Vocation Ministry
The Chapter Declaration 2006 stated that VOCATION PROMOTION was to be a priority for the whole Congregation. This call was presented to each one regardless of our age. This really challenged my complacency as I had imagined that our Wisdom Sisters from developing countries would be continuing our charism into the future.
The Chapter Declaration forced me to pray, with hope, that God would show me how I could play my part in living this priority.
An opportunity presented itself when my parish priest invited me to accompany a young woman called Alison who wanted to become a Catholic. On her way homed from work each Saturday evening, Alison had noticed many people entering the Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea. This had intrigued her and one evening her curiosity had led her into the church. There she met the priest and confided to him that she wished to become a Catholic.
Alison and two others had been part of the RCIA process in the parish were received into the Church at Easter 2007. Alison continues to meet and explore what it means to live this life of faith as a Catholic.
While this was happening, another young woman contacted me. Charlotte hopes to go to university. She is a Catholic and belongs to a young prayer group. While on retreat she felt that God was calling her to religious life. I arranged for Alison and Charlotte to meet and listened as they shared experiences. I was pleased when Alison agreed to go to the prayer group as I could see that Charlotte was full of enthusiasm for her Catholic faith.
My experience with these two women has renewed my faith in the vocation ministry. It has deepened my belief in God's live for our Congregation and reminded me that many young women are searching for a life that is meaningful. Also, they need support and encouragement to answer a call which is very often unclear. They stand at a crossroad, just as we did, afraid and unsure how to take the next step.
Vocation ministry now means for me a focus for pleading prayer which can give a deeper awareness of God's presence in this ministry, an alertness to opportunities like the one which Father Aidan took and a commitment to believing whatever God is asking of me right now.
Since the meeting at Ferdinand, Indiana, which Sr Jean and the Leadership Team attended, I feel we are being challenged to a new awakening of confidence and hope. Reflecting on the lack of vocations in the past I was encouraged by the example of the prophet Habakkuk and the apostle Paul. Their boldness of spirit is rooted in faith in God and is not silenced by suffering. Denis McBride in his commentary on the Gospel of Luke talks about a bold faith, "a faith that is rooted in God is capable of boldness that is awesome." God gives each one of us a spirit not of timidity but of boldness.
Sr Mary McGrath
St Anne's Community, Lytham
(adapted for the website from an article in Wisdom's Voice, Spring 2008)