries and members, especially women religious.

In December NRVC mailed a survey about multiculturalism to all major superiors. NRVC asks all its members and friends to encourage their major superiors to complete and mail the survey to CARA (Center for Research in the Apostalate) by January 15, 2014.

This study of all U.S. men’s and women’s religious institutes is to:

• identify best practices for incorporation and integration of multi-cultural and multi-ethnic candidates into religious life, and

• inform the creation of future materials and resources to assist institutes in accomplishing this integration effectively.

NRVC looks forward to publishing the results of this major research in late spring 2014.

NRVC sponsored "Men Religious Moving Forward in Hope" December 9-11 at St. Meinrad Archabbey, IN--an event aimed at helping men's religious communities to better understand the context and challenges of vocation ministry today. Superiors and vocation ministers attended together. They listened to presentations and met together and with other men religious to discuss their hopes, challenges, and strategies regarding new membership.

Every participant took home a tool created to assist with assessing a community's internal "vocation culture."

The next meeting of "Men Religious Moving Forward in Hope" will take place January 14-16, 2014 in Houston, TX at the Holy Name Retreat Center. This project has been sponsored by an anonymous donor.

See photos of the event on NRVC’s Flickr page.

Father Joseph Nassal, CPPS presented "Rest Stops for the Soul: Transformation for Vocation Ministers," for NRVC members at the beautiful Redemptorist Renewal Center, in Tucson, Arizona.

Retreatant Sister Anne Kappler, RSM reported: “I loved having the setting in the desert in the midst of Advent. I appreciated the Advent themes of hope and longing; recovering our authentic self and knowing our stories—personally and communally. . . . It was an added bonus that Joe had done vocation ministry and understood what the ministry entails!”

Sister Sarah Roy, OSF wrote: “I found the questions Joe put forth to be very thought provoking and significant to vocation ministry. It was a very good mix of Advent reflection, vocation ministry, and community life. I would go again in a heartbeat!”

New superiors of men's religious communities attended a workshop given by NRVC's executive director, Brother Paul Bednarczyk, CSC, on December 12 in Washington, DC. NRVC is grateful to the Conference of Major Superiors of Men for making this opportunity available.

A year and a half after being developed, religious communities continue to make use of NRVC’s “Keys to the Future” process. On October 30, 20 vocation directors gathered in Ossining, NY to learn how to use the process with their communities. Brother Jonathan Beebe, CSC and Sister Mary Catherine Redmond, PBVM led the workshop.

The process, available in a $25 kit that can be purchased from NRVC (nrvc@nrvc.net) helps a community to hold internal community-wide discussions about the context of vocations today and what a given community might do collectively to encourage new membership.
 

Photo: Participants in an October 30 workshop discuss the “Keys to the Future” process. The event took place in Ossining, NY.

Those whose NRVC membership has now lapsed still can renew. Simply click here to reinstate the many benefits of belonging.

Consider ordering these discounted pamphlets now for World Day for Consecrated Life, to be celebrated on Sunday, February 2, 2014. These pamphlets can also be placed in bulletins, parish vestibules, ministry settings, and religious education classrooms. These colorful, eight-page pamphlets are age-appropriate for high school and beyond.

Are the vows still relevant?  by Religious Leadership of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in 1998. Available in English only.

Are you experiencing a call?  Written by Sister Kathy Bryant, RSC, in 1997, available in English and Spanish.

Beyond a Bolt From the Blue: What it’s like to explore a religious vocation, by Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda in 2001. Available in English only.

Pray your way through a vocation decision, by Thomas Hart in 1999. Available in English and Spanish.

The staff and board of NRVC wish all of our members, friends, and collaborators health and happiness in 2014. May God's blessing be upon you and prosper the work of your hands.

How long have you been involved in vocation ministry?

I've been involved since August 2011, so just about two-and-a-half years.
 

Are you part of a team?

Yes, our team consists of a full-time layman who serves as our "national vocation director" (Mr. Len Uhal), four priests, a brother, and a full-time lay secretary. Each of the priests as well as the brother covers a specific region or "territory" of the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean.
 

How has belonging to NRVC affected the way you do this ministry?

Being a member of NRVC has been immensely helpful to me by way of the skills and resources it's provided me to learn the ins and outs of vocation ministry and to engage in the ministry with both competence and confidence. At the same time, I've found that networking and collaborating with my NRVC colleagues has opened doors to new and concrete opportunities for promoting vocations in parishes, schools, and on college campuses--while providing a sense of support, friendship, and encouragement!
 

What has been your best outreach effort so far?

My best outreach effort to date has been channeling the power of social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) to create a space where I can meet, connect with, and engage in conversation young people who feel that God may be calling them to consider a religious vocation. By far, Facebook has proven much more reliable than the traditional means of phone and e-mail in terms of garnering a response from young people whose names come across my desk from VISION, Guide to Religious Ministries, and other sources.
 

Any advice for those who are just beginning in vocation ministry?

To those who are new to the ministry, always keep in mind that you are not alone, and that you have many colleagues in NRVC who are ready and willing to welcome you, support you, and work with you as together we build a culture of vocations in our church and in our society. Don't be afraid to try new things and even make some mistakes along the way. And most important, never take for granted the privilege it is to accompany another on his/her walk of faith!
 

Reach Father Adam at adamsvd@yahoo.com, or 800-553-3321 or find him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/adamsvd.