This Monday, Mons. Luis Argüello, president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, shared a decalogue during the National Meeting of Vocational Pastoral Delegates.
The prelate pointed out that the Church in Spain is going through a true “vocational and missionary urgency”, and called for a pastoral conversion that recovers the centrality of God’s call.
Argüello warned that the vocational crisis is not just a matter of numbers, but a reflection of a deeper crisis: a culture that teaches to live without reference to God and that has reduced vocation to a mere ethical or sentimental ideal. In the face of this panorama, he proposed an itinerary in ten keys, collected by Aciprensa, which seek to renew ecclesial life and rekindle the divine call in every Christian:
The Vocational Decalogue
- Unite Mission and Vocation: there is no mission without vocation, nor vocation without mission; both dimensions are inseparable.
- Live Vocation as Gift and Task: what is received from God becomes a responsibility toward others.
- Overcome the “Pastoral of Values”: vocation is not reduced to human ideals, but is a real encounter with the Lord.
- Cultivate a Vocational Culture: all the Church’s action must be a space for call and response.
- Promote the Vocational Family: no vocation is lived in solitude, but in the community and in the entire Church.
- Educate for Reciprocity: each vocation needs the others; priests, consecrated persons, and laity enrich each other mutually.
- Organize Vocational Pastoral Care: it is necessary to give structure, soul, and continuity to this essential area.
- Collaborate Between Dioceses and Ecclesial Realities: movements, parishes, and communities must walk together in vocational promotion.
- Promote the Missionary Dimension: every authentic vocation is sent; mission is not optional, but inherent to the call.
- Transmit the Vocational Fire: every believer is called to spread the joy of following Christ and giving one’s life.
An Integral Strategy in the Face of the Crisis
For the president of the CEE, this decalogue cannot remain a statement of intentions, but demands a deep renewal of pastoral care and of the life of the Church. The vocational crisis—he warned—will not be resolved with isolated campaigns, but with a Church that lives in a key of vocation and mission, and that shows the world that man’s happiness lies in discovering God’s plan for his life.