Mission Statement
The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon Office of Vocations helps the faithful to come to know and live out their vocation through an encounter with Jesus Christ. We provide support to parishes, schools, and religious communities in their efforts to create a culture of vocations in the Western Oregon. We celebrate and honor the universal call to holiness through the particular vocations of priesthood and consecrated life.
Letter from the
Director of Vocations
During the recent Pastoral Assembly, Archbishop Sample revealed the Pastoral Priorities for the next three years for the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon. Among these priorities, and in my mind the most important, is vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.
To continue the mission of Jesus Christ we need young people to step forward and answer the call. Unfortunately, this will not happen unless we come together and strengthen our efforts to create a “culture of vocations” in all of our parishes, schools and families.
To that end, I invite you to take part in the Archdiocesan Plan for promoting vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.
It is a simple five-point plan that can be implemented throughout the year, as a whole, or in parts: Pray, Teach, Invite, Celebrate, and Support.
The following pages I will also offer simple suggestions about how to implement the plan. I draw heavily on the wonderful work of the Serra Club, Vianney Vocations and the book Hundredfold: A Guide to Parish Vocation Ministry. These three resources will help make implementing the plan less of a burden and more of a joy!
I am very excited about the years ahead and I thank you in advance for joining me in this very important mission.
God Bless,
Fr. Peter Julia
Director of Vocations
Pray
Join us in praying for an increase of vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life and an awareness of our universal call to holiness.
Pray
Join us in praying for an increase of vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life and an awareness of our universal call to holiness.
“There can be no promotion of vocations or Christian mission apart from constant contemplative prayer. The Christian life needs to be nourished by attentive listening to God’s word and, above all, by the cultivation of a personal relationship with the Lord in Eucharistic adoration, the privileged ‘place’ for our encounter with God.”
—Pope Francis
Help make our prayer constant by praying for vocations at these key places of faith formation:
At Sunday Mass: One Prayer of the Faithful should be for vocations every weekend;
At Faith Formation and Youth Ministry Gatherings: Begin or end every gathering with a prayer for vocations;
At Parish Schools: Consecrate your day with a prayer for vocations;
At Home: Speak about vocations with your family and pray for your child’s vocation.
Cultivate a Personal Relationship with the Lord in Eucharistic Adoration:
Offer a Holy Hour for vocations at your parish and school once a month;
Dedicate on day a week for prayer for vocations in your Eucharistic Adoration Chapel.
Don’t forget that fasting is a prayer too!
Fast one day a week for an increase of vocations.
INVITE
Join us in inviting young men and women to consider that God may be calling them to the priesthood or consecrated life.
“The voice of the Lord invites his disciples to leave the safety of their homeland and to begin the ‘holy journey’ towards the promised land of encounter with him and with our brothers and sisters. Vocation is an invitation to go forth from ourselves, to rejoice in our relationship with the Lord, and
to journey along the ways that he opens up before us.”
—Message of His Holiness Pope Francis
for the 54th World Day of Prayer for Vocations
Promote and attend our Vocation Events
Ensure that the following Office of Vocation events are widely promoted at your parish and school and that young men and women are personally invited:
6th Grade Vocation Rally
Andrew Dinners and Miriam Dinners
Archbishop’s Discernment Retreat
Quo Vadis Days
Called to Greatness High School Retreat
Come and See Weekends at Mount Angel Seminary
Discernment Days
Nun Run
Invitation & Mentoring
A Sacred Moment (how to invite) brochure
NCDVD – Lend Your Voice to Christ booklet for priests
NCDVD Art of Accompaniment – booklet for those who work with youth
Teach
Join us in teaching about vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life in parishes, schools and in the home.
Use the parish bulletin as a teaching tool for vocations:
Include weekly information about vocations and discernment in your parish bulletin. This is a great way to foster dialogue about vocations in the home.
Encourage Altar Servers to consider a vocation:
If the Eucharist is the privileged “place” for our encounter with God, then it must also be the privileged “place” for receiving His call. Consider these simple ways of fostering vocations among your
altar servers:
- Pray with your altar servers before Mass as they prepare to meet the gaze of Jesus in the Sacred Liturgy .
- Hold annual altar server gatherings to encourage and support them in responding to God’s call of holiness.
Plan and incorporate “Vocation Lessons” throughout the year:
Faith Formation Directors, Youth Ministry Coordinators, and those responsible for Confirmation preparation are encouraged to incorporate “Vocation Lessons” throughout the year, as well as highlight the universal call to holiness in their curriculum. Let’s make Jesus’ call attractive and fascinating.
“Vocations promotion, which is the responsibility of every Catholic, must follow the same steps Jesus used when interacting with people. Jesus stopped and met the gaze of the other, without rushing. This is what makes his call attractive and fascinating”
—Speaking at a Vocation Promotion Conference on October 21, 2016
Celebrate
Join us in celebrating vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life throughout the year with the Universal Church.
Celebrate vocations on the NATIONAL level on one or more of the following dates:
• World Day of Prayer for Vocations
• World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life
• Priesthood Sunday
• National Vocation Awareness Week
Celebrate vocations on the LOCAL level by doing one or more of the following:
• Attend our Archdiocesan Ordinations (Priesthood and Diaconate);
• Attend the profession of vows for a consecrated brother or sister;
• Highlight vocation stories from your parish;
• Write a letter of appreciation and encouragement to your pastor
Support
Join us in supporting young men and women in their discernment and formation towards priesthood and consecrated life.
Make Vocations part of your Pastoral Plan:
Pope Francis is asking us to break the mold of old habits and take risks in promoting vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. Let’s start now! We encourage all Pastoral Council meetings to begin or end with this simple question, “What are we doing to promote vocations in our parish?”
Form a Parish Vocation Committee:
We ask that the leadership of each parish take the initiative to form a Parish Vocation Committee. Its mission is to implement the Archdiocesan Vocation Plan found in these pages, and to promote a culture of vocations within your parish. At a minimum, we ask that parishes appoint a Vocation Promoter to help in distributing information to and from the Office of Vocations.
Give to the Annual Seminarian Appeal:
Support the Office of Vocations Annual Seminarian Appeal and become a member of the Shepherd’s Legacy to help support the education and formation of our seminarians studying for the Archdiocese of Portland.
“Of course, we cannot make progress unless we take a risk. No ship would ever set out into the deep if it feared leaving the safety of the harbor. So too, Christians cannot enter into the transforming experience of God’s love unless they are open to new possibilities, and not tied to their own plans and cherished ways of doing things. Pastoral structures can fall into this same temptation, being concerned more with self-preservation than with adapting themselves to the service of the Gospel.”
—Pope Francis, Audience with participants in the 75th Convention of “Serra International” June 23, 2017
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Download a copy of the Archdiocese of Portland Vocation Plan in PDF format