Blog by Sr. Mai Dung Nguyen[/caption]
“God is good, all the time.”
“All the time, God is good.”
“I say Yes to the Lord; Yes, I say Yes to the Lord”
These words are often chanted and sung by teens and young people. All of us know God is good all the time and it may be easy to say “I say Yes to the Lord,” but doing what this “Yes” requires is not easy, especially when God’s plan is not on our own agenda and God’s way is not our way. A long time ago, I passed a vocation booth and the Sisters there at that booth stopped me. I wanted to move on but they invited me to come to their booth. Reluctantly, I entered and sat down with them. They began to introduce me to their community. I did not pay attention to what they said because I did not want to enter any religious order at that time. After a few minutes, they asked me for my contact information and I hesitantly wrote down my name and address for them. As I left, one Sister said, “Please take time to read these materials” while another Sister handed me information about her community. “OK!” I replied and put the information in my bag. After going home, I took out the free items I collected from different booths and went through the Sisters’ community materials because I was curious about what I might learn. There was one article written by a new member, sharing her experiences in living with the Sisters. Another article encouraged people to explore religious life. Hesitantly, I emailed the Vocation Director to see if I could meet with her without knowing if it was the right decision or not. After having a few conversations with the Vocation Director, listening to her challenging and encouraging words, I said to myself; “If I can spend many years studying, why not spend one or two years exploring religious life, about which I know little. Maybe my idea of religious life is different from the reality of this life. If I don’t like it, I can leave, but what I will gain from this experience may benefit me, especially in strengthening my faith.” Finally, I said “Yes to the Lord” and entered religious life. Now, having lived with Sisters in community, learning how good God is and how to say Yes to God in a profound way, I can really appreciate the moment the Sisters stopped me and encouraged me to consider religious life. Twenty years later, I can honestly say that religious life is much more than what I had imagined and it is where I have found great joy. Religious life is a beautiful life. However, it is often hidden or overlooked in the midst of other calls, and many hold inaccurate assumptions about this life. Even though the call to religious life may not appeal to you at this time, you may want to take time to consider what this life offers. If you can say; “God is good, all the time,” “All the time, God is good,” or “I say Yes to the Lord,” then you may want to take another step towards discerning whether God is calling you to religious life. Our Vocation Ministers can help you with this discernment. We also have a “Come and See” weekend on September 7-9 this year at St. Catharine, KY, which will give you an opportunity to explore what religious life is about. To register, please click here.