Cloyne Diocesan Pilgrimage
4th Sunday of Easter C
Vocation Sunday
11 May 2025
My friends,
The Church has been surprised again! The Conclave under the guidance of the Holy Spirit has chosen Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost to be Pope and he has chosen the name Leo. The Church rejoices and we are glad.
Before the Conclave, one Cardinal Elector was asked would their choice be between continuity or change. He replied the choice is not between continuity or change - the choice is to go forward – that includes both continuity and change. We never make a total break, and we never stay in the past. It’s both. It has to be both. That’s the life of the Church.
His remarks seem prescient now that we know the choice they have made and our new Holy Father in faith is Leo XIV. He has already made clear his mission is to build on the work of Pope Francis and his predecessors. The Church is called continually to go out with the Lord’s message of hope, joy and peace. As one who’s priestly vocation was to be a missionary, he is uniquely gifted to bring that visionary impetus to the whole Church.
We gather on Good Shepherd Sunday – a day dedicated to prayer for vocation – to priesthood, consecrated life, married life or indeed to the single state. All walks of life carry a vocational dimension – whereby a person feels drawn to a choice by which they sense their life will find meaning, purpose and contentment. In making that choice the support of family and community plays a big part. It is common to find young people follow their parent’s footsteps into a profession.
On this day of prayer for vocations to priesthood and consecrated life we know that the spirit of our society has changed. Our ambitions by way of wealth, technology, personal values have made it very difficult for young people who sense a calling to a life dedicated to the spiritual guidance and support of others to find support from those ‘round them.
This begs the question, what priorities and values are our families, schools and social education promoting? Young people today are as idealistic, well intended and reflective as previous generations but they need example support and encouragement to follow through on their sense of call.
The original reflection for this Good Shepherd Sunday came from Pope Francis, some lines are worth recalling.
“A vocation is a precious gift that God sows in our heart, a call to leave ourselves behind and embark on a journey of love and service. Every vocation in the Church, whether lay, ordained or consecrated is a sign of hope that God has for the world and each of his children.”
“Every vocation is inspired by hope, marked by confident trust in God’s providence… The discovery of our vocation comes about as the result of a journey of discernment. That journey is never solitary but develops within a Christian community and as part of that community.”
My friends, we who come on pilgrimage to Knock keep all involved in that discernment close to our hearts in prayer; those who fulfil the role of Vocation Director, those who are discerning their vocation, those involved in the work of formation and those in seminary at this time. We pray today in a special way for our families, especially those who are fearful that a son or daughter with a religious vocation might be lost to them. We pray for our wider parish community that they will serve as a source of encouragement and support to those among us who are contemplating a religious vocation.
The call of baptism to Christian life and service belongs to all – to live in Christ is to become a person for others knowing that “in giving we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”
