Marists of the Region of Arco Norte hold a formative meeting on Vocation Culture

Twenty-two brothers and lay Marists from the Arco Norte Region participated in a regional formation meeting on Vocation Culture, which was held in Guatemala City from September 18-21, with the theme “Caring for and General Marist Life”. The meeting was organized by the Vocation Culture Team of the Arco Norte region, coordinated by Brother Omar Peña, from Central America. Br. Xavier Barceló, a member of the Institute’s ongoing formation team, was present on behalf of the Brothers Today Secretariat.

The formative meeting sought to promote joint and collaborative work related to vocation culture in the six Administrative Units that make up the Arco Norte Region: Central America, Canada, Central Mexico, Western Mexico, Norandina and United States.

The main objective of this initiative was to deepen the vocational dimension of all pastoral and evangelizing action, through formation in vocational culture (theology, spirituality, pedagogy, centrality of the Christian community). In order to achieve this goal, the following thematic nuclei were developed:

• Youth, culture and vocation: anthropological revolution, paradigm shift and hermeneutic key (Br. Juan Antonio Sandoval).
• Young people, culture and vocation: the category “vocation” in digital culture (Br. Omar Peña).
• Vocational culture: theology, spirituality and pedagogy (Br. Carlos Vélez).
• Structure and methodology of vocation ministry: educational perspectives for the development of vocation ministry in the digital culture (Br. Omar Peña).
• Marist vocation ministry in the Institute: an overview (Br. Xavier Barceló).
• Towards a shared path in Vocation Ministry as a region of Arco Norte (Br. Oscar Souberville – Macua).

At the end of the meeting, the Regional Team for Vocation Culture established some guidelines for vocation animation in the 16 countries of the Arco Norte region.