Do You See It? Mercy Surrounds Us

Seriously … do you see it? Mercy really does surround us. And this week – the week of Jan. 31 through Feb. 6 – provides all the evidence we need to see the God’s mercy everywhere … virtually every day. We have two landmarks over these seven days: The closing of the Year for Consecrated Life, and the annual observance of National Catholic Schools Week.

Elsewhere in this issue (print and full digital editions), you will see a series of photos showing our religious men and women in wonderful displays of their merciful works. Next week, you will see coverage of our Catholic Schools Week Mass. Here and now, let’s take a minute to consider how these occasions prove the existence of God’s mercy in our lives.

In announcing the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis said, “Dear brothers and sisters, I have often thought of how the Church may render more clear her mission to be a witness to mercy; and we have to make this journey.” It seems to me that we, as members of the Church, must take a first step toward achieving that goal – we must become sensitive to the witness we encounter often – daily in many cases – yet take for granted because we’re used to it.

Think about what our men and women religious do. How, when and where do you encounter them? At Mass, in hospitals, at food pantries and clothing outlets; where else? Think about it. I’m confident there are many places and many ways that you rarely acknowledge because they’ve become routine … commonplace … in your life.

Parents and their children/students encounter religious in our schools, and they also encounter some of the most important laity we have – the teachers and administrators who bring Catholic education to life – and a vibrant life it is.

We have religious and laity providing the most amazing witness of God’s mercy many times each day, and that witness occurs all around us. It occurs to me that quite often, however, we don’t recognize it in our daily rush.

It seems to me that if we were more cognizant of the mercy our consecrated religious and lay educators were showing in simply “going about their business,” we would be well on the way to making the journey Pope Francis has described.

How’s that? I believe that if we were more sensitive to seeing and understanding the witness od mercy going on around us, we would inevitably become a part of it.

We would greet others as our priests, deacons and sister great us. We would exhibit the patience and enthusiasm our teachers and administrators provide in educating our young people through every season of the year.

We also would become more engaged in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. We couldn’t help but do that.

And the result would be more amazing than any of us could imagine. God’s mercy would expand to more people in more places; it would grow exponentially.

Know what else? More people would jump on the “mercy bus.” Heck, it would turn into a stream-roller and, in the process, make our world even better.

How amazing would that be?!