In the Year of Mercy: Love God, Love Others, Make Disciples, Restor All Things in Christ

As the Catholic Church throughout the world begins to celebrate the Year of Mercy, I cannot help but ponder how we do that here at St. Pius X.  Mercy is something that is rooted in who we are as a community of faith.  Yet, I must ask, do we see mercy in ourselves, in our words, in our actions?

The word mercy has its roots in the Latin, Misericordia; miserere, “to pity” and cor, meaning heart.  When we consider heart-pity, we come to another way of looking at situations and people all around us.  Our hearts look with loving-kindness on those who are suffering, whether that is in body or spirit, and often times the suffering they endure is both in body and in spirit.

Pope Francis has called us all in this next year to look with loving-kindness, with mercy, on all we encounter.  Additionally, he has asked us to focus on the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy as we interact with each other and reach out to those in most need among us.

As I consider our parish mission statement, “Love God, Love Others, Make Disciples, Restore All Things in Christ,” I cannot help but see a natural connection to the Year of Mercy as well as the Works of Mercy.  When we love God, our very posture is one that restores dignity to others.  We seek to see every other being as another “made in the image and likeness of God.”  Our very encounter with each other ought to be in response to the love of God in our hearts.

Love others, showing others the goodness and kindness of God, perhaps especially when it is difficult, is what each of us is called to in response to the baptism we share.  When we became new creations in the waters of baptism, we clothed ourselves with Christ, and in doing so, we took it upon ourselves to be as Jesus for others.  Our acts of loving-kindness; feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, bury the dead, counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish the sinner, pray for the living and the dead, comfort the sorrowful, forgive offenses, and bear wrongs patiently, are indeed the ways we show not only our love of others, but also our love of God.  

Our actions ought to draw others closer to God.  The way we live and interact with each other ought to be a sign and symbol of life, of love, of faith.  We are to be the Good News seen and heard through our words, our witness, our living. Living as disciples, that is, as people who choose to follow in the way  of Jesus, who live what we believe, and strive to grow in our relationship with Jesus, others will be drawn to us even more.  Thus, by our witness, we make disciples; we call each other to greater growth and love of God and other people, and through our efforts at building relationships, we invite others to join us in the journey.

As the journey unfolds, as we encounter all that is around us, as we come to know God’s loving-kindness in our relationship with God, with others, with our community, who we are and what we do, we restore all things in Christ, who came that “we might have life and have it to the full.”

This jubilee year is perhaps, a time for us to live into our mission.  A time for sharing the love of God; witnessing to loving-kindness, and restoring to Christ all that has been given to us, namely, hope, peace, joy, love, in a word, mercy.

Blogger: Dr. Cheryl J. Fournier, SPX Pastoral Associate for Life-Long Faith Formation