Can you remember a time when life had kicked you down and someone took care of you instead of ignoring you? Or, have you ever shown mercy to someone who really needed it from you? Most people can remember a time in their lives when something like this happens; someone forgave them, someone was kind to them, someone took the time to see if they were all right, and that simple act of mercy or kindness becomes a gift they carry with them for the rest of their lives.
I mention this because on December 8th of this year, we, as a global Catholic family, will enter into a wonderful year-long celebration, the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. It's going to be a perfect theme for so many who are suffering, and a great opportunity for us to reflect and see who the people are in our lives who need our mercy.
For this reason, I'm writing a series of articles that will help us focus on how we can show mercy to others. Sometimes, mercy comes about in ways we'd never expect, such as in my own Holy Week experience back in 2010. Sometimes we experience mercy from strangers who treat us with dignity instead of disdain. So, to help illustrate, I asked a number of my friends about their experiences with mercy and they graciously shared their stories with me. I call them Tiny Stories of Mercy and although they're brief stories, they're anything but tiny in the eyes of their authors.
Not wanting to draw any attention or pity to my cancer diagnosis I shared my surgery date only with close friends. Thinking I'd be up on my feet within a week or two I quickly realized this was going to take a while to recover from. When I got home from the hospital, an army of ladies arrived each day for weeks with vacuums, laundry detergent and food to take care of me and my kids' needs. What a God send. And an awakening for me that I can and should trust people to care for me. - Ann
Just after my husband decided to end our 30-year marriage, an acquaintance from my parish saw me crying on the way to my car after Mass. She insisted on meeting me for coffee the next day, and brought a bag of materials for me, including a DVD on the life of St. Rita. More importantly, she told me that after I was finished feeling sorry for myself, not that she blamed me for that, I should remember that marriage is not our destiny—heaven is, and I could focus on that regardless of what happened to my marriage. Jan was the angel I needed and that day was the beginning of my healing. - Donna
I have so many stories but here are two simple ones that highlight how little kindnesses can mean so much. First, this was soon after my divorce when I was so overwhelmed with taking care of the house and yard alone. My neighbor, a builder, had someone at his house taking down trees. He walked over and showed me three dead pine trees and had his guys remove them for me. I was so grateful. Second, on my first Mother's Day alone without my children, a friend showed up at my house with a plant to wish me Happy Mother's Day. She will never know how much I needed that and how much that meant to me. - Maria
After hurricane Katrina, when we lost our house to six feet of water in New Orleans, friends in Houston came to the rescue. We had evacuated to Vicksburg, MS and during our second day in the motel, my parents, sister and I were praying about where to go from there. New Orleans was off limits for weeks. I spoke with a friend of mine who had begun the Fullness of Truth Conferences in Houston. My friend Ken, called and asked what we were going to do. We had no idea but trusted Our Lord would take care of us. Ken called 20 minutes later. His family and friends found an apartment for us near there. When we got there we found they had rented a three bedroom apartment, paid the rent for three months and had rented furniture to stock the apartment for us. We also found the refrigerator stocked with food. I just broke down and cried. I was always the one offering to help others in my life and now I was on the receiving end! I met with faithful people who just didn't talk about their faith, but lived it! This allowed us to get back on our feet and we felt so blessed by God that we met Catholics who sacrificed for a friend. I will never forget the generosity of those wonderful friends. - Phillip
I hope this Jubilee of Mercy will be an amazing time in your life and offer you the opportunity to give many gifts of mercy to those around you. And remember, I'm always glad to hear from you so if you've got questions or comments, email me at [email protected].
