A spiritual work of mercy
November 29, 2023
“Prayer, then, is not a nice practice for finding a little peace of heart, nor is it a means of devotion for obtaining useful things from God. Were it so, then it would be an act of subtle selfishness: I pray in order to be well, just as if taking an aspirin. But this is just making a deal. No, it’s not like this. Prayer is something else, it is something else. Prayer is instead a spiritual work of mercy, which means bringing everything to the heart of God. ‘You take it, you who are Father.’” — Pope Francis
Reflection: What motivates your prayer most often? How has mercy been part of your prayer? What can you bring to the heart of God right now as a spiritual work of mercy on behalf of someone besides yourself?
This content comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.
by OSV News (OSV News) — Grace Stecker of the Diocese of Helena, Mont., pulled out her cell phone and called her dad, right in the middle of a talk during the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC). In fact, teens all around her were talking on their phones, even as the speaker stood on the stage. But they had his permission. “I want you right now, in one minute, to just make a call to somebody in your life whom you love, who’s pretty special, whom you appreciate,” Scripture scholar and astrophysicist Father John Kartje asked of the more than 12,000 NCYC participants. The request came as part of his talk on the oneness of God and the universe — faith and science — that served as the topic of the opening session of NCYC in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Nov. 16. He began the talk echoing words spoken by Archbishop Charles C. Thompson just moments before. “The line that really struck me amongst everything he said is this,” Father Kartje noted: “You’re not a problem to be solved, but you are a mystery to be encountered.”
by Katie Yoder Joseph Julián and Monique González still remember the moment they decided to write a book shedding new light on Our Lady of Guadalupe: May 10, 2016, the month of Mary and the date of Mexico’s Mother’s Day. “After years of initial research, we were sitting in a coffee shop and looked at each other and made a formal commitment to see the book’s writing through to the end, no matter what that meant,” the husband-and-wife team told Our Sunday Visitor. Today, that book presents a new interpretation of Our Lady of Guadalupe by delving into the past ahead of her feast day on Dec. 12. “ Guadalupe and the Flower World Prophecy: How God Prepared the Americas for Conversion Before the Lady Appeared ,” published on Nov. 21, explores how Our Lady’s encounters with Juan Diego at Tepeyac Hill in Mexico in 1531 marked the culmination of thousands of years of evangelical preparation of the people of Mesoamerica.
“Trusting in God’s Grace” by Cathy Donovan in Family Faith on the Go The hardest prayer I have ever uttered was, “God, you know best; your will be done.” I immediately felt a sense of fear at having given over my control of the situation and asking God to take over. And then I felt a sense of acceptance knowing that God’s response would be better than anything I could manage. We have been surrounded with challenges lately: a tough economy, natural disasters of biblical proportions, political unrest and violence in many countries. Watching the news can be downright depressing! Maybe you feel a bit like Job right now, facing personal life challenges that rattle your soul and shake your faith. During Advent we are in the a liturgical season of hope. It is hope in our God, who loves us so much he sent his Son to join us in our humanity, in our challenges and triumphs, in our joys and in our sorrow. This is the season of “Emmanuel” — God with us. God does not promise to fish us out of our struggles. Rather, God promises to be with us in them. God stands ready, with arms open wide, to embrace us when we need it most. We need only trust and fall into God’s embrace. This content comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.
Faith Focus for the Week What are my priorities? Do they reflect Jesus’ intertwined commandments of loving God and loving neighbor as self? What would our lives look like if we really took to heart the two intertwined commandments that Jesus succinctly places before us, to love God with all our heart, soul and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves? (See Matthew 22:34-40) Would we reorder our time so that Sunday Mass, daily prayer and regular participation in the Sacrament of Penance are always on our calendar? Would we carve out time for serving others? Might we recognize our talents as gifts from God and discern the ways we might give the gifts back, with increase, at home, in our parish, in the workplace and in the world? Would we consider that the ways we spend time, money and attention are signs of our priorities? It is likely that most of us considering the list above would say “yes” to each question. As we hear and reflect on the Gospels, let us take Jesus’ challenge to heart and act accordingly: love God, love neighbor. This article comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.
