Bachelor of pastoral theology Theology

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Browsing Bachelor of pastoral theology Theology by Author "Nyalazi, Ruth Christine"

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    Youth and Vocation Promotion
    (Tangaza University College, 2002-02) Nyalazi, Ruth Christine
    Our true and ultimate meaning in life is God who is able to bring us to the realisatiorpof who we are and what our human destiny is in the real sense. Our life is a gift from God. God who created us in his own image and likeness, wants us to become the best we can and to make our world a better place. All of us are created with a particular purpose in life and to co-create and to sustain life in different and various ways. We often ask ourselves in life: How can we know what God wants of us? How can we discover the gifts God has given us? In the family, the basic unit of human society, we experience our first encounter with life in human society. The invitation to full participation in life begins here. As we grow up, we feel the need to be involved in life beyond ourselves, to contribute to the growth of the human society, to care for God's creation and to be life giving. There are challenges to embrace a life that is life giving. To say yes to life and then to live it, we need someone with whom we can share about ourselves and our vocation in life. Vocations are currently flourishing in Africa and this is a blessing. However, it calls for a lot of prudence and courtesy in helping discern genuine vocations. Looking at the situations we face in Africa, we need to assess the surge in vocations with other socio-economic factors like rising unemployment, low standard of education. poverty and war. We need to assess properly the motives of those opting for Religious life/Priesthood. This is a challenge to most African communities, but God calls us from where we are, in the situations we are in. to serve him in diverse ways. No vocational choice is better than the other. Consecrated Iife is an option that is not so much understood in most African cultures; yet more and more young people express their desire to embrace it. How do we help them answer this calling, especially the call to Religious life/Priesthood? This paper will serve as a manual for vocation promoters who need first to know what it means to be involved in this ministry. In Chapter One, we will try to define what vocation is in the context of our times, bringing to awareness that all of us are called to a particular mission in life. We will then go to Chapter Two where we will explore different youth issues that can be of help in making life choices and which vocation accompaniers need to know. Chapter Three follows and we will look at Youth, Environment and Vocations where we see factors that surround them in daily life that can hinder them in realising a genuine response. This calls for vocation accompaniers to journey with young people in ways that will allow them to open themselves to God's prompting through discernment. We will then proceed to Chapter Four by looking at the crucial issues that we need to encounter in helping young people discern vocation to Religious life/Priesthood; where we assess their motives using different way,. The accompaniers need to be aware of elements in discernment and we will suggest a tentative programme for a discernment workshop. In Chapter Five, we will do some theological reflection on vocation promotion. It is here that the vocation stories in the Bible form a basis for our own calling. We will conclude this paper with apostolic exhortations and other documents, which are practical suggestions that address the youth, themselves, parents, men and women of good will and the consecrated people. Vocation Promotion is a work that each of us must contribute to.