III. Vocation Ministry and
Companioning the Candidates

Lord, what do you want me to do?

A. Description

22. Vocation ministry is the Church's mission to care for the birth, discernment and fostering of vocations, particularly those to the priesthood and the various forms of consecrated life. ³⁵

23. In vocation ministry and in companioning those who aspire to life in the Order, the essential elements of the vocation itself should be taken into consideration. They are:

- the trinitarian foundation: every vocation is related to the plan of
  the Father, the mission of the Son and the work of the Spirit;

- the election: every call is a gratuitous initiative of God, and cannot
  be separated from God's creative Will; ³⁷

- mission: God always calls for a mission that is part of his plan of
  salvation;

- dynamic personal aspect: the vocation affects the person in his
  structure, his dynamism and his choices;

- the Church: every vocation is related to the Church in its origin,
  development, destination and mission; ³⁸

- free response of the person and human mediation. ³⁹

B. Objectives

24. The friars should devote their best energy to these activities. The main objectives are:

- to suggest all the vocations that are found within the mystery of the
  Church

- to present Saint Francis and the Franciscan charism

- to clearly propose the Third Order Regular of St. Francis as the
  environment for religious life.

C. Content

25. The principal contents of this ministry are:

- prayer for vocations to the religious life. ⁴⁰

- vocational education of young people

- the essential elements of the religious life: charism, religious
  consecration, community, apostolate

- the charism of Saint Francis and its timeliness in the Church and
  today's world

- the presentation of our Order and its spiritual and apostolic
  patrimony

- help in vocational discernment.

D. Agents

Each friar

26. The task of promoting vocations is born of the awareness of the duty of proposing to others a life rich in human and evangelical values. Therefore each individual friar should cooperate through his own life's witness, through evangelizing activity, contact with aspirants and insistent prayer. ⁴¹

The local fraternity

27. The local fraternity cooperates by creating a joyful and hospitable environment that welcomes all those who want an experience of religious life according to the charism of the Order, offering them the example of a truly Franciscan life. ⁴²

A friar who is capable and available should be designated for direct contacts.

Candidates in initial formation

28. The postulants, the novices and the professed are actively involved and collaborate in the vocation ministry, under the direction of their directors and the provincial vocation director.

The provincial vocation director and his collaborators

29. A suitable friar or group of friars should be given responsibility for vocational ministry. He, or they, have the following tasks: ⁴³

- to coordinate the activities of the vocation ministry

- to conscientize and animate the local fraternities towards the
  vocation ministry

- to maintain communication with the formation directors and the
  local ministers

- to collaborate with diocesan and national vocation directors,
  particularly with those of other Franciscan communities and other
  religious communities

- to continually update the provincial program of vocation ministry.

30. The friar in the local fraternity who is responsible for vocation ministry and helping in vocational discernment, ⁴⁴ should companion those who aspire to our life, keeping in mind the directives of the provincial vocation director and those of the formation directors.

E. Norms and methodological guidelines

31. A vocation is a complex and manifold reality since it touches upon the mystery of God and the mystery of the human person; for this reason in vocation ministry, due consideration should be given to the difficult situation in the contemporary world, particularly for young people, and the challenges this creates for Christian and religious life. ⁴⁵

The provincial program for vocation ministry

32. Each province, vice-province and delegation should draw up a provincial program for vocation ministry, taking into consideration the objectives and main content.

Fraternities for receiving candidates

33. Each province and vice-province should designate one or more suitable fraternities for receiving those aspiring to life in the Order. In these fraternities they should be given an opportunity to experience our life and to gain closer knowledge of our fraternities, by staying there for a weekend or a longer period of time. ⁴⁶

The members of the local fraternities designated for this purpose should cultivate a spirit of prayer, fraternity and hospitality. They should be engaged in apostolic activities in conformity with our charism

As for that which concerns the admission of the aspirants to the fraternity and the organization of their stay, the ministers are to collaborate with the friar in charge of contacts with the aspirants and with the provincial director of the vocation ministry.

Other dispositions concerning the length of the stay and the functioning of the fraternities for receiving them are to be detailed in the Ratio Formationis of the province or in the provincial program for vocation ministry.

The minor seminary and similar structures

34. Another type of vocational companioning is the minor seminary and similar structures that precede the postulancy; it is good to maintain and foster them wherever it is necessary or possible, stipulating in the Ratio formationis of the province the objectives, content and methods.
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PART FOUR                  INITIAL FORMATION