Vocation Sunday 2020 – DO YOU FEEL CALLED?
In a recent edition of the Irish Catholic (30/4/2020) Sr Fionnuala Quinn OP, shared the following as chairperson of the Vocations Ireland executive committee and vocation director for the Dominican Sisters in Cabra, Dublin. “Today, we seek to awaken a culture of vocation, in a wider context, that is characterised by inquiry, meaning, making, authenticity, while grounded in the search for the transcendent. “There is a different consciousness now,” continues Sr Quinn, [Fionnuala] adding that “vocations are nurtured with creativity and authenticity”. “We are about consciousness awakening, becoming present to our spiritual depths, to nurturing an awareness of the Divine presence within.” Although [Fionnuala] Sr Quinn admits there is a “crisis of vocation”, she explains it is about “public perception of the institutional Church” and “a crisis of Faith in relation to God”. “What Faith provides for people is a lens through which to look at life,” she says. “Faith gives a person a way of relating to the universe, other people, oneself and the divine. “Searchers today are often at a loss as to where to begin looking for purpose and meaning from a Faith perspective. “We are at a time of kairos,” says [Fionnuala] Sr Quinn, “a turning point and a time of opportunity to look at what really matters in life. “What really matters are our relationships, with our families, our neighbours and our world.” On the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, she feels there is “opportunity to withdraw” from the “business of our minds” and to “sink down to where the indwelling of God is present and to nurture our relationship with the transcendent one”. “This is an ideal time for discerning what is the meaning of life for all of us and to be open to the promptings of the Spirit,” Sr Quinn [Fionnuala] says. “As a woman religious for the past 50 years, I can honestly say the search for God, for meaning in life has never grown old for me and the search for meaning now is even more urgent that ever”.
Fionnuala is presently co-ordinator of our Vocation Ministry Team and can be contacted at domsvocation@gmail.com or you can text or call 089 4585708. DominicanVocationsLeafDL