| Year of Vocation (13 April 2008 - 3 May 2009) |
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The Church in Ireland has launched an initiative known as the ‘Year of Vocation’. It commenced on Vocations Sunday 2008 (13th April) and runs to the next World Day of Prayer for Vocations on 3rd May 2009. It challenges us to become more aware of ‘God’s call’ in our own lives. National campaigns and local events will remind us of our Baptismal responsibilities to be God’s witnesses, to serve and love Him and others. Attention will be drawn to the specific vocations of Marriage, Priesthood, Religious Life and Single Life.  The fundamental premise of the campaign is that the Lord continues to guide and direct us. God is constantly calling us to be in communion with Him and with each other. He invites each one to live a life of witness, love and service. The ‘Year of Vocation’ offers an opportunity to renew the fundamental call of every baptized person to follow Jesus Christ and His power to renew and transform.At the kernel of this special Year are the calls to witness, love and service (which entails sacrifice). In an April 2007 homily on the Feast of St Augustine Pope Benedict XVI reminded his listeners that Christians are called to be “…a community of people who believe in the God of Jesus Christ and who commit themselves to implement in the world the commandment of charity which he left them.” Service essentially involves a returning of God’s love through acts of charity with special attention to the material and spiritual needs of others. The Church exists to educate people in love and bring them to spiritual maturity. Christ came so that man might learn how much God loves him and man must in turn appreciate and return God’s love. This is the duty to be communicated in the course of the Year. In the face of contemporary challenges the baptised must take comfort in the words of Jesus: “I am with you always, to the close of the age.” (Mt 28:20) We have been saved by a person in Jesus Christ. The plan we are called to follow is set out in the Gospel and in the living Tradition of the Church. Our lives must be centred in Christ who is to be known, loved and imitated. Useful Links Yourvocation.ie The official website with resources and materials on the Year of Vocation. Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors Website promoting vocations to the diocesan priesthood and diaconate in Ireland. Vocations Ireland Website promoting vocations to the many Religious Orders in Ireland. 45th World Day of Prayer for Vocations Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. FSSP Vocations Scotland and Ireland Web blog promoting vocations to the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter. Apostolicam Actuositatem The Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity. Promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1965. Christifideles Laici Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation of Pope John Paul II on the Vocation and Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World. |