Column: Saying, ‘Yes’ to God
It’s amazing how one little word can shape the course of our lives. What we say yes to can have a huge impact, not only on our lives but on the world. If you need an example, look no further than Mary’s yes, or fiat, to becoming the mother of Jesus. Her yes to God changed her life and the course of human history.
Father Joe D’Amico, a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark, stopped by Morning Air® recently to discuss the importance of saying yes to God, and the blessings that come with following His will.
Pointing to Mary’s yes at the Annunciation, Father D’Amico said, “She acquiesced her will to the will of God. And that’s a beautiful thing. In essence, she was saying, ‘May Your will be done.’ We pray that in the Our Father and we see that in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
“Just think of how Mary’s life was turned upside-down, turned inside-out with the visit from the angel,” he continued. “To have that example of saying yes is a powerful witness and a powerful example. Mary is the first disciple and the perfect disciple of Our Lord.”
Father D’Amico also pointed out that saying yes to God is not a one-time thing. He explained that though he said yes to his vocation to the priesthood, that wasn’t the end of his need for obedience, it was really just the beginning.
“I take my fiat very seriously,” he said. “I admire priests who stay in an assignment for a full term and even get renewed two or three times. By no choice of my own, I’m not one of those guys. I’ve been richly blessed by a variety of experiences, and what brought me here to St. Anastasia doesn’t happen too often, but it was a capital-O obedience assignment.”
He recalled, “It’s early March 2019 and I got a surprise call from our personnel director. The cardinal and his board had me in mind to come here for a variety of reasons. I wasn’t even finished in my first term in my previous parish, so I thought about it and prayed about it, and I was so inclined to say, ‘No, you’ve asked me to take so many assignments and to move before the end of a term. Can you at least let me finish this term before you ask me to move again?’ That was my first reaction.”
“But, you know, Mary taught me to say yes without second questioning and to be true to my vows and my vow of obedience. I didn’t look back and I’ve been richly blessed. And Mary taught me to say yes with no strings attached.”
It’s not just priests and religious who need to stay true to their vows by saying yes to God. Fr. D’Amico said, “I think of married couples, when they say yes in front of the altar it’s a yes that resembles Mary’s consent of her will to God through the angel Gabriel. In sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, and so on.”
No matter your state in life, each one of us is called to hear and do the will of God each day. As Fr. D’Amico said, “Every single day of our lives there is a certain fiat that we need to constantly renew in our lives.”
What are some ways you have been called to say yes to God in the past? What is God calling you to say yes to today?
Listen to the full conversation here.
Morning Air can be heard weekdays from 5 to 8 a.m. Central on Relevant Radio® and the Relevant Radio App.
This article original appeared on relevantradio.com and is reprinted here by permission.
