Ploughing for New Seed – Sr Mary O’Byrne OP
Last week, I carried out my task in the Vocations Ireland stand at the Ploughing Match. A stool was of enormous help as this work involved constant standing. Three Home Economics teachers and their pupils from St Dominic’s Cabra gave me my big surprise of the day.
A Franciscan who had originally been a teacher told a pupil from his former school that he was now a newly ordained priest. A Carmelite friar blessed hurleys for a group of lads who beamed hugely when they heard the blessing containing a prayer that their team would win all their matches. People of all ages came looking for prayers.. They wrote their intentions on a slip of paper which was then placed in a box bearing a notice that the enclosed orders would pray for them. While no one came specifically inquiring about vocations, it was notable that so many people were requesting prayers, mainly for those who were ill and for exam results.
A large poster showed Jesus as the Ploughman. We religious might learn from Jesus the Ploughman as we read from Isaiah “Does he who ploughs for sowing plough continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground? When he has levelled the surface does he not …put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place and spelt in the border? For he is instructed aright; his God teaches him”. Is 28, 24-26.
Let us plough then our ground today, listen to the call of the Master Ploughman, in order that the furrows of future religious life be straight, even, pleasing in His sight and ready to receive His seed at the proper time.
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Raising Awareness at the Ploughing – Sr Ronnie Rafferty OP
Being part of a Vocations Ireland effort to raise awareness at the Ploughing championships in Screggan, Tullamore was a unique experience for me. It was the first time I attended the event. The sheer number of people who walked past our stall, and those who stopped to interact with us,was at moments overwhelming. Most satisfying however were the conversations with those who did. Some shared their struggles with loss of a child and how faith had been their only strength, others talked about their needs as they asked in writing for prayers through the request forms provided. It was amusing to see youngsters getting their hurling sticks blessed by the Franciscan friars present with us at the counter. I could see that offering prayer cards for different situations was a popular take, as were the bracelets with a scriptural quotation printed on them. Congratulations to those who created so many ways to attract attention to the purpose of Vocations Ireland.
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Witnessing in Wellies – Fr Rory Doyle OFM Conv
I have recently been appointed as the Vocations Director for The Greyfriars of Great Britain and Ireland (The Conventual Franciscans). My job involves meeting men to explore and reflect on their sense of being called to priesthood or to the religious life, and to accompany them on their journey. Sister Carmen (a sister working in our Parish in Fairview) mentioned to me that the Ploughing Championship would be a good event to attend and that ‘Vocations Ireland’ have a stand there every year. I was surprised to hear that over a quarter of a million people attend it each year. I was also warned to bring wellingtons! I travelled down to Screggan in County Offaly with another member of our Vocations team, Fr. Peter, and we spent three days there. I must admit that I was a bit apprehensive the first day, as I trekked through the mud with the odd combination of my habit and wellingtons on, about what kind of rapport we would have with the people. Those fears were quickly allayed however, when we meet the team at the Vocations Ireland stand who made us very welcome and put us at ease with their professionalism. Over the course of the next few days, we spoke to dozens of people who approached our stand and were interested in who we were and what we did. Many of them (especially the younger ones) had never seen a Franciscan habit before and some asked quite innocently if we were Catholic or not! The teenagers were particularly interested in Carlo Acutis, a fifteen-year-old Saint, canonised on the 7th of September. They had heard about him in school and were looking for prayer cards of him. It was a wonderful reminder to me of how a single teenager, who lived his life for God, could have such an influence on hundreds of thousands of people around the world by his example. Several young men asked me about my calling and asked me about when I decided to be a priest. I explained to them that I never decided to become a priest but that God had put a desire in my heart in my twenties, and that I was simply responding to a call – a vocation, I explained, is discerning who God created you to be. The thing that struck me most about my experience at the Ploughing Championship is that the majority of people, particularly the young, are still very open to God and to the Spiritual Life. They nearly all took Miraculous Medals from us, and prayer cards, and were in general very friendly and chatty. We had several genuine enquiries from men who were considering the priesthood and the religious life and it was a pleasure to be able to answer their questions. All in all, it was a tiring but rewarding few days and myself and Fr. Peter were happy to have had the chance to give a witness to our way of life.
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