I am NRVC
I am NRVC
I've been province vocation director for the Passionists since 2019. I’m a firm believer that we are always involved in vocation ministry, witnessing the vitality of our charism, community, life, and ministry. Also, for seven years I was chaplain to the Serra Club of Northwest Houston, a great group!
We do have a “vocation team” of vowed members, one at each of our locations. We also have a “vocation committee” which includes dedicated laity who are helping us creatively move forward in promoting vocations to our Passionist Family (priests, brothers, nuns, sisters, laity).
Sure! Ideas, studies, regional and national networking, printed and online materials, support in a challenging ministry—all these these things have been helpful.
We’ve developed a healthy relationship with our formation “alumni,” seeking to encourage their growth in our Passionist charism, and their help in spreading the news. We’ve developed a working document on our Passionist charism, “The Passionist Way,” which came from a mixed group of “family” and which has been very helpful in getting the word out. I’ve also had good feedback from promoting our Passionist logo and using a business card with a simple “elevator speech” on our Passionist Family. We keep planting seeds.
Being an older vocation director is both humbling and fun. I'm living with, learning from, and relating to others one quarter my age. I'll never have any threat to my job security for my province!
The idea of religious life and priesthood began in parochial middle school in Louisville, Kentucky. It didn’t quite jive with tests I later took that told me I had the disposition to be either a forest ranger, or a mortician!
Sister Kathleen Persson, O.S.B. of the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia became vocation and formation director just as COVID hit the nation. The good news is that she wasn’t already used to doing lots of in-person activities. Seeking a way to virtually connect with people, she turned to YouTube and became the producer of “Benedictine Bytes.” Read more...
Consecrated life runs in the family for Sister Jill Reuber, O.S.B. She's a triplet, with one of her sisters belonging to another Benedictine community. Find out what ideas for vocations are working for Sister Jill these days as she walks with women considering life as a Ferdinand, Indiana Benedictine. Read more...
"It is essential that vocation ministers have a good support system of friends and 'truth tellers' who will keep us honest, support us in those difficult times, and challenge us in times when we might become complacent," says Father Joe Nassal, C.PP.S., who has been involved in vocation work for decades. Read more...
As part of their successful "Vocation Culture Project" Augustinians annually hand out 30,000 mini-posters of their men in formation. They ask people connected to their ministries to display the poster as a reminder to pray for the men in the poster, for themselves, and for all discerners. Read more...
"NRVC has been a wonderful source of support and encouragement in my ministry," says Sister Anna Maria Lionetti. "I have received much in the way of formation by attending the convocations, and these moments have helped me network and be enriched by the experience of other vocation directors." Read more...
"Listen, listen, listen. Be available to young people. Go where they are and stay awake, literally as well as figuratively. Their schedule is not 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday! Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions, especially of seasoned vocation directors. Don’t get stuck on numbers. Be faithful to your call as a vowed religious, and live with joy!". Read more...
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