In his homily, Fr. Dan stressed that at the heart of our Christian vocation is the belief that we are all called and chosen by the Lord. “It’s not simply that some are called to priesthood or religious life, for example, but that each one of us is called by name and chosen to share in the very life and ministry of Christ. The call to – and the challenge for – each of us is to hear God’s call in our lives and to respond to it: to be able to say ‘Yes, let Your will be done.’ Occasionally, very occasionally, God’s call and our ‘yes’ can be a dramatic life-changing event, which overwhelms a person and turns their life upside down, as it did for Mary our Mother.
In the majority of cases, however, our efforts to hear God’s call and to respond to it is a lifelong task. Rather than it being a matter of us proclaiming our simple dramatic ‘yes’ to God, our response is more often than not a series of little ‘yeses’ that will finally enable us, hopefully, to understand what God may be calling us to,” he said, adding. “This day has, for Sr. Deirdra, been a long time coming, and is the result of a lifetime of openness to discerning that call and a willingness to constantly say ‘yes’ to the many little steps and challenges which eventually led her to this moment. We give thanks that she has indeed heard the call of the Lord in her life, and for her generous response and ‘yes’ to his invitation.” In addition to those who were present in the chapel, nearly 1,500 people from around the world viewed the livestreamed Mass, which is available at: https://www.churchservices.tv/redemptoristines/ archive/recordings/GN9Q6w8f03Ki5bW.