IT cannot be disputed that the Catholic Church in Ireland has entered unchartered, indeed challenging waters, in terms of her vocations. However, to suggest that the remedy to this problem can be found by securing greater numbers of vocations is too simplistic an analysis.
Indeed such a critique suggests a lack in understanding of the underlying problem.
The real question, and indeed the real answer, is a matter of faith.
The decline in vocations is not something new and has been happening for several decades. We have been living with a gradual re-adjustment of vocations numbers in Ireland since the 1970s.
The decline is a stark contrast to the high vocations numbers of the 1950s and 1960s.
However, the practical consequences of this downturn is now being felt in parishes around the country and, perhaps for the first time, is only now been seriously commented upon by the media.
So why, in these difficult times, does the church bother with "vocation"? Vocation is about a quest for God. In the Catholic tradition, that quest brings people together in many different ways and it always leads us back to the Gospel. Vocation has its beginning, and end, in the life of Jesus Christ.
While a healthy Catholic church requires, as a prerequisite, clerical and religious vocations, the church has only ever been made complete when lay people participate at the heart of her activities.
In contemporary Ireland we have now passed the point when lay involvement might be a "nice" addition to the body of the church. Such involvement is a now a reality and a necessity in order that the church can effectively operate in our modern, complex society.
Whether the level of participation of lay people in the church would have developed anyway, regardless of the drop of vocations in recent times, is the making of an interesting "what if?" debate.
But today, from parish level up, the church is united in promoting lay involvement.
The faith, human gifts/skills and experience of lay people, combined with those who are called to the priestly and religious vocational life, is a potent combination and one that the church needs to fulfil its pastoral responsibilities.
It is against this backdrop that the Catholic Church in Ireland is embarking on a "Year of Vocation" which will run from Vocation Sunday on April 13 to Vocation Sunday on May 3 next year. Note that the word 'vocation' is in the singular.
Why? Because the aim of the Year of Vocation is to raise awareness of the common vocation that we all share through baptism as expressed through witness, love and service.
Within each of these themes and throughout 2008 - 2009, the specific vocations of marriage, the religious life, the single life and priesthood will be highlighted and promoted.
Some highlights of the year will include: a national prayer campaign for students at examination time; a rally for World Youth Day to coincide with the events in Sydney on 15 - 20 July; and collaboration with the national pilgrimage centres to reflect on the theme of vocation during their seasons.
Further details can be found on www.yourvocation.ie.
The drop in the number of vocations has simultaneously created new and exciting challenges for the church. While seminaries today may have fewer student priests, the number of lay people studying theology in seminaries has rocketed.
There have been great developments in adult faith education at parish level in recent times. Last October, for example, the Bishops' Commission for Pastoral Renewal and Adult Faith Development published 'Parish Pastoral Councils: A framework for Developing Diocesan Norms and Parish Guidelines'.
This publication will better equip parish councils in their roles as leadership groups through which priests and lay people work together as partners, locally, in furthering the mission of Christ.
Another important development has been the establishment two years ago of a Permanent Diaconate Working Party so as to prepare for the introduction of the permanent diaconate in those dioceses in Ireland where it will be decided to have permanent deacons.
A key objective of this year's initiative is for the vocation message to reach as wide an audience as possible so that people will be challenged to discern and explore their own specific vocation in life.
An important feature of the year will be the promotion of the priesthood and religious life with the hope that a greater number of young people will reflect more deeply on these vocations as life choices.
The Year of Vocation is not an end in itself. Regardless of newspaper headlines, there is no doubt that religious and priestly life will outlive our time.
Our faith calls on each and every Christian to fulfil their vocation as asked of us in our baptismal promise. Let us embrace this responsibility so that the words of Jesus will ring true in our lives: "You will be My Witnesses" (Acts 1:8).
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