Year of Mercy Reflection
Friday, Mar. 11, 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.
Jesus instructs us: “Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’” Pope Francis has renewed Christ’s appeal by giving the Church an opportunity to grow more effective in its witness to mercy. We can respond by learning that mercy is much more than forgiveness. Mercy encompasses a wide range of acts, including loyalty, kindness and compassion. Additionally, our acts are important, but God and those we serve play major roles in the expression of mercy.
Seventy-five years ago Saint Maximilian Kolbe gave us an extraordinary example of mercy in the Auschwitz death camp. Through the grace of God, he responded with an act of mercy when another prisoner, who had been chosen to die, cried out “My wife, my children!” St. Maximilian traded places with that man, dying in his stead.
If we allow Jesus to help us through our openness to the Holy Spirit, each of us can express God’s love through simple acts of mercy.
Years ago I had a lesson and an opportunity to grow in mercy at a nursing home where I regularly visited a resident. When I walked down the hallways, my heart would go out to the lonely residents. I felt as though I wanted to love them all, but how could I?
One evening a voice quietly called to me from down the hall. When I turned, an elderly woman in a wheelchair motioned to me. When I arrived at her side, she looked up to me and whispered, “Will you be my friend?”
That elderly woman, the Holy Spirit and my “yes” to her request changed me. My experience of love and mercy has expanded in many directions, including regular visits to several nursing homes, serving the elderly as a Communion minister and inviting other parishioners to do the same.
Robert L. Catlin
Blessed Sacrament Parish
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