Yes to Possibilities

“Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” St. John Paul II

I do charitable work at a place in my city. I have been going once a month for years. When I get my schedule for the month, I send out messages to whoever would be able to come since I need at least a group of 10. It would be nice to get a clear yes or no but usually I get a wishy-washy response which usually consists of excuses and musings about why someone cannot go. Christ told us, “Let your yes be yes, and your no be no.” How many of us can attest to that sentence. We live in a society of ghosting, no responses or basically, excuses. Where I work, we go through employees quickly. It seems to be a revolving door. Where is the commitment? We seem to be a society of non-commitment. When I visit monasteries, convents or anything related to the Church, it takes a big commitment. Recently, when I was at the RCIA, I invited whoever could help me with the charitable work to let me know. In seconds, there were volunteers.

“Do not be afraid to say YES to Jesus: to find your joy in doing His will.” Pope Benedict XVI

Venerable Chiara Corbella Petrillo (1984–2012) – A young Italian mother who postponed her own cancer treatment to protect her unborn child. She radiated peace, trust, and deep faith—even as she died. She said yes, even in tragedy. Blessed Jean-Martin Moye, one of 13 sons in a family of peasants in France, became a priest. He organized a group of women to help educate the poor children in rural areas. There was intense opposition to the Sisters of Divine Providence teaching and to sending them out into the world. He stopped. He volunteered to serve in China, and it was not easy. He returned to France, but he faced opposition during the French Revolution, so he and his sisters went to Germany. Helping those with typhoid fever, he succumbed to the illness himself at 63. He said yes also. The results were not easy. Another saint, St. Stanislaus Kostka was a teenager who defied his powerful family's opposition, walking over a thousand miles to Rome to join the Jesuits, saying "no" to a life of aristocratic comfort. He said yes to Christ but no to a life that was not for him. He followed.

St. Ambrose: "Let your door stand open to receive Him, unlock your soul to Him, offer Him a welcome in your mind."

Are we open to opportunities? There were many chances we said no to. There are times we said yes but we regret it or maybe it just does not work out. I am always happy to hear someone who has found their vocation – whatever that might be. I cannot tell someone what I think their life might be. It is not my place. What we can do for others is be present to them. Roads do not cross by chance. There is a reason for everything. I maintain what I always insist upon. We need to be open to the possibilities. We need to be aware of what might happen and whatever that is, it is for our good. That might be difficult to believer or understand. It is still true. Pope Leo XIV said God's saving presence is revealed not “in a prestigious location” but “in a humble place” and urged Catholics to protect what is holy and newly born — “small, vulnerable, fragile” — in a world that often seeks to profit from everything.

“Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.” Pope John XXIII