Vocations
Welcome to Vocations.in, the research and sharing wing on VOCATIONS, is a communicational platform of Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus, India (RCJ).
Vocation has its etymological Latin heritage from VOCARE, to call. A call requires an answer. Four ways of answering are the freedom dynamics that we enjoy and the choice define our journey.
The ROGATIONISTS whose Charism is to PRAY AND WORK FOR VOCATIONS (rogare + azione= prayer + action) are committed to foster vocations in the church through all means, particularly through prayer and witness. In addition, in collaboration with the experts in different fields of social sciences we cater valuable data through their research and analysis of the socio-cultural context, so that the Church, particularly the church in India could become a more and better communicating Church ON VOCATIONS.
The ROGATIONISTS facilitate a venue/ reserve for comprehensive VOCATION analysis to assess, manage and evaluate VOCATION content in the pastoral and missionary context of India. The platform aims to keep the interested updated on the documents of the church, latest research studies, in India and across the globe concerning Catholic VOCATIONS and pastoral life, and publishes its own research findings periodically.
The ROGATE EMPOWERMENT CENTER (REC) is an institute under ROGATIONISTS ST. THOMAS PROVINCE-INDIA dedicated for research & sharing on VOCATIONS and Catholic life in India. The Institute is envisioned to develop research tools and framework with an interdisciplinary approach to engage with the opportunities and challenges presented by changing nature of vocations, its quality and quantity, due to technological, and social-political environments in India.
The ROGATE EMPOWERMENT CENTER brings together scholars who are at the cutting edge of creative and community engaged research in the selected areas, predominantly related with the Catholic life: from the Hermeneutical, Biblical, Sociological, Psychological, Missiological, Epistemological and other methods of Humanities, Creative arts and Social Sciences. These researches focus on understanding the impact on VOCATIONS: of socio cultural changes in the Indian society especially through media and communications.
REC aims to build Indian Catholic Church’s capacity to appreciate while being equipped with the modern means of communications and technology as well as to understand and engage with the technologically mediated globalizing forces, which deteriorate cultural values and disturb the pastoral life on Vocations. The research it undertakes is interdisciplinary, practical and project based, drawing from disciplines such as theology, philosophy, cultural studies, media studies, literary studies, language and linguistics, creative arts, politics, sociology, history, anthropology and economics etc. .
ROGATE EMPOWERMENT CENTER (REC) is envisioned to develop and implement innovative research for tomorrow’s Church in India, chiefly in the area of VOCATIONS. The varied challenges posited by the exponential vicissitudes in the socio cultural milieu mediated by the ultra-modern communication and technologies have left the church at the edge of a confusion and estrangement. The contemporary youth feels them more and more alienated from the grand old church. The new media, digital media in particular, is penetrating into the lives of the ordinary folks of India with an incredibly accelerating speed creating data chaos and consequent dilemma. Added to it is the challenge from the growing fundamentalist communalist politics. . As a result, we perceive deterioration of cultural integrity ON VOCATIONS in the present day society. In this context the Church has a different vocation to live and complex realities to respond to.
However, due to lack of carefully planned study and research relevant data and verified information are scarce to analyse this complex cultural reality. ROGATIONISTS are concerned about this gap in knowledge and are committed to design and conduct research ON VOCATIONS that affect Catholic life in India.
The mission is therefore twofold: a) KNOW the VOCATIONS=VOCATION LITERACY – create awareness, education and formation on liberal, interactive and faith ivied experience ON VOCATIONS (strength, weakness, challenges and potentials); b) ENGAGE and BE the VOCATION PROMOTERS and AGENTS OF PRAYER FOR HOLY/QUALIFIED VOCATIONS – to live Catholic Faith in joyful freedom, advance, preserve, and help restore India’s Catholic culture on VOCATIONS, and UPLIFT its character, traditional values, and morals by engaging and being the VOCATIONS in the endeavour to transform the culture: building up of a Good News culture on VOCATIONS.
This Web site named ‘vocations.in’ will provide a platform for research and sharing. And the consortium participants will conduct and discuss research on topics related to VOCATIONS in the Church in India. Thus the centre is working towards creating new ways of telling the story of Jesus and his church through effective VOCATION LITERACY and communicative methods.
VOCATIONS.IN HAS THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES:
- Design and conduct research on issues related to VOCATIONS
- PUBLISH the research findings periodically on a regular basis on Vocations
- Direct Vocation promoters, religious, priests, seekers, students and others to carry out a proper VOCATION LITERACY through research under its qualified research guides
- Do research and produce innovative concepts for different congregations and institutes on Vocation Literacy of their own institutes, which include: studies, research and findings that would be communicated through different forms of media: websites E-paper, animation, graphics, social media etc.
- Organize National Conferences, Congress, seminars, workshops to generate and circulate in-depth knowledge on vital issues related to VOCATIONS
- Do research on richness of VOCATIONS that affects and influence public policy and orient the policy makers of the country
- Initiate and promote debates and discussions on relevant Vocation issues or events, with a view to create meaningful public opinion
- Organize various events on Vocations as a knowledge dissemination strategy
- Publish a quarterly review on Vocations
- To offer workshop, seminars and courses on Applied Research on vocations with interdisciplinary competence