In honor of the”Grace of YES” day… (inspired by Lisa Hendey’s book, The Grace of Yes):
The people who inspire me with their yes include …
Intercessors: the men and women who silently, and particularly, intercede for others with their hidden prayers. I know I have been the grateful recipient of many prayers lifted to heaven.
Helping Servants: The people I know who quietly work in the ministry of the St Vincent de Paul Society in my parish and diocese. Their generous and thoughtful work brings what’s needed most to homes in my town. There are other ministries listed here, in Catholic Digest, that are worthy of our support.
Missionaries: Full-time missionaries, like Jonathan and Kristen of Family Mission Company, and campus ministers like Michelle Ducker, and FOCUS. And part-time missionaries like Totus Tuus programs.
Caregivers: Those who bring relief and care to the elderly, the infirm, the mentally ill, and those who have no family to belong to.
May the grace of YES to God in our lives lead us to perform the corporal and spiritual works of mercy…
The corporal works of mercy include:
- To feed the hungry;
- To give drink to the thirsty;
- To clothe the naked;
- To harbour the harbourless;
- To visit the sick;
- To ransom the captive;
- To bury the dead.
The spiritual works of mercy are:
- To instruct the ignorant;
- To counsel the doubtful;
- To admonish sinners;
- To bear wrongs patiently;
- To forgive offences willingly;
- To comfort the afflicted;
- To pray for the living and the dead.
Finally, the grace of yes is “a vocation to love”, as St Therese of Lisieux once declared. Whatever our vocational state, let us be faithful Marriage partners and faithful priests and religious, and faithful individuals who are single for the Lord. May our “yeses” bring the work of mercy to the world.
