“There’s no doubt that Jesus invites us to have some very cool experiences in our lives, … but I’ve seen plenty of people turn down an invitation to fully live.”
Bob Goff, Love Does
My faith has called me to a lot of blessings in life recently. Simply choosing Providence College to be my alma mater has been a blessing enough, but when I reflect on the last three semesters, my mind is drawn even deeper to see the abundance of the Lord’s good graces. My time spent as a FaithWorks participant my freshman year really opened the door for my involvement in Campus Ministry, through which I have traveled to Fatima, served as a Peer Minister, and led some awesome retreats. On top of that, I have had the pleasure of meeting truly life-long friends. Every single person that I have gotten to know really well has had a profound impact on my life, truly nurturing my faith. I hope that—as a reader of my future posts—you get to meet a little bit of each of these friends, if not by name, then by influence on my life. But I will save that for later… back to the task at hand! In my inbox patiently awaits an email from Heidi inviting me to (yet again) share in a unique experience because of my faith through the Grace of God.
I like to think of my current invitation as if I were Mary, being invited to be the mother of Jesus—the mother of God. She answered with an unwavering and resounding “Yes!” to the angel Gabriel. Her answer bore weight because of how much she had been prepared for God’s plan to unfold. She was unaware of the reason behind why she lived a life free from sin and impurities, but she lived it nevertheless. It was when she was invited by God the Father via Gabriel that she would bear the Word, the Light of the world, that her preparation started to make sense. However, from this realization must have sprung so many more questions and anxieties. (Well, I don’t think Mary had any anxieties, due to the fact that she had the most unwavering faith in the Lord, but she was a mother, and worrying is what mothers do best, right?)
So too have I decided—without hesitation—to say “Yes!” No, I have not lived without sin, and, no, my task is certainly not at all the same task as Mary’s… or is it? Yes, I am not birthing the baby, Christ Jesus, you are right about that; but who is to say that I am not bearing Him? I am His instrument; He dwells within me. By accepting His invitation to serve in the Solomon Islands, isn’t that the same as me saying “Yes!” to Him working within me?
And certainly, my invitation has been backed by years of preparation. Without my life experiences, I would not have been ready to be invited into a deeper communion with Christ and the Catholic Church in the Solomon Islands. Pick almost any moment from my past, and I could relate it in some way to the Lord’s preparation of my heart, mind, and soul for this adventure. God has been laying forth His Graces in my life for the past 20 years, often being the single set of footprints along the shores of uncertainty. He has comforted me through my most trying times, and opened the doors for me to advance in His most holy name.
But my saying “Yes!” doesn’t really mean anything if I don’t also take action. Immediately following her free-willed and complete “Yes,” Mary acts. She visits Elizabeth, in order to spread the love and the joy in the news she had received, and then sings her praises to the Lord, expressing her deepest gratitude for all the Father has done for her (Lk 1:39-56). Mary acts out of her zealous love for the Lord.
God—just like “love”—is a verb. God is, and love does. Jesus did not just say what He was supposed to, but also traveled and lived it. Coming to understand this call to action personally, I have sought opportunities to follow in His footsteps, and here a path lies in front of me. I have said yes in my mind, but now the question remains: Is it written across my heart?
It Was Written: A Cross, My Heart 