Invocation 2012
Fr Terry Martin, Vocation Director, invites all young people (18-35) to join him and a large group travelling from A&B to the national Vocations Festival in Birmingham, 6th - 8th July 2012. It is a well-established event which invites those present to take seriously the call of Jesus Christ in their lives. It is an opportunity, in an atmosphere of prayer and fellowship, to reflect, with others of a similar age, on life's Big Questions. Every young Catholic need, at some stage, to ask themselves the question, "What is God inviting me to do with my life?". This could be your chance to do just that.
Enquirer for the Priesthood, Simon Jones, writes of Invocation 2011:
"Invocation 2011 was one of few opportunities I've had to be part of a significant gathering of young (or young-ish!) Catholics, each of us there because we wanted to discern Christ's call in our lives. Those at the event included those considering vocations to religious life, secular priesthood, consecrated single life, and (in no small numbers) to marriage and family life too. Some had a very clear sense of where they were called, others were at the very beginning of their discernment. I was also heartened to meet some non-Catholics drawn to the event simply because they were curious and attracted to the faith of their Catholic friends.
The organised seminars allowed those who had already made a commitment to share with those of us still discerning the experiences of all that their choices had entailed. But just as valuable to me were the relaxed, informal conversations with those in a similar situation as myself, wrestling with the same doubts and human weaknesses and seeking answers to the same questions. The warmth and openness of those that I met was a source of tremendous comfort and inspiration to me, not least when offered in the relaxed atmosphere of the bar during the evening, with live, contemporary music adding to the atmosphere. Of course prayer and worship were central to the weekend, with Morning and Evening Prayer and the Celebration of the Mass at the very heart of the event. There were ample opportunities for Confession and Adoration too, although the highlight for me was the wonderful Candlelight Procession of the Blessed Sacramment on Saturday evening before Benediction.
There was, in short, so much on offer that I appreciated that the balance of worship, formal seminars and informal conversation in which we chose to participate was left very much in our own hands according to the needs of each us in our journey with Christ."
