Enquiries

The month of August is traditionally a relatively quiet month in the lives of vocations promoters and directors in this part of the world- a month we generally look forward to before the new academic year begins in September.

Not so this year for this blogger. I have been compiling the statistics about enquiries about vocations to the Irish Dominicans since the last academic year began (September 2007). Since then there have been 60 new enquiries about our way of life and requests for information about being a Dominican. This is slightly more than double the average numner of enquiries of the past few years.

All this means that August will see me travelling from Donegal to Kerry and from Waterford to Antrim and many other places in between, along with a couple of trips across the Irish Sea to meet some of these new enquirers.

There is no one identifiable reason for this sudden upsurge in interest in the Dominican vocation in Ireland during this past year. However, I am convinced of the beginning of a trend generally in Ireland of men and women who are beginning to ask serious questions about their faith, their relationship with God, and how they can be of service in the church. Enquirers reveal to me that the mission of preaching, along with the community element of the Dominican life are primary attractions. A general analysis of this can be seen in the previous post on this blog.

As preparations begin to celebrate the feast of Saint Dominic tomorrow (August 8th), there are signs that his spirit is beginning to bring forth new life in Ireland.