Although a modern culture of indifference makes their job one of the
hardest, vocations ministers from around the country had a productive
national conference in Perth last week.
By Robert Hiini
Over 100 vocations ministry professionals from throughout Oceania attended the biannual Catholic Vocations Ministry Australia (CVMA) Conference last week.
The five-day conference took place from July 13-17 at St Thomas More College, Crawley, featuring talks from Bishop Tim Costelloe SDB, Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne and Mexican priest, Fr Carlos Massieu, a former seminary director and specialist on the spirituality of mystic, Luisa Piccarreta.
Perth author, Alice Nelson, recipient of the 2009 Best Young Australian Novelist Award, rounded-out the guest speakers in a conference that took the “Coming of the Kingdom” as its theme.
The event was organised by the Western Australian Vocations Network (WAVN) – a body made up of representatives from different Religious congregations and associations present in WA – in conjunction with its national-body, the CVMA.
Sr Bernadette Pike MG, the first professed member of the fledgling Missionaries of the Gospel Community, attended the conference with fellow community members Natalie Thomas and Beatrice Yong.
Speaking to The Record, she described the conference as being a positive experience.
Sr Bernadette particularly enjoyed Bishop Costelloe’s take on the consecrated life and his practical advice about developing an attitude of receptivity to the presence of God, saying that the coming of the Kingdom was about the reign of God within us. Sr Bernadette became a member of the WAVN’s Committee just over two months ago. While not extensively involved in organising the conference, she accompanied a party of interstate delegates around the Basilica of St Patrick and the Fremantle campus of Notre Dame University as Ms Elizabeth Beal, Manager of the Office for Prospective Students, explained the university’s purpose and the history and function of the site’s buildings.
The Willagee-based Religious said that having so many different Sisters and Brothers gathered together over the course of the five-day conference provided a great opportunity for learning and solidarity.
“It’s so important not to think you have all the answers but to learn from others,” Sr Bernadette said, adding that the conference had made her hopeful for the future of vocations and vocations ministry.