Have Mercy On Us

Mercy–it’s all about mercy. Love–it’s all about love.  Oh the great love God has shown us through Jesus Christ–the extravagant love God has abundantly poured over us through God’s son, Jesus.

Sacrifice–it’s all about sacrifice. We give up our ego, our hatred, our prejudice, our bigotry, our separateness, our anxieties, our petty struggles and open ourselves to God’s mercy.

Lamb of God, have mercy on this hurting and suffering world. Have mercy on us when we struggle to make sense of the tragedy around us. Have mercy on us so that we may see ever clearer the gifts of life that manifest themselves all around us.  Have mercy on us so that we may appreciate and give thanks for the one life you have given all of us. We all–every person in the world (those like us and those not like us; those we love and those we find difficult to love)–are one. You live in each of us. You are always present even in the darkest night and darkest sorrow–you are there, Lamb of God.

Lamb of God–infuse our very being with your extravagant love so that all hatred and darkness are no more and only love, only goodness and light, are present in our every action and in our interaction with the world.

Have mercy on us–so we may show mercy always.

Lamb of God

“O Lamb:
Paschal perfect,
once unblemished, untainted, unspotted,
have mercy on us.

O Lamb:
silent before the shearers,
with no word of protest,
but mute pleas for us sinners,
have mercy on us.

O Lamb,
Splendor of the Father’s glory,
now shorn,
now drenched in the blood of life
mingled with life’s waters,
have mercy on us.

O mystic bath:
making sinners pure,
O cleansing flood
drowning death itself,
O saving tide,
gifting with abundant life!

Sinners,
now washed in the blood of the lamb,
untainted, unspotted:
Sing his praise!
Have mercy on us.

Christians,
salvation is received,
grace is bestowed,
to this Lamb of God give glory!
Have mercy on us.

With shouts of victory
in the tents of the justified,
with hymns of thanks
and songs of praise we protest.

Dark death is trampled,
yielding to life itself.

Have mercy on us.”*

*Reprinted from John Allyn Melloh, SM, in Liturgical Gestures, Words, Objects, Eleanor Bernstein, CSJ, ed. © 1995 Notre Dame Center for Pastoral Liturgy.  Used with permission.

Being crushed in the winepress we call “living”

“Crushed in the wine press we call living…” That phrase struck a chord in me  as I meditated on this week’s reflection on what we say at Mass. Living does feels like a wine press right now.  The pressures of caring for an aging parent. The pressures of  deadlines at work. The pressures of home life. The pressures of living authentically in such a politically charged and divisive  society.  That wine press of living is squeezing the life out of everything!!  Will there be anything left of this society, of me?  Then comes the sweet and tender reprieve of God’s mercy, like that first crocus pushing out of the frozen ground, bringing the anxiously awaited promise of new life.

We implore as one voice submerged in doubt, weariness, poverty of spirit, lack luster in love and mercy ourselves and silently wait for the warming breeze of God’s forgiveness and new life.  We feebly come to God in the silence and return to our lives a little freer. We return to God in repentance and become lighter.  We can move a little more easily in love–we have received God’s mercy.  We are not crushed totally, but fortified to withstand the pressures of political insanity; strengthened to love truthfully and openly. We breathe more freely in the new life of God’s love; live more freely to bring mercy and new life to those who are still feeling the crushing effects of the wine press called “living.”

No one is immune to this wine press we call “living.” We all have our own individual wine presses that can crush the life out of us if we let them.  But God’s mercy, in whatever form it takes, is always ready to relieve the pressure. That is God’s promise to us when we call out Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.

We are also God’s mercy to others. We too can relieve the pressures of the wine press in others’ lives, through our simple acts of love and kindness.We join with God in bringing new life to those who struggle and have no hope. Together we  enjoy the wine of peace and contentment of living in the sunlight of a new day, everyday.

Lord, Have Mercy

“Lord, Christ, Kyrie,
you before whom alone we bow
you before whom the cherubim bow
before whom the earth is silent
Have mercy on us:
mercy, reprieve, relief;
another change, new lease on life,
new dawn, new day, new age;
repair of the broken,
quickening of the dead,
grin of the defeated,
the breath of life given back
to those crushed in the winepress
we call ‘living.’

Have mercy on us.”*

*Reprinted from Liturgical Gestures, Words, Objects, Mark Searle, in Eleanor Bernstein, CSJ, ed. © 1995 Notre Dame Center for Pastoral Liturgy. Used with permission.

Welcoming the Stranger this Christmas

This past week the choir sang the beautiful song “For Everyone Born.”  Written by Shirley Erena Murray, it beautifully depicts the kind of radical hospitality and mercy we want to show one another now at Christmas and all through the year.  No one is excluded from God’s mercy and love and no one should be excluded from our welcoming, love and mercy. This Christmas may we be more mindful of who we are welcoming at our table and always welcome with open arms and hearts those who need mercy, who are seeking a safe place to live, who just want to be loved for who they are.

Grace, peace and mercy are yours!  A Blessed Christmas to everyone!

*  *  *

For everyone born, a place at the table,
for everyone born, clean water and bread,
a shelter, a space, a safe place for growing,
for everyone born, a star overhead,
and God will delight when we are creators
of justice and joy, compassion and peace:
yes, God will delight when we are creators
of justice, justice and joy!

For woman and man, a place at the table,
revising the roles, deciding the share,
with wisdom and grace, dividing the power,
for woman and man, a system that’s fair,
and God will delight when we are creators
of justice and joy, compassion and peace:
yes, God will delight when we are creators
of justice, justice and joy!

For young and for old, a place at the table,
a voice to be heard, a part in the song,
the hands of a child in hands that are wrinkled,
for young and for old, the right to belong,
and God will delight when we are creators
of justice and joy, compassion and peace:
yes, God will delight when we are creators
of justice, justice and joy!

For just and unjust, a place at the table,
abuser, abused, with need to forgive,
in anger, in hurt, a mindset of mercy,
for just and unjust, a new way to live,
and God will delight when we are creators
of justice and joy, compassion and peace:
yes, God will delight when we are creators
of justice, justice and joy!

For everyone born, a place at the table,
to live without fear, and simply to be,
to work, to speak out, to witness and worship,
for everyone born, the right to be free,
and God will delight when we are creators
of justice and joy, compassion and peace:
yes, God will delight when we are creators
of justice, justice and joy!

Shirley Erena Murray 
Words © 1998 Hope Publishing Company

May the Force… Mercy…Be with you.

I was reading Pope Francis’ Miseridordia Vultis again and a certain line jumped out at me and brought me back to my childhood and my love for all things Star Wars and the new movie coming out.  Mercy is the force that reawakens us to new life…to the future with hope.  (Misericordia Vultis 10)  Mercy is a force. Mercy has the power to change worldviews, change lives, change the world itself.  Now that is a force to be reckoned with!

We heard in this week’s readings encouragement to rejoice always, to not be anxious about anything, allow God’s peace to surpass all our understanding and rest in God’s peace. John the Baptist, still in the desert this week, calls the seekers of his day and us as well, to acts of love and mercy, acts of daily living in love, faith, peace, calmness.  He calls us to continue to deal with people respectfully. Be good fathers and mothers, loving children, and hospitable people. Be welcoming to all–even the Syrian and Muslim–all those who seem different from us.  Live in mercy.  Isn’t that what we should do anyway?  Regardless of our religion, worldview, or spirituality.  Live in love, live in mercy.

It’s that force of mercy that changes this war-torn and racially-divided world we live in.

Pope Francis states that mercy is the very foundation of the Church’s life.  I would go further and say it is the foundation of every human’s life.  Have no fear of the other, have no anxiety in the midst of life’s adversities.

The words we hear proclaimed today are not some pie in the sky hopefulness.  It’s a reality we can live in each and every day. Mercy is the force that reawakens new life and hope. Start each day with a statement of gratitude and then a question…how will I live in mercy today? How may I serve in mercy today?  Do that everyday and see how that force reawakens a newness to your life.

We are half way through Advent–the light will soon appear–what kind of world is the Christ child being born into in your life?

May the force (mercy) be with you.  May you live in a peace which surpasses all understanding and experience.

* * *

“…Love, after all, can never be just an abstraction. By its very nature, it indicates something concrete: intentions, attitudes, and behaviors that are shown in daily life.  The mercy of God is his loving concern for each one of us. He feels responsible; that is, he desires our well being and he wants to see us happy, full of joy, and peaceful. This is the path which the merciful love of Christians must also travel. As the Father loves, so do his children.  Just as he is merciful, so we are called to be merciful to each other.”

“…The time has come for the Church to take up the joyful call to mercy once more. It is time to return to the basics and to bear the weaknesses and struggles of our brothers and sisters. Mercy is the force that reawakens us to new life and instills in us the courage to look to the future with hope.” (Misericordia Vultis, 9 and 10)

Mercy is a Relationship of Love

This coming week, on December 8, begins the Jubilee Year of Mercy; and I have been spending a good deal of time meditating on the concept of mercy. What it is and who it is and where it is in my life and work.  How it works and why mercy at all.

One concept that has touched me is mercy is found in relationship.  Mercy is a relationship of love–whether you are talking about God and us or between fellow human beings or a loving and respectful relationship with all creation.

Since this blog is mostly about our encounters with God in the liturgy, at Mass, where do we see mercy in relationship at Mass?  It is there in the obvious places–the Kyrie, the readings, Eucharist and so on.  I want you to look for it in the not so obvious places–in the face of the older person you are sitting next to at Mass, in the sound of a baby crying or sounds of restless children.  Do you experience mercy in the sharing of Christ’s peace, via a handshake, a smile, a warm embrace?  Do you feel God’s mercy as you look into the eyes of the person gifting you Christ’s body, as you receive Christ’s blood?

Mercy is a relationship of love.  God’s love for us, our love for one another, our love for the world.  How can we even in simple ways express that relationship of love in our world, thus spreading through the world like ripples on the water?

I have found that mercy is an infinitely profound experience.  I have come to understand and believe that knowing mercy and showing mercy is a lifetime experience and integral part of our life’s journey with God, each other and the world–a relationship of love.

Here is another beautiful excerpt from Misericordia Vultis.  Sit with it, pray about it, join in the discussion.  How and where and when has mercy shown itself in your life, in your relationships?  A blessed Advent to all of you.

***

“With our eyes fixed on Jesus and his merciful gaze, we experience the love of the Most Holy Trinity. The mission Jesus received from the Father was that of revealing the mystery of divine love in its fullness. “God is love”(1 Jn 4:8, 16), John affirms for the first and only time in all of Holy Scripture. This love has now been made visible and tangible in Jesus’ entire life. His person is nothing but love, a love given gratuitously. The relationships he forms with the people who approach him manifest something entirely unique and unrepeatable. The signs he works, especially in favour of sinners, the poor, the marginalized, the sick and the suffering, are all meant to teach mercy. Everything in him speaks of mercy. Nothing in him is devoid of compassion. (Misericordia Vultis No.8)

Find Us Ready and filled with mercy

This weekend we enter into a very significant time of year–the season of Advent. It is a season of waiting, of preparing, of rejoicing, of birth, and a season of mercy.

December 8 is the beginning of an Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in the Catholic Church.  December 8 begins a year of learning of and living in God’s mercy.   Sounds pretty enigmatic at first glance.  But as you delve into the concept of mercy and merciful love, it becomes a powerful, life changing concept, not just for those in the Catholic Church, but everyone in the world.  Mercy is concrete. Mercy is real. Mercy is desperately needed.  Mercy is a person–Jesus Christ. We are mercy to others.

For the season of Advent we are going to take our mindfulness discussion into the themes of Advent and God’s mercy.  It is my hope that we all experience first hand God’s infinite mercy this Advent.  Amidst all the violence, hatred, death, consumerism, and everyday anxieties of life, we will find the sustenance that is God’s mercy and love and in turn God finds us ready and willing to demonstrate mercy to all we encounter.

I will share quotes from Pope Francis and sometimes video clips of Advent music which direct our hearts and minds to acts of mercy.  I hope that my writing and our discussions help you become more mindful of how God’s mercy is shown in your life and how you may show God’s mercy mindfully during this season of Advent.

Come, Lord Jesus, quickly come and show us your mercy…

Contemplate presence of God’s mercy in your life as you meditate on the following paragraph from Pope Francis’ letter on the Year of Mercy.

Listen to “Find Us Ready Lord.”  https://youtu.be/bGz2gTw98NU

When Jesus comes again, will He find us busy doing stuff or showing mercy and love to one another?

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From Pope Francis, “Misericordiae Vultus,” No. 2.

“We need constantly to contemplate the mystery of mercy.  It is a wellspring of joy, serenity, and peace.  Our salvation depends on it.  Mercy, the word reveals the very mystery of the Most Holy Trinity.  Mercy: the ultimate and supreme act by which God comes to meet us.  Mercy: the fundamental law that swells in the heart of every person who looks sincerely into the eyes of his brothers and sisters on the path of life.  Mercy: the bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forever despite our sinfulness.”