Saying yes and no

Oh my! - the call must have been really loud! This was the reaction of someone to whom I'd just glowingly described the flat I owned when I entered religious life. She's not a religious person, but she instinctively recognised what had to lie at the heart of what was an otherwise incomprehensible action. And yes, I agreed: the call was really loud, and compelling... but also, when you're saying 'yes' to what seems to be the most attractive and right and best, and the likely source of the greatest joy, then you will say 'no' to other things, however lovely they too might seem; however big the wrench, and difficult the 'no' might be. 

In a way, this was a continuation of conversations I'd had on Saturday, when I was part of a Vocations Panel at Westminster Youth Ministry's World Youth Day summer picnic. We - married, religious, ordained and engaged - had talked about discernment, seeking and finding, but also about happiness and God's hundredfold, in the same breath as sacrifice and surrender. We had sought to explain something of the immense mystery of the Cross; of fulfillment through emptying, and receiving through giving - and giving up. And yes; we talked about flats and careers, and how enjoyable life had been for us as young singles: and we also talked about the years each of us had spent seeking satisfaction away from God, and the restlessness and searching and hungering which brought us back to this insistent God, who had in fact never let us go. 

At Mass the next day I wondered whether the participants heard that day's readings in the light of our sharing. Did they hear of the fire burning within Jeremiah, and think of the intensity of a growing, unimprisonable call? And then, in the Gospel, Jesus' words to his disciples: If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let them renounce themselves and take up their cross and follow me... anyone who loses their life for my sake will find it... the strangely lovely, unfathomable mystery at the heart of our lives, and of our sharing. 

Since then I have read Pope Francis' homily during Mass at the Steppe Arena in Mongolia, in which he said... 

This, dear brothers and sisters, is surely the best way: to embrace the cross of Christ. At the heart of Christianity is an amazing and extraordinary message. If you lose your life, if you make it a generous offering in service, if you risk it by choosing to love, if you make it a free gift for others, then it will return to you in abundance, and you will be overwhelmed by endless joy, peace of heart, and inner strength and support; and we need inner peace.

This is the truth that Jesus wants us to discover, the truth he wants to reveal to all of you and to this land of Mongolia. You need not be famous, rich or powerful to be happy. No! Only love satisfies our hearts’ thirst, only love heals our wounds, only love brings us true joy. This is the way that Jesus taught us; this is the path that he opened up before us.

And if we'd had this homily in front of us, I'm sure this is what we - married, religious, ordained, engaged - would have said to our audience. Lose your life in generous love and service, and it will return to you in abundance... And only love - only Love - can satisfy our hearts' thirst and bring us true and enduring joy...