Papal Nuncio to Ireland on the need for vocations

It was very heartening to hear Archbishop Charles Brown, the Papal Nuncio to Ireland speak about vocations during his address at the annual Eucharistic procession in Cork city on Sunday last (feast of Corpus Christi). In a wide ranging contribution on the theme of the Eucharist, the Papal Nuncio also stated that our celebration of the Eucharist and our Eucharistic processions teaches us that our lives of faith as Catholics are not something which can be confined or limited to the inside of Churches. Our faith also needs to affect the way in which we live and interact in the public square as citizens. 

On the theme of vocations, he spoke of the need for the courage of men and women in Ireland to listen to and respond to the call of the Lord in their lives and to serve him:

"......In my year and a half in Ireland, I have met so many courageous Catholic women, who love their faith and love their Church. I met them at the Eucharistic Congress last year. I have seen them working hard to safeguard the lives of mothers and unborn children at this time. I have encountered them among religious sisters serving the poorest of the poor. I have met them teaching in schools. The Church needs their witness and their example.

But it is not just women whom the Church in Ireland needs today. We need young men too, especially young men who will have the courage to say ‘yes’ to the call of Christ, and follow him as priests. In the mystery of God’s plan, the Eucharistic presence of Jesus Christ is only possible when there is a priest, that is, when there is a man who has been conformed to Christ by ordination, a man whose life has been taken up by Christ, a man who has become – with all his weaknesses – an icon of Christ."

This invitation is urgent and necessary - and we need to hear it far more regularly!