On Sunday 13th April 2008, the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Diarmuid Martin, was the chief celebrant at a special Eucharistic celebration to mark the ‘Year of Vocation’, which began on Sunday. It will continue until Vocation Sunday next year – 3 May, 2009.

The Year of Vocation initiative aims to raise awareness of the common vocation that we all share through baptism and to draw attention to ‘Call’ in the life of the individual. It also seeks to encourage collaboration between the various groups in the Church and to increase the numbers of candidates for religious life and priesthood.
 
In his homily, Archbishop Martin urged young people not to be afraid to witness to the life of Jesus in their lives. He said that Jesus is the only source of true freedom and that, although many searched for happiness in other places, ultimately they were disappointed and disillusioned with what they found. Jesus, he said is the only source of true freedom and peace.

One of the key events for young people this year is the World Youth Day in Sydney. A young person who had attended the World Youth Day in Cologne spoke at the Vocations Sunday celebration.. She spoke about her initial reluctance to go, but she went on to say that she had enjoyed the trip and that it had helped her to form great friendships and to deepen her relationship with Jesus.

Claire McKiernan D.C., Vocations Director of the Daughters of Charity, continues…

My experience of young people is that they are full of idealism and have much to teach us. While past generations placed a very high value on the sacramental aspect of religious practice, today’s younger generation tend to focus more on issues of social justice and working for the poor and marginalised. This of course is what Jesus cited as true religion.
 
In James 1: 27 Jesus says that pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God is, ‘ to take care of orphans and widows when they suffer and to remain uncorrupted by this world’.

I have worked in Vocation Ministry for almost 4 years and in the course of my work have found myself asking questions about vocation ministry and religious life.

• Why do I want to promote vocations to my community?
• Do I believe that young people will be interested in this way of life?
• Is this a viable option for young people today?

I haven’t been able to find answers to these questions but I have discovered that young people are searching for a sense of meaning in their lives, they want to belong and be part of a community and they hunger for spirituality. This has been confirmed for me in the many young people who have contacted us to offer to work as volunteers either here in Ireland or abroad in Kenya, Nigeria and Ukraine. On Wednesday 16th April the Daughters of Charity are holding an information evening in All Hallows College to celebrate the many young people who want to work with the poor and marginalised in our society. We will begin by having a guest speaker, Andrew O’ Connell and this will be followed by two volunteers giving their testimonies of what the experience of Volunteering has been for them. This will be followed by a ‘Sending on Mission’ for two young girls who are going to Ukraine in June for 6 months to work with street children. 
 

I invite you now to listen to some of the challenges that young people put to us in their desire to become more authentic Christians:

• Everything we ask of the Church we will offer in return…We seek wisdom and knowledge and will use those gifts in return to enrich your Church
• Please openly witness to your faith by being available. Specifically to you who live the consecrated life and serve as ordained ministers, offer us authentic joyful witnesses to your way of life, that we may experience the passion of your service
• Invite us to share your excitement and deep love of Christ and the Church
• Inspire us with open dialogue, a dialogue where we will recognise our responsibility and accountability
• We invite the religious to share personal authentic stories with us, including their struggles and joys
• As Catholic adults…we ask you to enrich our identity by providing us with opportunities for meaningful catechesis, ongoing formation and education

(These statements are taken from Fools for Christ: Promoting vocations in tumultuous times by Paul Bednarczyk CSC)