“Mercy is the willingness to enter into the chaos of another.” Jim Kienan, SJ.
A few weeks ago I stumbled upon this quote and have been pondering it ever since. I think all too often we get caught up in what the works of mercy are and how doing them is beyond are our time schedules or comfort zones. And so we do nothing!
This quote tells me choose just one person and be truly attentive to their needs. Think about the friend who suffers from chronic depression. Visit her at least once a week. Have a cup of tea with her. Bring her some brightly colored flo
wers.
Is there an older couple or a single elder person in your neighborhood or church? Adopt them. Invite them over for dinner. Bring them to Sunday brunch with you and your friends. Many older people are just lonely, and need friendly faces to depend on to come to visit. Maybe they need a helping hand with buying groceries or mowing their lawn.
I feel those who need mercy are right next to us. Do you have someone whom you work with each day who seems stressed? Instead of being angry at them because they don’t get their job done right why not ask them if everything is alright at home. Are they caring for an aging parent or maybe a child is having problems at school?
Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy Jesus tells us in the Beatitudes. I know all too often I am overwhelmed when I see all the desolation, disease, and violence from war-torn countries through the media. Just how can I begin to help anyone in this world experience the goodness of God’s love? But I do believe if we start with those around us we will see life begin to change for the better.
Your questions to reflect on for the week:
- When has someone entered the chaos of my life? How did it make me feel? Was I more willing to help others after that experience of being cared about?
- Think of three different people that I could reach out to right now. How will I begin to do that? What are my feelings about doing this?
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