Almost Cliche

Here in "missionary land" it is almost cliche to thank a person for their "yes" to serve God in whatever way. Thanks for helping us, thanks for witnessing, thanks for being who you are, thanks for saying "yes" to the Immaculata. All this stems from Fr. Faccenda's words: "Yes, the most powerful word a missionary can say."

"YES" is what Mary said, "YES" is what Jesus said, "YES" is what we are all called to say.

But, as our now venerable Fulton Sheen reminds us: every Yes has a No attached. His example: if I say "yes" to marry one man, I am -saying "no" to all the others. In other words we have to say "no" as often as we say "yes." Does this undermine the "power" of "yes" that Fr. Faccenda was talking about? Not at all. It solidifies it and strengthens it. It's just up to us whether we want to be "no" people or "yes" people.

At Mary's fiat she did not say, "I'll give up everything. No to everyone, but God." She simply said, "Yes" to God. "Let it be!"

When we follow her lead, our worldview becomes overwhelmingly positive, because every time I say "no" to something, I say"yes" to something or someone else. I often wonder if "Say No to Drugs" would have been far more effective if it was "Say Yes to Creativity/Happiness/Health..."

Seeing the "yes" helps us overcome boundary issues. If I say "no" to an unhealthy situation, I am saying "yes" to a healthy one. A trivial example: boundaries in food. No to the fourth scoop of ice cream is "yes" to a healthy heart. Less trivial examples are many: no to the abusive relationship; no to the alcoholic; no to the manipulator; no to tacky, impure forms of entertainment - YES to personal dignity; YES to the other's good; YES to God.

Saying "yes" deliberately moves you from resignation to His will to embracing it with a truly Marian attitude. Yes to driving the kids  all over town. Yes to cooking dinner for people who don't seem to appreciate it. Yes to the humidity and the heat. Yes to homework, lots of it. Yes to not sleeping well. Yes to Mass. Yes to crowds. Yes to sickness. Yes to sorrow. Yes to joy. Yes to life - as it comes - every minute of every day!