168 Joseph Roesch, MIC Vocational Ministry I have been asked to say something about Vocational Ministry in our Congregation. We know that in the scriptures, the Lord tells us to beg the Lord of the harvest to send workers into His vineyard (Lk. 10:2). So the fi rst thing we need to do is to ask the Lord to send us vocations. It is the Lord who gives the call to each individual. It is often harder to hear the call these days because of the many distractions in the world - people are not as open to receiving the call. Smaller family sizes has led to an increase in selfi shness in individuals and in parents who don’t encourage vocations among their children because they want to have grandchildren. Sometimes we are guilty of not doing enough to encourage vocations. Our Washington house has three hours of Eucharistic adoration every Sunday and the men pray for vocations. Many of our men in formation try to make a holy hour of adoration everyday before the Blessed Sacrament. Mother Theresa had mandated this for all of her communities when they were struggling for vocations and now they work in over one hundred countries around the world. As you know, in our Ratio Formationis Marianorum, which is just now being published in book form in three different languages, there is a good section on vocations which is well worth reading over. After laying out some theological and pastoral principles, a number of practical means of caring for vocations are laid out. The Ratio speaks about those responsible for vocations. It makes an important point here, while all of us are called to foster vocations through the witness of our religious lives, we also need to entrust this task to specifi c individuals if we hope to accomplish anything in this regard. The Ratio also speaks about those to whom the pastoral care of vocations is directed, and it gives specifi c helps regarding candidates—vocational discernment and evaluation—the means for discernment and specifi c criteria for discernment—including positive indications of a vocation, and counter indications. I have never been a vocation director in our community, so I asked our current vocation director in the United States, Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC for his thoughts. In my province in the U.S., we usually try to give a priest the opportunity to pursue this ministry as a full time ministry or if it is part time—the priest needs to have enough time and opportunity to be able to do it effectively. It needs to be a priority. Father Don receives the assistance of the house secretary
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