GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL IS THE LORD

“He has won renown for his wondrous deeds.
Gracious and merciful is the Lord”

Psalm 111 reminds us of the magnificence of God and the beauties of creation.  Ignatian and other spiritualities tell us we are “co-creators with God.”

Jesus, in Luke 14, heals a man with dropsy on the Sabbath.  He has compassion and mercy and is chastised by the Pharisees for not following the laws of the Sabbath.  Isn’t Jesus trying to help people understand reverence for persons in a new way?

I want to be a well-informed Catholic so I try to listen to the TV news, read newspapers and periodicals and America magazine.  I am looking for some balance and truth.  I am disheartened with our political process that seems to be more adept at making nasty and untrue remarks about each side than in trying to solve issues of hurting peoples.

Who are hurting people?  Yes, we are all hurting with war:  U. S., Iraq, Afghanistan, Great Britain, Russia, Ireland, Israel, Palestine, etc.  Somehow we humans have not learned how to live in peace with our brothers and sisters.  Will there always be war?  What would Jesus say and do?

Who are hurting people?  We Catholics, as well as other denominations, hurt with abuse scandals.  Many Catholics have lost respect for Bishops and Clergy who, we feel, have deceived us.  Some have left “the Church.”  Many hang on hoping for changes in attitudes and structures.  Some even work to help change happen.  WHO is CHURCH?  What would Jesus say and do?

Who are hurting people?  Many are unemployed and under-employed.  Many are without healthcare or their healthcare costs are out of sight, even with health insurance.  Many are homeless and some even have jobs but not enough money to rent rooms or apartments.  Many are elderly without adequate income to sustain them and no one to help them, even to protect them from scammers.  The list of hurting people goes on and on.  What would Jesus say and do?

How can we be healers and create goodness personally and as a nation?  There are so many more questions than answers and more issues than solutions.  Change whether it is in a person or an institution happens piece by piece.  We can change one person at a time and we begin with ourselves.  What does Jesus suggest needs healing in me, in you??? Can’t you see or feel it?

As we know that our institutions need to be changed we work together to heal them.  We can only work together as community to bring goodness, healing and mercy to our world.

What does Jesus say to us today?