CAREERS AND VOCATIONS

Fr Billy Swan

On the evening of 12th March, a careers night took place in St Peter’s College Secondary School in Wexford. It was organized by the Past Pupils Union with over forty stands and tables on display with personnel from multiple career options available for students to talk to about what each career path entailed. Among the diverse careers represented were the Gardai, the Defense Forces, business, accounting, careers in construction, finance, engineering, medicine and even criminology to name but a few.

Being a diocesan school, the organisers kindly invited the Diocesan Vocations team to take a stand/table and to be part of the evening. We accepted gratefully and took our place at the careers night with a vocation table of our own. I was present at the table with Breda Murphy from the parish of Kilrush who is a member of the Ferns Diocesan Lay Vocations Council. The presence at the table of a priest and a lay person as a team, was a powerful sign that the task of attracting vocations to the priesthood and religious life is something that concerns the whole Church and is not only an issue that concerns priests and religious alone. As every lay vocation is a gift to every priest, so every priest and religious vocation is a gift to every lay person, family and parish community.

Our presence on the evening among the many career choices on display was also a strong and visible sign that becoming a priest or religious is not something from the past but is a vocational possibility in the present and the future. Our table was a visible sign that the Church has not gone away or disappeared from the public arena, nor do we intend to. It was a challenge to anyone who thought that the option of a priestly or religious vocation was ‘off the menu’, to think again and to be reminded that in the midst of the many career choices and pathways in life that are open to young people, a beautiful life of complete service and dedication to God and his people is still possible. I believe that many young people God is calling to the priesthood or religious life don’t come forward because they don’t know where to begin or what first step to take. This was why we were there – to help the young men make that first step and to give them the opportunity to ask the right questions.

So how did it all go? I am happy to report that the evening was a great success. Many young men sat down to chat and to know more. It was noticeable and mildly amusing to see the look of surprise on some of the faces of the other career tutors that seem to ask ‘what are you doing here?’ For the students who came to chat, it was heartening to see a mild curiosity on their faces translate into the courage to come and engage in conversation with us.  I asked myself: ‘When I was their age, would I have been as brave to be seen talking to a priest about a vocation to the priesthood or religious life? I’m not sure’.

Here is a summary of the evening from Breda and what impressed her most.

“Representing the Vocation Team at St. Peter’s Career Night, I anticipated a quiet evening—our primary role being to maintain a visible presence and remind students that a vocation to the priesthood remains a meaningful and viable path. However, to my surprise, the level of interest from the students exceeded my expectations.

Throughout the evening, we engaged with many young people who approached us with genuine curiosity. They were polite, well-mannered, and had clearly put thought into their questions. Their inquiries were not just routine but reflected a sincere interest in discerning their future path.

It was both heartening and thought-provoking to witness this enthusiasm. Could this signal a shift in young peoples' openness to a vocation and greater participation in the life of the Church? While only time will tell, the experience left me with a renewed sense of hope and encouragement. It was a reminder that, even in an ever-changing world, the call to priesthood continues to inspire, and the future of our faith community may indeed be in safe hands”.

Will any of the young men who engaged us that night become priests? Most of them will not but with prayer and encouragement some perhaps will. Whatever happens, the evening was an experience of hope and with our presence at a careers night, the message was communicated to these young men that while we might choose a career, God chooses us for a vocation. We can change careers but a vocation is for life. God calls, we respond and in his will is our peace.