Thank you for your response!

Living out our vocation as a catechist with integrity means allowing ourselves to be pushed beyond our comfort zones into places where we must learn by the grace of God to love others more selflessly and sacrificially. When we remain rooted in God, being pushed beyond ourselves causes us to grow in the spiritual life and progress in holiness. This, of course, does not mean imprudently allowing ourselves to burn-out. Trusting prayer and discernment is necessary to have the wisdom to be willing to be pushed beyond our comfort zone, but to know when it is also prudent to say no to new human requests that ask more of our time and efforts.

In other words, it is important that we never say no to God, but we may be called upon to say no to merely human requests, and we must discern the difference. Just because a human being is asking something of us, it does not always mean that this is what God is asking of us. Discernment of when a request is in accord with God’s will or not requires a humble openness to God’s voice in our life and the many ways He may speak to us. Sometimes a “no” to something of human origin that we discern is not a part of God’s plan for us, is a “yes” to something greater in our own life and the lives of others. Theoretically, though, a soul seasoned in His ways recognizes God’s voice in calling His sons and daughters to ever deepening generosity.