The Blessed Sacrament is seen in a large monstrance during evening Adoration on July 18, 2024, during the National Eucharistic Congress, which was held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. RILEY GREIF | WKC

Editor’s note: In celebration of the Jubilee of Hope, The Western Kentucky Catholic has launched Pilgrims of Hope, a yearlong blog series inspired by Pope Francis’ Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025: “My thoughts turn to all those pilgrims of hope who will travel to Rome in order to experience the Holy Year and to all those others who, though unable to visit the City of the Apostles Peter and Paul, will celebrate it in their local Churches.” Blog reflections will be written by individuals from across the Diocese of Owensboro, sharing their unique perspectives on the virtue of hope in a world that so greatly needs it.

BY AISLINN DOMANTAY

During this Jubilee Year of Hope, let us give ourselves permission to long – for whatever it is we are waiting for.

Let us allow ourselves to feel that deep ache, the emptiness that often comes with desiring something we’ve asked the Lord to provide. Because it is there, in that very longing and ache – and sometimes even in the hurt and pain – that the Lord meets us.

If our desires align with our own holiness and the pursuit of virtue, He will respond – in ways we may never expect.

For the past decade or so, I have longed to pursue my vocation in a more concrete and tangible way. I have yearned and prayed to be fully immersed in the life I feel called to – whether that be religious life or marriage. This past year, I chose to enter more deeply into that ache, that loneliness, that longing for clarity in my vocation. I ached for true community and lasting companionship – something solid, enduring, and rooted in God. Something that will last and never fade.

At first, that longing was paralyzing. I couldn’t move forward in either vocation and didn’t know what to do. But when I began to invite God into that space – through prayer, through silence, through contemplation of the Scriptures, and by reflecting on the lives of the saints – that is when something changed.

The Lord transformed my loneliness into solitude. He transformed my self-reliance into surrender to His will. And from that solitude and surrender, fruits of the Holy Spirit began to grow.

It was only when I recognized and accepted how much I had been relying on myself – and not letting God in – that I realized how deeply I needed Him. And once I did, I could hear Him more clearly. I came to see that He had always been there, patiently waiting, ready to guide me to the next step.

And after accepting His words and guidance, things began to move.

One step led to another.

Until finally, I found myself accepting His invitation to be totally His – as an aspirant with the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, who are located in New Jersey.

Now, I don’t yet know if this will be my forever vocation. I do know, however, that this is the next step to take. I am excited to walk this new path He has laid before me. To hope against all hope. And to truly long for Him.

So I invite you: enter into your own longing. Do not be afraid of the ache. Allow yourself to hope. And wait – wait and see what He has in store for you.

Aislinn Domantay formerly served as a theology teacher for Owensboro Catholic Middle School in the Diocese of Owensboro, Kentucky. This August, she enters the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, as an aspirant with their community. Learn more about the sisters at www.salesiansisters.org.

To learn more about the Diocese of Owensboro’s celebration of the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025 visit https://owensborodiocese.org/jubilee-year-pilgrims-of-hope/.