I. Introduction:
Vocation is both a Divine revelation (God’s initiative) and Human Intention (Man’s free response):
Vocation comes from the Latin word voco; vocare, which means to call or calling. Vocation (priesthood) is a seed that needs to be nurtured and cared until it attains its fruition. Vocation is a gift from God, from his own initiative and appeal– freely given to man. It is a calling that, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; and before you were born I consecrated you” (Jer. 1, 5). This is man’s pre-destination. However, this doesn’t mean that God is selfish. He has given man the gift of freedom. “God willed that man should be left in the hand of his own counsel, so that he might of his own accord seek his creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him ”. As the psalm would say, “…God is our maker, we are his people, and God’s well tended flock”. He has chosen us to be his own, before the world began.
Although God has given man the freedom, yet this is still subject to fallibility. In such condition, a continuous process of discernment and guidance of the Spirit is necessary. Vocation is never a human intention alone…one must recognize the mystery, that though he chose in accord to his own counsel, yet he needs the guidance of the Spirit…and must acquire the necessary virtues (live a virtuous life) along the process of searching and understanding of one’s own calling.
Vocation is more that just a calling, it is man’s identity. “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God…beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed” (1 John 3:1, 2). We recall in the scriptures, when John has baptized the people with the water of river Jordan, but Christ has baptized us with the Spirit. We now share the mission of Christ. Through the sacrament of baptism, we share in his priesthood and with his mission. We become now the adopted sons and daughters of God. This is what it means; vocation as identity. Since it is God’s personal appeal, man is ought to respond in his own freewill. With this identity, there is a personal challenge directed to the deepest level of an individual sense of moral responsibility – one must respond freely to the call.
Man must understand fully his own calling and vocation, for him to embrace wholeheartedly the demands of this life. He must be clear in his intention, and thus, must respond to it with freewill. Such is the demand in embracing the life of becoming or being a priest, a minister of God for his people, that one must give up everything and follow Him. The call entails responsibility and commitment. Thus, one could not offer himself to something which the kind of life is with no clarity and direction for him. This is the call for priesthood; a vocation which centers to Jesus. This is the priesthood which all of us share with Christ…called not for this world, but the kingdom with the Father in heaven. By understanding the personal calling, with prayer and discernment, one could freely embrace the kind of life which God wanted him to embrace…and this is attached to the moral responsibility of man, to foster one’s vocation, and nurture it until its fruition.
God awaits a response to his appeal. God awaits a voluntary consent; even in great pain, with obedience. The response may not necessarily be expressed in words or in a tangible ways, but very often, the little thing we do matters. Our response to our vocation is “instantaineous”. One does not even have a word upon responding to the call. In reference to the Old Testament, priests receive priesthood not through a divine call, but they are chosen to be priests because of their birth. This is in the Old Testament, that one is called by the reason of his birth. Moses is the intermediary of the call to Aaron. It was Moses who told him to succeed his father, because he belongs to the “Livitical” priesthood – (a family vocation/Livitical family).
In our desire to understand and to respond to God’s calling for us, some characteristics must be taken into consideration :
1. Vocation is a Personal Call: One cannot hear his name being called or pronounced, but by the very fact that “you” and not your brothers nor cousins were in the seminary.
2. The call is Irrevocable; “for the gift and the call of God are irrevocable (Rom. 11: 29). It develops into an attachment of the call…of the attachment of the disciple to the Master. It continuous to be a pre-response, because at anytime along the formation one can approach his prefect of discipline or spiritual director for regency or leave the seminary. One, therefore may say “no” even if God have called him the facto.
3. Vocation is a Gratuitous gift. In the Letter of Paul to the Corinthians (1:27-29) speaks “Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God.”. Since vocation is gratuitous, it does not depend alone on the human qualities. Sometimes we might even be surprised why is that God is calling that person? It is God’s initiative. We might find that as an answer to the prayers of the mother or grandmother. More so, it is because God is using some human instruments to call a person, but essentially one’s vocation is an initiative of God…”and the Lord said to his apostles, you have not chosen me, it is I who have chosen you”.
4. We are all called not for an easy way of life…not to make our life simple. We are called because we will be given a difficult mission. Thus, in this context that we must understand that vocation is a mission, a mission which one is asked to carry upon. Like Paul, called by God, “I will show Paul who I am choosing today, how much he will suffer for me”. God has outlined the life of Paul. “He may have burn a persecutor; now he will be offering his life for my namesake…I will show to him how much he will suffer for me”.
5. Vocation is for service for God’s people, it is a stewardship – servanthood. When one is called by God, he cannot be indifferent. Man cannot shape the mind of the Lord when he calls us.
II. Fostering and Nurturing the Seed of Vocation:
With this illustration, one must see how sacred and precious the vocation to priesthood is. The one, who is called into this life; the one who responds to the call must realize the crucial importance of fostering this vocation. Primarily, the responsibility of fostering the vocation falls on the whole Christian community . It is the moral responsibility of the whole Christian Community to take care of this precious gift. Fostering a priestly vocation is a collaborative effort by the whole Christian community.
a. The Priestly vocation begins within the Circle of Family, animated by the spirit of Faith, charity and piety, and which provide the atmosphere, as the first seminary . The Parents were the ones responsible in educating their children; leading to live faithfully a virtuous life as Christians.
b. The Priests as the bearer of this identity must outlive their ministry with much contentment, happiness, and with great pastoral zeal – and that they may be able to capture the hearts of the young men, through their humble examples.
c. The bishop, as the head and the father of the local church has this great responsibility, in making and encouraging people to understand the preciousness of priestly vocation, by encouraging them in their support (prayers, financial and moral support), and by means of supporting those on his judgment are called to God’s service.
III. The Role of the Minor and Major Seminaries:
The role of the seminary and the formation program must help promote and nourish the priestly vocation. The seminary is the seedbed of the seed of vocation, from which in this formation house, training must be holistically intensified; to help the formandi develop the priestly characters. Formation programs must adopt the present condition and circumstances of time and place, and the call of the time – so that the formation must reach its fruition, according to the plan of God, and would answer the pastoral requirements of the particular area in which the ministry is to be exercised . On the other hand, Major seminaries and their formation programs are necessary for the training of priests. In them the whole training of the students should have as its object to make them true shepherds of the soul after the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, teacher, priest and shepherd .
IV. The Formation Program:
The formation program must lead the individual to fully and freely embrace the demands of priesthood; as future shepherds for God’s people. The program must help the students to develop in them to become: an integrated person, Christ centered contemplative pastor, and apostolic proclaimer of God’s good news of salvation.
The formation program is an integration of intellectual, spiritual, psycho-emotional, and pastoral formation. The formation program must lead the students not only to understand the mystery of priestly vocation, but to be rooted in their humanity as well, to develop the passion and desire for pastoral works and services. The Updated Philippine Program for Priestly formation suggests that the formation must be balance and integrated. It is in this process of formation that the moral responsibility of a seminarian is being enhanced; that he must primarily take care of his vocation, and must safeguarded its preciousness for the sake of God’s glory. The role of formators, here, is to assist the candidate in realization of this vocation. By their examples and special skill, must lead these candidates to full growth and maturity, ready to take the task of the ministry.
The seminary formation must intensify the Spiritual formation; thus, must help the students shape and enhance their spirituality, intellectual capacity, the harmony on mind and Heart – getting in touch of their own humanity, to develop the pastoral zeal, and especially the development of virtues and to shape one’s conscience. It is in this aspect that psycho-emotional and psycho-spirituality aspect of the students must be given much attention. With the challenges of the present situation, spiritual and human formation must be given emphasis in the process of formation, that it might brought the students into spiritual depth and maturity…for one who aspires to become a minister of God to his people could not afford to live in ignorance and fear, in concupiscence and worldly inclinations. The intensification of spiritual formation must help the individual to develop the deep spirituality and union with God. The document Optatam tutius aims to respond on the demand of continuous renewal and development of the church of the 21st century.
The formation program must help form the seminarians to grow mature in every aspect of his person. The process of formation must help the individual to become more authentic in his response to the call. Formation must guide the individual to thoroughly examine oneself, getting in touch with his own humanity along the process of discernment and prayer upon embracing the call for this kind of vocation. Formation program helps the individual to authenticate the intention in his response to the call to priesthood. With these, one can validate, to see every aspect of formation as his response, and thus, understand his motivation of where is it really coming from.
In the beginning of this paper, it has been mentioned that freedom of man is subject to fallibility; hence, one must be fully aware of the weaknesses of the flesh. “For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love (Gal. 5:13-14). He have been given by God of this gift, thus, it is or moral responsibility to take care of this gift, that this may not be overshadowed by our human weaknesses, but rather, we must overcome this through our continuous trust in God’s providential care. Again, vocation in not just a human intention alone…rather it must be in harmony to the Divine will and his revelation. The challenge here emerges along the process, from which, we encounter tribulations, but this is just a way God chastise us to become pure and prefect, “be perfect as my Father is perfect”.
In this level of formation, the students must be made aware of the beauty and the difficulty of the ministry they are about to undertake, and these realities must not be concealed from them. Thus, the sharpening of conscience and of spirituality must be intensified in the level of formation, as preparatory for the challenge in the ministry, and of the world. With all these realities, the students must be directed in their freedom to embrace the call by dedicating their lives, in full surrender to the will of the One who called them.
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Conclusion:
Vocation is both a Divine revelation (God’s initiative) and Human Intention (Man’s free response). It is in our willingness to respond to this call that we validate our vocation to every opportunity we encounter along the process of seminary formation. However, formation must also help us understand that our human efforts and intentions will never be enough to see and understand the mystery of God’s call to us. It is not in our human capacity alone to make our ministry in the priesthood become fruitful. Man is fallible, and thus, imperfect. Both heart and mind must be conditioned in the process of formation.
Constant spiritual formation and self examination would lead us into profound understanding of priestly vocation; that human intention cannot suffice. One must realize that vocation to priesthood is God’s initiative of calling and choosing his ministers for the church. Only God can fill the emptiness, he is the One who can supply for what is lacking in us. A priest must always remember that his priesthood must be centered to Christ, the high priest; that only in Christ he can find the fulfillment in this vocation and ministry. One could not commit himself to the evangelical virtues (Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience) if one was not in love with Jesus. Keeping in Christ’s love would make the ministry lighter, joyous and fulfilling. These evangelical virtues will not be possible to attain unless it is rooted in the love of Christ. Thus, in the process of formation, it is deeply emphasized and being hammered down to into the hearts of every aspirants to develop this constant bond in Christ through prayer and meditation. The student must own the formation…yet, it must be made clear that he cannot own his vocation…for God called and consecrated these men, for the service of the church and the people of God.
