Today, in Mercy, we accompany Jesus as He walks in the Temple area known as Solomon’s portico. In a very human touch, John tells us, “It was winter.” Thus, we can draw the conclusion that Jesus went inside to be warm. To think of Jesus experiencing the seasons – just as we do – makes him all the more real for us. Like us, Jesus experienced “inner seasons” too – that undulating range from sorrow to joy. When it is “winter” in our souls, and we seek the warmth of prayer, Jesus walks beside us.
Today, in Mercy, Jesus assures us that He is the way to eternal blessing and joy. Surely, at sometime in each of our lives, we have felt trapped behind an obstacle that kept us from our hope or need. These walls may be figurative, like fear, anger or sloth. Or they may be material, like those faced by refugees and immigrants. Jesus promises us that He is with us in all of our isolations, separations, and alienations. He promises that, through Him, there is always an open door to grace, hope, courage, and salvation. What wall do we need God’s help with today – in our personal life and in the world?
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.
Today, in Mercy, we meet the disciple Tabitha who was “completely occupied with good deeds and almsgiving”.Tabitha, also known as Dorcas, – a prosperous and influential woman – had died. Her community, greatly distressed at her passing, called on Peter to come to them immediately. He did, which proves the esteem in which Tabitha was held. She, like many other women in the early Church, played an integral part in the growth of Christianity. Through the centuries, women in the Church have struggled with a culture of second class citizenship. Recalling the discipleship roles of women like Tabitha can inspire continued conversion from such misperceptions. (Today, no music. The second powerful image is from Sister Helen David Brancato, IHM.)
Readings: Acts 9:1-20, Psalm 117:1-2; John 6:52-59
Today, in Mercy, we ride with Paul on the road to Damascus. His soul is struck by grace and he realizes his sinfulness – that he has failed to see the presence of God in all people. He turns from his persecution to actually become a Christian himself. Conversion!
One wonders what that same road might look like today – the countryside and its people devastated by the continuing Syrian War. War would be impossible if we truly could see the face of God in one another. Let’s pray today for a conversion of hearts in leaders, in all those who profit from war, and in ourselves. Let’s pray especially for the people devastated by war and the exercise of irresponsible power.
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)
Tuesday, April 17, 2018: Today, in Mercy, we again pray with Stephen, who echoes the forgiving voice of Jesus as he gives up his life. How could Stephen, how could Jesus, forgive their murderers? In their dying, how could they turn their spirits toward God in love and hope? Jesus and Steven had already given their lives completely to God – throughout all their joyful and sorrowful seasons. When the time came for the leaves to finally fall, their spirits were convinced that God’s life in them would abide.
We face many small deaths in our lives before our final hour. As we learn to let the leaves fall into God’s renewing love and Mercy, we grow more like Jesus. We are filled with the power of God’s freedom and Light. ( The song is not my favorite genre, but it is very powerful, I think.)
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.
Sunday, April 15, 2018: Today In Mercy, Jesus opens the minds and hearts of his followers to understand that He is the fulfillment of the Scriptures. Faith is like the evolution of a beautiful flower. The miracle does not happen all at once. There is a patient, silent process which finally yields the blossom. In these stories of the Resurrection appearances, the early Christians are showing us how they matured through trust, prayer and a shared community of faith. It is a model for us and the whole Church. Many of us will attend services this weekend. Is there a mutual nourishment between us and our faith community? If not, how can I help change that?
Lavish Mercy 