A vocation (Latin vocātiō - a call, summons^[1]), is a term for an occupation to which a person is specially drawn or for which he or she is suited, trained, or qualified. Though now often used in non-religious contexts, the meanings of the term originated in Christianity.

Senses[link]

Use of the word "vocation" before the sixteenth century referred firstly to the "call" by God to the individual, or calling of all humankind to salvation, particularly in the Vulgate, and more specifically to the "vocation to the priesthood", which is still the usual sense in Roman Catholicism.^[2] Roman Catholicism recognizes marriage and virginity or celibacy as the two vocations.^[3] Martin Luther,^[4] followed by John Calvin, placed a particular emphasis on vocations, or divine callings, as potentially including most secular occupations, though this idea was by no means new.^[5]

Calvinism developed complex ideas about different types of vocations of the first type, connected with the concepts of Predestination, Irresistible grace, and the elect. There are the vocatio universalis, the vocatio specialis, only extended to some. There were also complex distinctions between internal and external, and the "vocatio efficax" and "inefficax" types of callings.^[6] Hyper-Calvinism, unusually, rejects the idea of a "universal call" to repent and believe, held by virtually all other Christian groups.

In Protestantism the call from God to devote one's life to him by joining the clergy is often covered by the English equivalent term "call", whereas in Roman Catholicism "vocation" is still used.

Concept[link]

The idea of vocation is central to the Christian belief that God has created each person with gifts and talents oriented toward specific purposes and a way of life. In the broadest sense, as stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "Love is the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being" (CCC 2392). More specifically, in the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, this idea of vocation is especially associated with a divine call to service to the Church and humanity through particular vocational life commitments such as marriage to a particular person, consecration as a religious, ordination to priestly ministry in the Church and even a holy life as a single person. In the broader sense, Christian vocation includes the use of one's gifts in their profession, family life, church and civic commitments for the sake of the greater common good.

Modern vocational examples[link]

Since the origination of Vocational Guidance in 1908, by the engineer Frank Parsons, the use of the term 'vocation' has evolved to include the notion of using our talents and capabilities to good-effect in choosing and enjoying a career. This expansion of the use of word has led to the term being used with far less reference to religious ideology and harks back to the Latin origination of the word.^[7]

Literary clarification[link]

These books have attempted to define or clarify the term vocation.

• States of the Christian life and vocation, according to the doctors and theologians of the Church
• A Theology of the Laity by Hendrik Kraemer ISBN 978-1-57383-031-7
• The Fabric of this World by Lee Hardy ISBN 978-0-8028-0298-9
• Your Work Matters to God by Doug Sherman and William Hendricks ISBN 978-0-89109-372-5
• The Call by Os Guinness ISBN 978-0-8499-4437-6
• The Preaching Life by Barbara Brown Taylor ISBN 978-1-56101-074-5
• Let Your Life Speak by Parker J. Palmer ISBN 978-0-7879-4735-4
• Lay People in the Church: A Study for a Theology of the Laity by Yves M.J. Congar, O.P. Translated by Donald Attwater 1959
• Luther on Vocation by Gustaf Wingren 1957
• God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life by Gene Edward Veith, Jr. ISBN 1-58134-403-1

See also[link]

• Calling (religious)
• Otium
• Religious calling
• Trade (occupation)
• Vocational discernment in the Catholic Church
• Vocational education

References[link]

External links[link]

• Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate national, non-profit, Georgetown University affiliated research center that conducts social scientific studies about the Catholic Church.

Sandra Beasley (born May 5, 1980, in Vienna, Virginia) is an American poet and non-fiction writer.

Background[link]

Beasley graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, earned a B.A. in English magna cum laude from the University of Virginia,^[1] and later received an MFA degree from American University.^[2] For several years she worked as an editor at The American Scholar before leaving the position to write full-time.^[3]

Beasley is the author of the poetry collections Theories of Falling (New Issues, 2008) and I Was the Jukebox, (W.W. Norton, 2010), as well as the memoir Don't Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life (Crown, 2011), which is also as a cultural history of food allergies.^[4] Her poetry has been anthologized in The Best American Poetry 2010, Poetry Daily, Verse Daily, and Best New Poets 2005, as well as such journals as Poetry, The Believer, AGNI online, Blackbird, Barrelhouse, Copper Nickel, Gulf Coast, and Black Warrior Review. She was a regular contributor to the "XX Files" column for the Washington Post Magazine^[5][6] and more recently her prose has appeared in the Wall Street Journal^[7] and Psychology Today. She has received fellowships to the University of Mississippi (as the Summer Poet in Residence),^[8] the Sewanee Writers' Conference (Walter E. Dakin Fellowship), and Virginia Center for Creative Arts (two Cafritz Fellowships), among others honors. She serves on the Board for the Writer's Center and is also a member of the Arts Club of Washington.

Honors and awards[link]

• 2010 Summer Poet in Residence fellowship at the University of Mississippi
• 2010 LegalArt Residence^[9]
• 2010 Artist Fellowship from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
• 2009 Friends of Poetry Prize from the Poetry Foundation
• 2009 Cafritz Fellowship to Virginia Center for Creative Arts
• 2009 Barnard Women Poets Prize, selected by Joy Harjo
• 2008 Walter E. Dakin Fellowship to the Sewanee Writers' Conference^[10]
• 2008 Maureen Egen Exchange Award from Poets & Writers
• 2007 New Issues Poetry Prize, selected by Marie Howe
• 2006 Elinor Benedict Poetry Prize from Passages North at Northern Michigan University
• 2005 Cafritz Fellowship to Virginia Center for Creative Arts

Published works[link]

• Beasley, Sandra (2011). Don't Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life. New York, NY: Crown Publishing Group. pp. 240. ISBN 978-0-307-58811-1. http://www.randomhouse.com/book/196742/dont-kill-the-birthday-girl-by-sandra-beasley. 
• Beasley, Sandra (2010). I Was the Jukebox: Poems. New York, NY: W. W. Norton. pp. 90. ISBN 978-0-393-07651-6. http://books.wwnorton.com/books/detail.aspx?ID=15603. 
• Beasley, Sandra (2008). Theories of Falling: Poems. Kalamazoo, MI: New Issues Poetry & Prose. pp. 64. ISBN 978-1-930974-74-6. http://www.wmich.edu/newissues/titles/beasley-theories-of-falling.html. 

Translated works[link]

• Die Abtastnadel in der Rille eines traurigen Lieds. Selected poems. Bilingual edition (German, English). Berlin: Hochroth Press, 2011. pp. 28. ISBN 978-3-942161-13-8

References[link]

External links[link]

• Author's website
• Author's "Chicks Dig Poetry" blog
• Interview: "Q&A: Sandra Beasley says allergies can bring out insensitivity in others" The Globe & Mail July 19, 2011
• Interview: "Sandra Beasley: On Food Allergies, Rituals, and Inclusion"> Her Circle > Shana Thornton, July 12, 2011
• Interview: "Jake Adam York Interviews Sandra Beasley" Southern Spaces September 22, 2011.
• Poems: The Plays of Lilliput; The Mangrove House; The Parade, Delaware Poetry Review
• Poems: The Angels; My Los Alamos; Fireproof, Coconut 8

Rory Brady (20 August 1957 – 19 July 2010)^[1] was a barrister. He was Attorney General of Ireland from 2002 to 2007, and also served on the Council of State. Internationally, he sat on the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.^[1] He was later a visiting fellow at Harvard University in the United States.^[1] He was even tipped as a possible future Supreme Court judge.^[2]

Brady was born on 20 August 1957.^[1] He sat his Leaving Certificate in Synge Street CBS in 1975. He studied law in University College Dublin, receiving a Bachelor of Civil Law Degree in 1978. Brady was a tutor in Business Law in the Faculty of Commerce at University College Dublin. In 1979, he was called to the Irish Bar at The Honorable Society of King's Inns; and by the Middle Temple in London in 1986.

Brady was called to the Inner Bar of Ireland in 1996 and was chairman of the Bar Council of Ireland from October 2000 until June 2002. He thought the Personal Injuries Assessment Board was a "fatally flawed project".^[3] On 6 June 2002 he was appointed as Attorney General by the President of Ireland, on the nomination of the then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. He battled for an Indonesian child in the High Court,^[4] and in January 2006, told the Health Service Executive to repay €48 million illegal fees it took from nursing home residents.^[5][6][7] When "Mr A" was released the same year, Brady was vindicated.^[8] He was also a member of other statutory bodies within Ireland, including the Courts Service Board (October 2000 to June 2002); the Censorship of Publications Board (which he chaired from December 2001 to June 2002); and the Garda Síochána Complaints Board (from April 2002 to June 2002). He left in 2007 in what was considered a surprise move,^[1] becoming a barrister again,^[1] and receiving a "golden parachute" package of approximately either €87,000^[9] or more than €200,000.^[10][11]

In 2008, he mediated between broadcaster Pat Kenny and a neighbour with whom he was in disagreement over land, successfully resolving the dispute after ten hours of discussions.^[12] He later travelled to the United States to watch Bertie Ahern address the United States Congress in joint session in Washington, D.C..^[13]

Brady died in July 2010, outlived by a widow and two daughters. He had felt unwell for two years.^[14] Incumbent Taoiseach Brian Cowen called him one of the "finest and most able barristers of his time", while former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said Brady was "a great Dubliner who had a strong affinity with his native city" and described him as "my closest and most trusted colleague at the cabinet table. He was never anything less than brilliant".^[15][16] Ahern had been assisted by Brady in a defamation case.^[1] Fine Gael's Charlie Flanagan stated that Brady had served "with distinction".^[4] Hundreds of people, including politicians, attended his removal,^[17][18] while his funeral was also well attended.^[19] His interment was in Mount Jerome Cemetery.^[20]

References[link]

Article[link]

• "Where are they now: Rory Brady" - Sunday Independent - Ross, Shane - 4 January 2009

External links[link]

• Attorney General profile
• Newspaper link to related articles in the Irish Independent

This article is about the actor-director born in 1968; for other people with the same name, see Edward Burns (disambiguation).

Edward Burns
Burns at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	Edward Fitzgerald Burns (1968-01-29) January 29, 1968 (age 44) Woodside, Queens, New York, United States
Occupation	Actor, director, producer, writer
Years active	1995–present
Spouse	Christy Turlington (2003-present)

Edward Fitzgerald Burns (born January 29, 1968) is an American actor, film producer, writer and director.

Early life[link]

Burns was born in Woodside, Queens, New York, the son of Molly (née McKenna), a federal agency manager, and Edward J. Burns, a public relations spokesman and police officer.^[1] He was raised a Roman Catholic.^[2][3] Burns is the second of three children (with siblings Mary and Brian) in an Irish American family. He was raised in Valley Stream, New York, on Long Island.^[4] He briefly attended Chaminade High School before transferring to Hewlett High School. After high school, Burns attended SUNY Oneonta and SUNY Albany, before earning a degree in English from Hunter College in 1992.

Career[link]

Burns got his start in the film industry right after college as a production assistant on the Oliver Stone film, The Doors. While working as a gofer at Entertainment Tonight, he financed, produced, directed and starred in his first film The Brothers McMullen in his spare time, which was largely shot in his hometown of Valley Stream. Once he completed the film, he was able to get a copy to Robert Redford after an ET junket interview for Quiz Show at the Rhiga Royal Hotel in Manhattan. In 1996, Burns wrote, directed and starred in the ensemble drama She's The One with Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz and Amanda Peet, as well as Sidewalks of New York in 2001.

Burns is also known for his acting work on movies such as Saving Private Ryan (1998), Life or Something Like It (2002), and Confidence (2003). Looking for Kitty (2004), which Burns wrote, directed and starred in, was shot with a hand-held $3,000 digital Panasonic AG-DVX100 camera with a Mini35 adapter. The film's entire budget was $200,000^[5][6] and was filmed in New York City with a tiny crew and without standard permits. Burns discussed this unusual film-making process in the director's commentary on the DVD and wrote in the Director's Letter "If you are an aspiring filmmaker, in this day of inflating budgets and runaway production, the truth is you can make a movie for no money in New York... and have a blast".^{[citation needed]}

His film Purple Violets premiered exclusively on iTunes on November 20, 2007. Burns began a string of guest appearances on the HBO original series Entourage mid-way through season 3, as well as appearing as Grace Adler's boyfriend in Will & Grace. In Entourage Burns plays himself and is (within the context of the series) writing a new TV series in which Johnny Drama is able to land a part. In 2007, Burns announced plans to partner with Virgin Comics to create a series entitled Dock Walloper.^[7] Burns plans to use the comic series as a springboard to a film of the same story.

In March 2009, The Lynch Pin, a series of shorts starring, written and directed by Burns were released via the internet.^[8] The ten episodes are only available to view online as of August 2009 and future plans for the project are unknown.

With the modest success of Purple Violets, Burns was considering taking a studio directing assignment to make money. After reading a few scripts and taking a few meetings, he decided that he chose to get into film to be a writer/director. He then wrote "Nice Guy Johnny" and shot it quickly, on the RED One camera, for a reported $25,000 with a small crew.^[9] "Nice Guy Johnny" premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2010.^[10]

To coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Tribeca Film Festival in 2011, Burns wrote a movie, Newlyweds that he also directed and starred in. Following a model similar to Nice Guy Johnny, Newlyweds was shot on the Canon 5D, with an even smaller crew, for $9000 in 12 days.^[11] The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2011 as the closing night film.^[12] He claimed on Twitter that the $9,000 budget broke out to "5k for actors, 2k insurance, 2k food and drink. 9k in the can."^[13]

He is currently^[when?] running a screenwriting contest with the web startup Scripped for a crowdsourced screenplay which he intends to help get produced.^[14]

Personal life[link]

Burns is married to model Christy Turlington and has two children, Grace (born 2003) and Finn (born 2006).

Filmography[link]

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Writer	Actor	Roles	Notes
1995	The Brothers McMullen	N	N	N	N	Barry/Finbar McMullen
1996	She's the One	N	N	N	N	Mickey Fitzpatrick
1998	Saving Private Ryan				N	Private Richard Reiben
	No Looking Back	N		N	N	Charlie
2001	15 Minutes				N	Fire Marshal Jordan Warsaw
	Sidewalks of New York	N	N	N	N	Tommy Reilly
2002	Lethargy				N	Store Clerk	Short film
	Ash Wednesday	N	N	N	N	Francis Sullivan
	Life or Something Like It				N	Pete Scanlon
2003	Confidence				N	Jake Vig
2004	The Breakup Artist				N	Himself
	Looking for Kitty	N		N	N	Jack Stanton
2005	Will & Grace				N	Nick	TV Show
	A Sound of Thunder				N	Travis Ryer
	The River King				N	Abel Grey
2006	The Groomsmen	N	N	N	N	Paulie
	The Holiday				N	Ethan Ebbers
2007	Purple Violets	N	N	N	N	Michael Murphy
2008	One Missed Call				N	Detective Jack Andrews
	27 Dresses				N	George
2009	The Lynch Pin	N		N	N	Dan Lynch
	Echelon Conspiracy				N	John Reed
2010	Nice Guy Johnny	N	N	N	N	Uncle Terry
2011	Newlyweds	N	N	N	N	Buzzy
	Vietnam in HD				N	Joe Galloway	Voiceover
2012	Man on a Ledge				N	Jack Dougherty
	Friends with Kids				N	Kurt

References[link]

External links[link]

• Edward Burns at the Internet Movie Database
• Edward Burns at AllRovi
• Edward Burns Official Website