Dear People of Ardagh and Clonmacnois,
The Church is celebrating its 42^nd World Day of Prayer for Vocations this year.  I write to you to make a special appeal for your fervent prayer for vocations to the priesthood, to Religious Life and for a commitment among lay people to work for the spread of the Gospel.

Bringing out the best in us.

Some of the crises of recent times have revealed a level of generosity in Irish people that has taken us by surprise.  On Sunday, the 8^th of January, of this year in the Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois people coming to Mass contributed over €350,000.00 to alleviate the hardship caused by the Tsunami Disaster.  The voluntary contributions per head of population in Ireland as a whole exceeded those of all other countries in the world.  Clearly, we can still rise to a challenge. We have still got what must be a nearly unique compassion (a word which translates into Irish as trocaire), for the poor of the world.   

It is not just by giving money that we show our compassion.  There are times when compassion makes us do something more costly than put money in a collection box. For instance, if somebody goes missing, let it be while hill walking or in some mysterious way, people will brave the wind and the rain to search for the one who is lost.  The spontaneous generosity in the ordinary person is quite remarkable in a world where many voices advise us to put ourselves first.

Is there a way in which our generosity can also be channelled to meet other kinds of need?  In the Church we have great need of more vocations to priesthood and Religious Life.   To match that need I believe there is generosity in the heart of many waiting to be tapped.  We can, I believe, attract young and middle aged people to a life which calls for generous service.  We live in a country which is rich in good models of priesthood.   In every county in Ireland there lives on the memory of priests whose presence in their communities made an immense difference at critical times.  I constantly meet people who mention names of priests to whom they feel personally indebted for pastoral care.  I feel a great sense of pride when I hear mention of outstanding and courageous ministry by a priest at the present time.

Hearing the Call of Christ
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· I sometimes marvel at the fact that in our time there are those who will turn their back on a good career in favour of a vocation which offers much less in material rewards. This is a great sign of hope. When the young get an opportunity to ask priests about their vocation, the question to which they want an answer is:  "Why did you go for it?"  Whenever I hear this I read it as a way of getting an answer to a question that some have asked themselves:  "Could I do it?"  Many of those who ask that question could genuinely say YES.  What they would like them to see and hear from us priests is that we find joy and fulfilment in doing God's work in the ministry. That is what those who ask about priesthood would like to hear.

· I feel sure that one of the questions that not only young men who think about the priesthood but also their parents want to ask is about the choice of living a celibate life.  If presented as a life without the responsibility of marriage only, celibacy will not attract anybody to the priesthood.  It would not augur well if it did.  The fact is that both married life and celibate priesthood must draw their strength from love, generous love that "endures all things", to use words from St Paul.  Put another way, you could say that priesthood and marriage need to be happy life choices.  Married people with a generous love for their married partner find love of God in that relationship.  Priests find it in a celibate love that includes God and people.

· Those who go forward for the priesthood today need encouragement.  In the past approval from parents was probably the most important kind of support of all.   This is still important. But more is needed.  There is a saying that comes from Africa that could be adapted to describe how vocations are grown.  "It takes a whole village to rear a child".  It takes a whole community to create a vocation.  Most priests can readily identify a number of people whose encouragement gave them the confidence to offer themselves as candidates for priesthood. 

Who is responsible here?

The responsibility for promoting vocations rests on the shoulders of all of us.  The first person who has this duty in a

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