Will you dare open the door of Mercy?

Transcription

1 Will you dare open the door of Mercy? May 2016 Prayer Let us remember we are in the holy presence of God. Opening Prayer Doors are part of our daily lives. Just losing our keychain makes us realize the numbers of doors we open and the ones we close. Different moments of our lives are marked with passages, doors that we had to cross that allow us to be better sons and daughters of God. The Holy door at St. Peter s Basilica, which opened this year for the Jubilee, is the sign of a door opened wide by Christ to reveal the open heart of the Father. Through this door is a profession of faith, awareness of the merciful love of God towards us. There is no magic in this. It is us, in freedom, who decide to cross the door to the encounter the Christ. In this prayer, we invite you to dare to cross through the doors of mercy. Our Response (Sister Marie-Colette Guédon) God of tenderness, God of mercy, God of faithfulness, God of love! You have placed your hand on me with tenderness, And close to your heart, I received your kindness. God of tenderness, God of mercy, God of faithfulness, God of love!

2 You have taken in your hand my hurt and my distress, And I got up, I danced with joy. God of tenderness, God of mercy, God of faithfulness, God of love! You have found your joy within my weakness, And you put in me your strength and your wealth. God of tenderness, God of mercy, God of faithfulness, God of love! Quiet Reflection We invite you to retreat into yourself to remember the moments where you were the object of God's mercy. Reflection Music Matthew s Gospel (5:1-13) And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain and when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God.

3 Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you. You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Intercessions Ubi Caritas de Taizé in background Reflection sharing A sharing of the acts of mercy can be done for those willing to do so. Closing prayer Father, We gather today to remember that we are your sons and daughters and that you expect that our lives are images of you who is our Father. You desire that we love those who love us and those who challenge us, because you love all men and want us all in your likeness. You desire that we take heroic gestures of love in favor of every man which is our brother, so that the love of sons and daughters becomes the reflection of your father's love. You desire us as merciful as you are to be living signs of your love to the world. God, who is compassionate, calls us to mercy. Here are 56 ways to cultivate the mercy during the Jubilee year. Select one for each week of the month of May and put it into practice.

4 56 Ways to Be Merciful During the Jubilee Year of Mercy 1 Put Mercy into practice in our lives 1) Resist sarcasm; it is the antithesis of mercy: Set, O Lord, a guard over my mouth; keep watch, O Lord, at the door of my lips! (Psalm 141:3). 2) Pare down possessions: share your things with the needy. 3) Call someone who you know is lonely, even if you understand why they re lonely. Especially if you do. 4) Write a letter of forgiveness to someone. If you cannot send it, sprinkle it with holy water, ask Christ Jesus to have mercy on you both and then burn or bury it. 5) Learn to say this prayer: Dear Lord, bless [annoying person s name] and have mercy on me! 6) Plan a mini pilgrimage to a local shrine; make an effort along the way to live the corporal work of mercy of welcoming the stranger as Christ. 7) Do something kind and helpful for someone who you don t get along with, or who has wronged you. 8) Be mindful of your behavior online. Is that post designed to improve your image and leave others feeling bad? Are you hammering people in order to serve your anger and humiliate others? 9) Have masses said for the living: friends and family members, even strangers you read/hear about, who are having a hard time. 10) Be generous enough to allow someone to help you; people need to feel needed. 11) If you didn t mean to be a pain in the neck to someone, admit you were and ask the person to forgive you. 1 Taken from : 56 Ways to Be Merciful During the Jubilee Year of Mercy Practicing mercy in our lives actually does take practice, Aleteia, December 7, 2015, ways to be merciful during the jubiliee year of mercy/

5 12) Take a tip from Cardinal Timothy Dolan and carry around $5 Starbucks and McDonald s gift cards for the homeless. 13) Take time in prayer to contemplate the good qualities of someone who is difficult for you. Do the same for each member of your family. 14) Send a card, flowers, gift or note to someone on the six-month anniversary of his or her loved one s death. By then, most people have stopped recognizing their grief. 15) Offer to babysit for a busy mom to go out and have a couple of hours to herself. 16) Make a meal (or buy a gift certificate) for a mom who s just given birth or adopted a child, or for someone who s just gone through a loss. 17) Hold. Your. Tongue. 18) Offer to run an errand (groceries, dry cleaning pick-up, dog-walking) for a busy parent or homebound person. 19) If you can t sit down beside a homeless person to talk for a while today, at least send a donation to a ministry that does do this (such as Christ in the City). 20) If you re sharing a treat, take the smaller portion. 21) Memorize the 14 corporal and spiritual works of mercy and show your children what they mean. 22) Instead of losing patience with someone online (or in person), try to hear that person s fear. Ask God for what Solomon asked for: an understanding heart. 23) Offer to drive an elderly person to Mass. 24) Recall a time you were not given the benefit of the doubt, and extend one to someone else. 25) Put down the phone and really listen to someone else. With eye contact. 26) Have alternative drinks, other than water, for times when those who have been struggling with alcohol come to visit.

6 27) Take advantage of sales to buy small toothpastes, soaps, shampoos, socks and feminine products/toiletries; donate them to parish outreaches or make gift bags and have them ready to hand out where needed. 28) Create a short end-of-day ritual to ask for (and extend) forgiveness with those you live with. Do not let the sun set on your anger (Eph. 4:26). 29) Make a list of your enemies. Then, every day, say a prayer for them. 30) Make a point to smile, greet or make conversation with someone who is not in your everyday circle. 31) Give away something of yours (that you like) to someone you know would enjoy it. 32) Pray a Divine Mercy Chaplet as you are traveling to or from work. 33) When mercy for others is difficult, pray Cardinal Merry del Val s Litany of Humility. 34) Make a gratitude journal for your spouse and jot down little things he or she does that you re grateful for. Bite your tongue and go write in it (or at least read it) the next time you want to criticize in a moment of frustration. 35) Learn to make an Ignatian Examen every night. Remembering God s mercy each night helps us be merciful. 36) Respond to provocation with the respect you wish a person would show you. 37) Learn the Jesus Prayer and use it. 38) Take a few minutes during the week to stop at a church and sit before the Tabernacle simply to be with Christ, the Merciful. If you cannot do that, meditate upon the crucifix. 39) Pray a novena for the good of someone you dislike. 40) Dig out your most attractive stationery and handwrite an actual letter to someone as a means of demonstrating his or her importance to you. 41) Offer to read to someone who is feeling ill or is just feeling blue.

7 42) Ask the Holy Spirit to groan for you when you cannot bring yourself to pray for someone who has done you an injury. 43) Lead with a kind comment with friends as well as strangers. 44) When conversations devolve into the dark joy of gossip, help change the subject. 45) Can you play the piano, or any instrument? Can you recite poetry? Give free concerts to the forgotten people in nursing homes and assisted-living centers. 46) Visit the graves of your ancestors, or visit a local cemetery and walk around, praying a rosary for all the souls buried there. 47) Go on retreat. It s a way to be merciful to yourself and the people around you, who know you need to go on retreat. If you cannot do that, at least try to make a day, or evening, of recollection. 48) Admit your jealousy to yourself and your confessor. 49) Offer to pray with someone, even someone you encounter on the street or public transport who looks like they could use it. 50) Keep holy cards, short prayers or blessed medals handy and give them out to people you meet as you are inspired as a blessing to others. 51) Offer hospitality in your home to someone or a group of people you would normally never invite over. 52) With a few other people at your church, plan a party and invite all those from the highways and byways to come. 53) If someone you know seems to lack faith, share some of yours tell him or her how Christ has changed your life. 54) Pay the parking or toll fee for the person behind you. 55) Give the much-maligned Pope Benedict XVI a fair reading sometime. You ll be surprised.

8 56) Pray every day for the souls in purgatory. Pray for your dead. 57) Read John Paul II s Dives in misericordia bit-by-bit throughout the year.