Saying Yes

Sometimes I wonder how a guy who “ran away from the circus to join Glenmary” could end up where I am... But I have come to realize God calls us all, and it is up to us to say “yes.” We all have different gifts to share and draw on in the missions. I know from firsthand experience of Glenmarians that we are not all made from the same mold. Some Glenmarians are great preachers, others are fabulous artists, some are excellent listeners, and the list goes on. Some gifts that I do believe we share in common are our love of Jesus Christ, our desire to serve in the home missions and our joy in being with people.

Some mornings on my way to the Vocation Office I jokingly ask, “I wonder how many young men will be lined up waiting outside the door when I get there?” So far since I have been in the position of Vocation Director I have not found a line of people camped outside the door waiting to get in. But I keep praying for more people to respond to their call and I trust God and believe that people will respond.

Ten years ago I would have never known that I could do all that I have with Glenmary. And the wonderful news for someone discerning a call is that you don’t have to know all that you can do or be prepared to do it all the first day you walk into Glenmary. That is why we have formation and training for missioners. There is time. And it usually isn’t until we get out to the mission that the formation starts to make sense. As a fellow Glenmarian once said about his life the mission, “I don’t always know what we do here but it always seems to work out.” Thanks to the grace of God.