Relationships | Witness | Accompaniment | Discernment
Active for more than 35 years, the Chicago Archdiocesan Vocation Association (CAVA) is a ministry sponsored by the Office for Religious in the Archdiocese of Chicago. CAVA is an association of Roman Catholic Religious Sisters, Brothers, Priests, Consecrated Laity and others who are active in and supportive of vocation ministry.
WHAT IS CAVA?
The Chicago Archdiocesan Vocation Association (CAVA) is a ministry sponsored by the Office for Religious (OFR) in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Officially established through the Archdiocesan Vocation Office in August 1979, CAVA celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2019. CAVA is an association of Roman Catholic Religious Sisters, Brothers, Priests, Consecrated Laity and partners who are active in and supportive of vocation ministry.
To visit the CAVA website, got ot: www.vocationscava.org
WHO ARE WE AND WHY ARE WE HERE?
We believe that everyone has a vocation and God calls us each by name.
CAVA’s purpose is to nurture a Culture of Vocations within the Catholic Church.
We encourage those who are feeling called by God to live their life to its fullest expression by responding to that call – whether it be to consecrated vowed life, ordained – priesthood/diaconate, married or single life.
As vocation ministers for communities of consecrated religious women and men, we journey with those discerning a vocation to consecrated life and supporting those who work in vocation ministry or providing resources to our partners. We inspire others to consider the consecrated life as an option by the witness of our lives and by the lives of religious women and men.
CAVA members and partners belong to or avidly support religious congregations, secular institutes and lay ecclesial movements serving the People of God in the Archdiocese of Chicago.
CAVA’s programs include vocation fairs, presentations, campus retreats, discernment weekends, and monthly online discernment groups. We also publish quarterly newsletters that provide what’s going on in the vocation ministry scene.
Get involved with CAVA!
We need your help in supporting this ministry. Watch our WHY CAVA? Video! Be a member, partner, CAVA Friend/Supporter.
If you are passionate about nurturing a vocation culture, accompanying discerners or willing to collaborate with others, consider becoming a member of CAVA. We welcome sharing your ideas, energy, expertise and enthusiasm for vowed/consecrated life. Please contact Sr. Lovina Francis Pammit, O.S.F. at 312.534.5240 or [email protected]
CAVA cultivates a culture of vocations and gives witness to consecrated life.
To help people discover and respond to God’s call in their lives.
Relationships – Recognizing that vocations are nourished in the midst of the community of believers, CAVA provides an environment of support for both vocation ministers and discerners through the Archdiocese of Chicago and member Congregations. We offer opportunities for members to gather for prayer, peer support and ongoing formation. We promote vocation awareness in parishes, schools, colleges, universities, volunteer organizations and other ministries. We engage families, volunteers, teachers, campus ministers, catechists and others through collaboration. These relationships become the seedbed from which vocations are cultivated.
Witness – Firmly rooted in our baptismal call, we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and in union with the Church, put our lives at the service of God’s people. CAVA honors and celebrates the diversity of gifts and charisms present among discerners and members. Rejoicing in the innate goodness of every person, CAVA nurtures prayer, acts with justice and walks humbly with one another, furthering the Kingdom of God. Led by the Holy Spirit, women and men called to the consecrated life become a sign of hope and a beacon of joy, drawing all into sacred community.
Accompaniment – Trusting in the providence of God, we walk together on our journey of faith. Through prayer, faithful listening, mentoring, sharing of resources and education, CAVA encourages its members, collaborators and discerners. These encounters till the soil of the human heart for the invitation of God to take root and grow.
Discernment – Confident in God’s presence within and around us, CAVA offers a mutually safe, contemplative space, programs, tools and resources where the seed of vocation can be nurtured to growth. Through questioning, listening, sifting, and sharing, we remain open to and respectful of the actions of the Holy Spirit wherever they may lead. By awakening the imagination, pondering the possibilities, nudging resistance, risking the road less traveled and waiting for the still, small voice of God, we identify where each person’s deepest joy can meet the world’s hungers. Unearthing the beauty and uniqueness of each vocation, we rejoice in the abundance of the harvest gathered from the Lord’s vineyard.
