Sydney
24 March 2002
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Conversation: All are called to God’s work - Sr Mary Ryan, RSJ, vocations ministry executive officer
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Conversation: All are called to God’s work - Sr Mary Ryan, RSJ, vocations ministry executive officer
Every Catholic has a vocation, as all are called to be disciples of Christ. This idea of ‘calling’ was revitalised by Vatican II. Sr Mary Ryan, vocations ministry leader, spoke to CHRIS HOOK
Our understanding of the notion of vocation is often confused, according to Sr Mary Ryan (pictured), RSJ, head of the recently established Australian Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes Vocations Ministry.
As she points out, ‘vocations’ comes from the Latin ‘vocatio’, meaning ‘calling’. But we are all called to God’s work.
“The call from God is not just confined to priests and religious. Everyone is called by baptism to the fullness of life, to belong to this community of God, the Church,” Sr Mary explains.
“So every single person has a vocation, but the Catholic population on the whole still uses the word ‘vocation’ in the context in which it was used before the Second Vatican Council, to apply to those who are priests, sisters or brothers in the Church.
“No gift we get is just for us, no talent that is given is just for us. By baptism, all our talents and gifts (are for others) so that we can grow as a person, develop as a person, and share those gifts and talents with others. They’re not meant to be kept wrapped up, they’re meant to be shared.”
Sr Mary cites as an example of the misunderstanding of the notion of vocation, a banner headline on a Catholic newspaper article – Vocations Increase. Sr Mary notes that the headline should refer to an increase in baptisms rather than an increase in seminarian numbers.
The notion comes from Vatican II, which looked back to the early Christians’ idea of vocation, that all Christ’s followers are called to be his disciples.
“The chosen people of God is one – ‘one Lord, one faith, one baptism’. As members, they share a common dignity,” reads the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium.
“There is, in Christ and in the Church, no inequality on the basis of race or nationality, social condition or sex … all share a true equality with regard to the dignity and to the activity common to all the faithful for the building up of the Body of Christ.”
Sr Mary sees the need for educational material in schools, because when children hear the word “vocation” it comes from their parents or older family members whose understanding is still rooted in a pre-Vatican II education.
But, she says, the shift has also been a learning curve for religious and clergy. The Victorian-born sister was a schoolteacher who moved into parish pastoral work and then to the vocations ministry in the Sandhurst diocese (central northern Victoria).
“When I started to do it (vocations work) in 1983, almost 20 years ago, the focus was definitely on recruitment, or trying to find new members for our congregation,” Sr Mary says. “And the focus was on dwindling numbers, which should no longer be the issue.
“We’ve now come to this understanding of vocation where we work together with one another, people from different orders and diocesan priests, and our whole focus is on empowering young people to make informed decisions.”
It’s about giving young people the ability to discern what their vocation might be, whether as religious, priest, single person or married person, Sr Mary says.
“So it’s not career counselling; it’s about helping young people, being a companion on their journey, walking with them. Not physically, so much, but being there for them at times when they’ve got questions to ask, when they’re trying to sort things out.
“So our focus is very much on being objective, not thinking: ‘Oh, I’d love to have her join us’. It’s all about what would be the best thing for that person, what’s the best thing for them so they can come to fullness of life,” Sr Mary says.
She is unconcerned about numbers of religious and clerical vocations.
She cites many reasons why fewer young people might be entering the religious life, including the smaller size of families, increased opportunities for women both within the Church and in society more generally, as well as the increased involvement of lay people in Church life.
“I don’t ever think that it’s a numbers game,” Sr Mary says.
“I believe that God has always provided for God’s people and God will continue to do that. A vocation is not about what you do, it’s about who you are before God, that call to where God wants you to be, which of those possibilities for Catholics can enable that to happen for you.
“But of course, I’d love to see more nuns, priests and brothers.”
And she is quick to point out that the vow of celibacy doesn’t mean religious and clergy do not have deep friendships and relationships. But they are not committed to a ‘primary relationship’.
“So celibacy is a commitment we make, and some people say it is too big a price to pay,” she says. “Well, I can honestly say that I’ve had great fulfilment out of being celibate.
“It doesn’t mean there haven’t been times when I thought I’d love to have had my own kids. But what I’ve done in my life has more than made up for that.”