QUEZON City, Sept. 10, 2012—Prayer is the weapon of every vocation promoter, according to local vocation promoters in New Manila area.
“Being in the vocation ministry is not easy, but with prayer, it serves as a weapon that will help us achieve a fruitful ministry. And with prayer, God will really send vocations,” said Sr. Dideth Moralde, CM during the SPARK event—a fellowship night for vocations—held at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish Shrine in Quezon City,
In an interview with YouthPinoy, Moralde, who is the vocation director of Carmelite Missionaries, said that it is actually God who calls the young to religious life and they are just mere instruments that serve as bridge between the youth and God.
Fr. Ramsom Rapirap, OCD, in his opening remarks during the event also reiterated Moralde’s sentiments.
He said the National Gathering of Vocation Directors in General Santos last April has challenged him and fellow directors to think of approaches on how to enflesh the theme ‘Creating a Culture that Witnesses and Awakens Vocations in the Local Church’.
“This was still a question to me not until July, when the Singles for Christ (SFC) invited me to take part in their Luzon-wide conference in Lucena. It was also an opportunity for us to promote vocation. Together with Sr. Dedith Moralde, CM, Sr. Rowena Remulta, DSA and Bro. Clinton Farrugia, MSSP, we had some sharing and asked each other about the importance of prayer in our ministry as vocation promoters,” Rapirap said.
The priest said the inspiration to organize a night of fellowship for young people was borne out of meeting and sharing faith with fellow vocation directors.
“It was just an inspiration to organize the youth, aspirants and young religious in formation to gather together for one night just to pray and share their vocation story, so that the young people we are ministering would be inspired also and be informed what really is religious life and to guide them on what path they are called to,” Rapirap said.
He hopes the activity could “enkindle the fire within the young to heed their call for religious life.”
“All of us are called in specific and unique vocation, but what we need to do is to try to ignite and let that spark inflame so that it would be burning in our hearts. Burning to drive us to serve not only our fellow youth, but the Church and the whole community…,” he added.
One of those who shared the story of religious vocation was Rev. Chin Sin Wee, a Carmelite deacon.
Deacon Chin Sin Wee was a former businessman in Malaysia who converted to Catholicism. He entered the Carmelites two years after his conversion.
Held September 7, “SPARK: an evening of prayer, renewal and fellowship,” was a night of prayer for vocation which aimed to share the importance of prayer for the vocation ministry and to ignite the vocation for religious life of the young participants.
Almost 500 young people, aspirants, nuns, brothers and priests from 20 religious communities and youth groups within the area attended the event. (Jandel Posion)
