Vocations Sunday 2014

As we prepare to celebrate the annual Day of Prayer for Vocations, it is opportune to be reminded that over fifty years ago when this special day of prayer was inaugurated by Pope Paul VI there was a perceived need to ask the universal Church to join in prayer - because of the lack of prayer at the time.

All our efforts at prayer will inevitably bear fruit, since we are responding to the direct call of Christ to 'pray the Lord of the harvest to send new labourers to His harvest'. And the Lord will not let us down when we pray - but what may do so is our lack of confidence in Him.

On this day it is good to remind ourselves that Jesus Christ is the only reason to be a priest or religious. With that in mind, I recall one man telling me a number of years ago as I began vocations ministry for the Irish Dominicans that Our Blessed Mother was an important part of his vocational discernment; in fact, one of Mary’s simple phrases helped make his discernment easier, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Your prayers are asked for the men who are currently discerning their call to become Dominicans in Ireland - this Vocations Sunday is an appropriate day to remember them.