The effectivity of six activities for decision making in vocation discernment among novices of thu duc congregation of the lovers of the holy cross in Vietnam

• Main Author: Hanh, Nguyen Thi Ngoc
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2008
• Subjects: Discernment (Christian theology); Religious education > Vietnam; Religious Education
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/7057
• Institution: De La Salle University

The aim of the study was to find out the effectivity of six activities in the vocation discernment (VD) for decision-making among the novices of the Lovers of the Holy Cross (LHC), Thu Duc Congregation in Vietnam. These six (6) activities were selected and combined based on the Formation Field (FF) of Van Kaam and the Candidate-Centered Approach (CCA) of the LHC Constitution taking into consideration the Vietnamese culture and the congregation’ present situation. Fourteen (14) second-year novices of Thu Duc LHC Sister in Vietnam aged twentythree (23) to thirty-three (33) participated in this study. This study used a descriptivequalitative research and incorporated qualitative technique. It utilized three (3) instruments: Researcher-designed question scale instrument, Participant observation schedule, and One-on- one interview schedule to gather the data. The results revealed that each activity, with its own nature and characteristics, was found diversely capable and helpful to the different dimensions of the novices’ life as well as to the stages of their vocation discernment. Generally, the six interwoven activities brought about substantial help to the Thu Duc LHC novices who participated in this special vocation discernment activity. The individual activity, the activities as a whole, the participants and the strong Vietnamese culture all affected the effectivity of the activities on the novices’ dimensions of life and their vocation discernment stages. Though the high effectivity rate did not guarantee a free choice done by the novices, the activities surely provided them enough readiness to continue their vocation, as well as surprising benefits such as improved self esteem, healing of pain, spiritual growth, and faith development. The discussion of the results was based on various theories on holistic vocation discernment. Some recommendations were provided to further enhance the activities’ effectiveness. As well, further studies were suggested to discover the applicability of this study in other settings, group of participants and modes of interaction to further find out the six activities’ different helpful benefits.