Year of Mercy Reflection
Friday, May. 20, 2016
By Special to the Intermountain Catholic
(Editor’s note: During the Year of Mercy, the Intermountain Catholic will publish a short reflection each week written by a variety of Catholics in the Diocese of Salt Lake City: priests, deacons, religious, seminarians, Utah Catholic Schools teachers/principals, lay ecclesial ministers, religious education teachers and others. We hope you enjoy these, and that they give insight into the myriad ways mercy can be incorporated into everyday life.)
I cannot forget all I have received from my mother: Her maternal care, her personal sacrifices, her working long hours to provide food for my siblings and for me, and her wise words encouraging us to study and do well in school. Neither could I forget her giving and energetic character, always ready to lend a hand to whomever needed it: her children, her grandchildren, her sisters, the neighbor, and even to a stranger. Mom has lived her long life feeling compassionate and merciful for others.
Now that she is aged, I feel a big responsibility, in return, to take care of her with the same diligence and love that she had for us, especially for me.
Taking care of our elderly parents is something that our conscience dictates. It is not an easy task in a world where it can be too easy to become indifferent or intolerant with the aged. But if we do it with a grateful heart, this task becomes less wearying.
At age 89, my mom’s sassiness and her physical movements have decreased. It is hard for me to see her so frail and slow; at times, I feel that my own energy is worn out by caring for her.
But when I enter in conversation with our merciful God, he reminds me in a gentle way that he will provide me with the strength I need to take care of my mother with that same compassion he has for us.
The time we devote to our elderly parents is the best gift we can give them and the greatest blessing we can receive.
The Sacred Scriptures also confirm this: “Respect your father in deed as well as word, so that blessing may come on you from him…” (Sirach 3: 8)
Marylin Acosta
Saint Rose of Lima Parish
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