Today, in Mercy, in our readings from John’s letter and from his Gospel, we again see the reiteration of Jesus’ most important message: Love one another.It sounds so easy and sweet, but it is so difficult to love as Jesus loves – without judgment or the expectation of recompense; without reserve and without preference. It is so hard to continue to love when love is met with indifference, arrogance or even hate. Still Jesus asks us to love as He does – to will the eternal good of every person and to foster it by our actions. May we have the grace to keep on trying.
Today, in Mercy, Jesus speaks his most loving words to his disciples. We can see them gathered around Jesus in the candlelit room. They are both dreading and longing for these precious words, both a confirmation of love and declaration of departure. But the words give them courage and they feel resolve rising in their hearts to be all that Jesus hopes them to be.
These same words follow us down through the ages, comforting and strengthening us to be all that Jesus dreams for us.
(Photo of Motherhouse of the Sisters of Mercy in Merion, PA, USA.Note highlighted motto at top of photo. It has comforted and impelled many a Mercy heart. The magnificent song from Bob Dufford, SJ captures all of Jesus’ Last Discourse in John’s Gospel. PS: For those of you who know Sister Kate, she is one of the Sisters kneeling in adoration.)
Today, in Mercy, we celebrate the feast of the Apostles Philip and James. One might wonder why they are paired, as it might seem more likely to join Philip with his friend Nathaniel, and James with his brother Jude. Instead, what connects Philip and James is that their relics were brought to Rome and buried on the same day – May 3. After having worked and given their whole lives to God, these brothers in Christ were destined to be side by side until eternity. Being buried beside our beloveds is a theme throughout biblical and other cultures. Consider the beautiful story of Ruth and Naomi to which today’s song refers. To be so buried suggests that we have found a union of heart in life which endures through death. It is a union based in a shared Love of God. May we be so blessed.
The relics of Philip and James are buried here in Rome under St. Peter’s Basilica.
This tender song reminds us that love endures beyond death.
Today, in Mercy, we are with Jesus as he continues to prepare his disciples for his departure. Jesus assures them that, if they keep his commandments, they will never be alone. Their faithfulness will allow the Presence of God to infuse their lives. We know when we have encountered someone whose life is filled with God. They don’t have to preach it – it pours out from them in kindness, peace and strength. May we welcome that Presence into our hearts by loving God and our neighbor.
Today, in Mercy, Jesus delivers the comforting words, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Indeed, it does require an effort on our part not to worry about the many concerns that infringe on our peace. Jesus goes on to tell us that – in the long run -our life will be OK. There is already a place prepared for us in God’s heart. He then unambiguously tells us how to get there: “I am the Way.” Simple? Yes. Easy? No. Learn Him, follow Him – one step at a time. ( Couldn’t resist the song. 🤗)
Readings: Acts 4:8-12, Psalm 118, 1 John 3:1-2, John 10:11-18
Today, in Mercy, as we celebrate Earth Day, we are blessed with the most beautiful readings! Acts reminds us that it is in the Name of Jesus Christ that post-Resurrection grace fills the world. 1 John tells us that we are God’s children even now, and that we can’t imagine the fullness of life that grants us. In John’s Gospel, Jesus gathers us in his arms as a shepherd tenderly gathers his sheep. It is a day to gratefully bask in the infinite love God has bestowed upon us. Go out quietly with the Earth today, if you can and be blessed, dear friends.
Thursday, April 19, 2018:
Readings: Acts 8:26-40; Ps. 66:8-20; John 6:44-51
Today, in Mercy, we pray with the Ethiopian eunuch (an alliterative and lyrical phrase with its own fascination). Philip finds this man reading Isaiah and asks if he understands the Scripture he is reading. The man replies, “How can I, unless someone show me?”
Indeed, how do we learn to believe without the witness of our many teachers in the faith?
Today, on my 73rd birthday, (in a rare personal departure from my usual pattern of reflections), I count the faithful witnesses in my own life who have shown me the way to God:
my faith-filled parents, whose well-worn devotionals I can still picture, set in silent witness beside their chairs
my devout only-brother who, with his loving wife, are living witnesses to faithful marriage, parenthood, and family
their dear children, grandchildren, and in-law children who faithfully reflect the miraculously recurring love of this family to which they have been born or wed
my extended Catholic family, some who lived centuries before me, who carried the faith to my cradle
the Sisters who taught me in my initial twelve years of Catholic education, each of whose names I can still repeat in grateful prayer
my own dear Sisters of Mercy who share covenanted life with me, in an awesome hymn to the presence of God in our humble yet glorious lives
my many companions in ministry, friendship, hope, service, and labor for these many years
the kind people who have allowed me to serve them so that I might learn the face of God
my precious, loving friends – beyond price, beyond description
Perhaps you, dear readers, may wish to join me in thanksgiving for those who have nourished your lives by the gift of their faithful witness. And whenever your birthday falls, may you be blessed with happiness.
This song is a great way to pray your thanksgiving.
Today, in Mercy, Jesus talks about hunger. But He doesn’t mean the longing for steak, or bread, or chocolate. Jesus is talking about that profound hunger to really live, to deeply love and be loved, to make a difference with our lives. These hungers can be satisfied only in that invisible, mysterious place where the soul is inextricably tied to God. This is the place of eternal life where, from the moment God breathed life into us, we were marked forever as God’s own. We can get so mixed up about our emptiness! We try to fill it with money, fame, material goods, sex and power. While the only Gift that can ever fill it has already been given! (For your quiet reflection, Boccherini”s Cello Concerto in D major, G. 479 – II. Adagio, by famed late cellist Mstoslav Rostropovich)
Monday, April 16, 2018: Today, in Mercy, we meet Stephen, proto-martyr of the Christian faith. Like Jesus, Stephen is persecuted for his goodness. Like Jesus, Stephen had false witnesses presented against him. How can Love survive in the absence of Truth? And yet, as today’s Gospel assures is, it does. We live in a time that has forgotten the essence and value of truthfulness. We live in a world where some people’s lives are a lie – a pretense of who they truly are as children of God. But our faith calls us to truth, mercy, justice and commitment to Christ’s teachings. May we be inspired by the witness of Stephen and his companions to tell the truth, be the truth, call for truth in others.
Saturday, April 14, 2018: Today, in Mercy, Jesus walks across the stormy water to meet his frightened disciples. They are afraid of the wind, the night and the wonder of Jesus. As human beings, we harbor many fears even if we pretend to be very brave. We may be afraid of failure, loneliness, responsibility, insignificance, aging, dying or a thousand other things. Essentially, what we most fear is that we might be unloved or unlovable. Jesus comes to us through the night of any fear to prove that we are irrevocably loved. Even in darkness, we are the precious breath and heartbeat of God!
“Who would I be, and what power would be expressed in my life, if I were not dominated by fear.” ~Paula D’Arcy~
Lavish Mercy 