Alice M. Sinnott RSM
Mercy Ever Ancient Ever New: Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy
Jesus’ parable on the Last Judgement in the Gospel of Matthew 25:35-42 is the
primary scriptural text for the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. In this parable,
Jesus teaches his disciples about God’s criteria for the Last Judgement. The just
discover, to their surprise, that in their merciful actions, on behalf of their neighbours,
they have been merciful to Jesus, who identifies completely with the hungry, thirsty,
stranger, naked, sick, imprisoned and even the dead. Matt 25:35 says, 'Truly I tell
you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you
did it to me'. Several other Bible texts enjoin us to engage in the spiritual and
corporal works of mercy. Church teaching drew on a variety of Old and New
Testament sources to validate and uphold the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.
Some of these texts follow:
Isaiah 58: 6-12
Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
If you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
Then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched places,
and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.
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Tobit 1:17-19:
I would give my food to the hungry and my clothing to the naked; and if I saw the dead body of any
of my people thrown out behind the wall of Nineveh, I would bury it. I also buried any whom King
Sennacherib put to death when he came fleeing from Judea in those days of judgment that the king
of heaven executed upon him because of his blasphemies. For in his anger he put to death many
Israelites; but I would secretly remove the bodies and bury them.
Wisdom 12:2
Therefore you correct little by little those who trespass,
and you remind and warn them of the things through which they sin,
so that they may be freed from wickedness and put their trust in you, O Lord.
Sirach 42:8:
Do not be ashamed to correct the stupid or foolish or the aged who are guilty of sexual immorality.
Luke 6:35:
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Galatians 6:1-2:
My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore
such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one
another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.
Ephesians 6:18-20:
Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always
persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be
given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador
in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.
Colossians 3:12-16:
As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility,
meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another,
forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe
yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ
rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of
Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your
hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.
Jude 1:20-23: But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit;
keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to
eternal life. And have mercy on some who are wavering; save others by snatching them out of the
fire; and have mercy on still others with fear . . . .
Luke 6:35, “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” is basic to an understanding
of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Catherine McAuley sought to implement
this teaching from very early in her life. She took it to a more comprehensive level
when she used her newfound wealth to build the House of Mercy on Baggot Street in
Dublin. From the beginning, she and the women who joined her carried out the
Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. These included: feeding the hungry, housing
the homeless, welcoming strangers, clothing the naked, caring for the sick and
dying, visiting prisoners, burying the dead, teaching, advising, consoling, comforting,
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counselling, reconciling and educating the poor. Such activities were and are Good
News to those who cannot have these needs met without assistance from others.
Works of mercy by which we support those in spiritual and material need are
essential to living the Christian life. In Luke 4:18-19 we read, "The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has
sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let
the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour". Sisters of Mercy,
and all who follow the Mercy charism, commit to communicate mercy in liberating
and enabling actions on behalf of those suffering physical and spiritual need of any
kind. A glaring illustration of how providing for the needs of the poor may so easily
deteriorate into an exercise of power on the part of the providers and a sense of
oppression for those in dire need appears in Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt’s novel,
set in 1930-40s that describes his family’s life of poverty in Limerick. With large
doses of humour, he portrays a situation reminiscent of stories about the lives of the
poorest of the poor and their dependence on handouts. A short extract from
McCourt’s novel gives a tiny insight into how even some who seek to provide for the
needs of the poor may simultaneously oppress them.
The woman behind the counter is pleasant to Mam in her America coat till Mam shows the St Vincent
de Paul docket. The woman says, I don’t know what you’re doing here at this hour of the day. I never
serve the charity cases before six in the evening, but this is your first time and I’ll make an exception.
She says to Nora, Do you have a docket, too? No. I’m a friend helping this poor family with their first
docket from the St Vincent de Paul. The woman lays a sheet of paper on the scale and pours on flour
from a large bag. When she finishes pouring, she says. There’s a pound of flour. I don’t think so says
Nora. That’s a very small pound of flour... A woman like you that’s forever on her knees before the
Virgin Mary is an inspiration to us all and is that your money I see on the floor there? Mrs. McGrath
steps back quickly and the needle on the scale jumps and quivers.... There was mistake right enough
for that shows barely half a pound of flour”. 1
A Woman of Mercy
Historical and social records of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries tell of the
injustice, exploitation and discrimination with its accompanying destitution,
ignorance, sickness and ultimately famine that was rife in Ireland This environment
of poverty elicited Catherine McAuley’s mercy response. She and the courageous,
gifted women who joined her, offered people trapped in these terrible circumstances
ways and means to overcome such conditions. 2 Catherine’s decision to attend to the
suffering, sickness, injustice and poverty she saw in Dublin, not only inspired many
in her lifetime, but continues to inspire people across the world to follow her example
by themselves embodying the Mercy of God for those in need.
As inheritors of this rich mercy tradition, we may bask in its glory but must never rest
on the laurels of our predecessors. Catherine McAuley knew about the situation of
poor people in parts of Dublin from her earliest childhood experiences. When she
was growing up in 18th-century Ireland, people who were desperately poor lived on
the perimeter of the estate where she lived with her wealthy family. Catherine's
father, James, regularly invited the poor into his home. This may have sown the
desire in Catherine to seek a better life for those condemned to poverty. Today,
those of us who are engaged in Catherine McAuley’s Mercy tradition may never
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presume to behave as if no one demands of us, the same courage to act as
Catherine and her companions exemplified. While we reflect on the tradition of
Mercy entrusted to us in the many areas where we live and answer the call to serve,
we must also discern how we may live out more effectively Catherine’s Mercy
tradition of service today. Such discernment demands that we set aside times to
pause during our over-busy lives, in order to reconnect with those who have gone
before us who lived out the charism of Mercy in so many situations and cultures. We
need to take time to reassess our expression of this charism in our own time and
place, and to seek to understand how those in need are calling us to embody Mercy
in our own lifetime.
In 1827, Catherine McAuley and her first two Mercy companions (Anna Maria Doyle
and Elizabeth Harley) drew on the biblical notion of a merciful God when they named
their newly built house at 59 Baggot Street the House of Mercy. The notion of a
loving and merciful God is a very ancient one that appears frequently throughout
Scripture. Bible authors portray Mercy as a quality that is intrinsic to God, who
responds compassionately to human suffering. [See my article “Mercy in the Bible”
for a detailed description of how Mercy appears throughout the Bible].
Accompanying this article are some pages I have compiled of the many references
to “mercy” in the Bible the many references to God’s as a God of mercy,
compassion, pity and faithfulness. These images portray God as giving hope, as
merciful, benevolent, and making faithful and enduring commitments.
Mercy is Inclusive
Throughout the Gospels, one of the most striking characteristics of the mercy shown
by Jesus is its inclusiveness. He heals both Israelites and Gentiles and comforts all
who come to him. Of the ten lepers who cry out, “Jesus Master have pity on us”, the
one who returns to give thanks is a Samaritan, an outsider (Luke 18:38). A
Canaanite woman, a social and religious outsider, calls out, “Have mercy on me
Lord, son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon” (Matt 15:22). Through her
faith and her perseverance, she wins healing for her child. Likewise, Jesus tells his
hearers that the Jewish tax collector, who prays, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”
had his prayer answered (Luke18:13). While we may find ourselves happily agreeing
with such Gospel narratives and teachings, we experience the reality very differently.
When presented with a call to include in our social or work milieu unwanted and
unattractive outsiders, we face the fact that both institutionally and personally we are
sorely tempted to select carefully and according to corporate standards. Our greatest
temptation may be to select and welcome the wealthy, the attractive, and the able –
those who will fit into our world. Had Catherine McAuley, and those who joined her,
followed such standards the House of Mercy would never have survived. The
following extract, while set in a place distant from ours and peopled by characters
foreign to us, portrays a human situation that may be all too familiar to many in
ministry.
Suddenly the blind old woman in her rickrack dressing gown and her thin grey hair plaited into a rat’s
tail stepped forward and pushed Vella Paapen with all her strength. He stumbled backwards and
down the kitchen steps and lay sprawled in the wet mud. He was taken completely by surprise. Part
of the taboo of being an Untouchable was expecting not to be touched. At least not in these
circumstances. Of being locked into a physically impregnable cocoon. Baby Kochamma, walking past
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the kitchen, heard the commotion. She found Mammachi spitting into the rain ... and Vella Paapen
lying in the slush, wet, weeping, grovelling ... Mammachi was shouting, ‘Drunken dog! Drunken
Paravan liar! ... Baby Kochamma recognised at once the immense potential of the situation, but
immediately anointed her thoughts with unctuous oils. She bloomed. She saw it as God’s way of
punishing Ammu for her sins and simultaneously avenging her (Baby ckochamma’s) humiliation at
the hands of Velutha and the men of the march ... a sea of sin. 3
How often do we “anoint our thoughts, decisions and actions with unctuous oils”
when faced with those to whom we do not wish to extend mercy. In the Gospels, we
see that Jesus responds to both direct and indirect appeals from those in need.
These accounts of his ministry echo the appeals for mercy that the needy and
downtrodden make to God in many of the Psalms [see my “Mercy in the Bible”
article]. Luke 7:13 tells us that Jesus raises the widow’s only son at Nain because
he is moved with pity for her. She does not ask him for anything. The gospel account
briefly sketches her grief and destitute situation - she is a childless widow, who has
no livelihood – and then focuses on how Jesus responds first by noticing her and
asking about her and then by restoring her son to life. In Luke 15:11-33, a merciful,
compassionate parent, the parable suggests, longs for the return of a lost child and
mirrors God’s loving and attentive waiting for the lost to return. As people claiming to
be people of mercy we too must express mercy in forgiveness, pardon, and the
sharing of food, drink and goods - a celebration feast - to which all are invited. Jesus’
mercy enables him, when he is nailed to the cross, to pray, “Father, forgive them for
they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). He even consoles the repentant thief who
acknowledges Jesus’ innocence and assures the thief that he will join him in
paradise (Luke 23:40-40-42). These are but a few of the accounts of Jesus’ mercy to
those he encountered in his ministry.
Embodying the Mercy of Jesus
All of us, who identify ourselves as Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Companions, Mercy
Associates, and such like, must above all embody the mercy of Jesus in our world. If
this is our aim, we may not confine our love of neighbour only to friends, and to those
who can reciprocate it. Incarnating the mercy of God means behaving as Jesus did.
God’s mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation (Luke 1:50).
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy (Matt 5:7).
I want mercy, not sacrifice (Matt 9:13).
Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you? (Matt 18:13)
Gospel teaching also warns us about neglecting “the weightier matters of the law,
justice and mercy and faith” (Matt 23:23), and instructs us to “be merciful just as your
Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). These teachings demand the same unconditional
love that Jesus shows towards the ungrateful and the wicked. A striking illustration of
this appears in the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matt 18:21-35) where mercy is
equated with forgiving another’s debt. Just as God has already forgiven our debts, so
we must extend that pity and forgiveness to others. Jesus assures his disciples that
they will receive God’s mercy when they themselves are merciful (Matt 5:7). God
freely bestows kindliness, love, mercy, and pity on us, not because of any effort or
merit on our part (Rom 11:30-32). As Rom 15:9 teaches, mercy is a universal gift to
all people regardless of race, colour, creed or gender, and as we read in Jam 3:17,
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the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of
mercy and good fruits.
Luke 10:25-37 presents another example of the unconditional love underlying true
mercy, in the Good Samaritan who showed mercy in a dangerous situation. His
response to the victim of the attack demonstrated how he observed the greatest
commandment, precisely because he acted compassionately towards a stranger who
could not repay him and to whom he owed nothing. Perhaps the most direct
challenge to us appears in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31).
The rich man, who lives in very comfortable circumstances, did not notice the needs
of the impoverished at his doorstep or show mercy during his lifetime, so he cannot
receive God’s consolation. We too may fail to notice the needy on our doorsteps if
we are not clear about the biblical foundations for the works of mercy with which we
are associated. To ensure that we do not become insensitive to the demands of our
vows to carry out the works of mercy we need to retell the old stories of Catherine
and her followers, of foundations made in faith and trust with little financial security,
and of the great exemplars of mercy who took enormous risks. Some travelled to
countries about which they knew little or nothing. There they carried out works of
mercy among the needy for the rest of their lives. Arundhati Roy in her novel The
God of Small Things shows the significance and allure of treasured great stories and
captures the power of such stories far more compellingly than I can.
It didn’t matter that the story had begun, because Kathakali discovered long ago that the secret of
the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and
want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably They don’t surprise
you with the unforeseen endings. They are as familiar as the house you live in. Or the smell of your
lover’s skin. You know how they end, yet you listen as though you don’t. In the way that although you
know that one day you will die, you live as though you won’t. In the Great stories, you know who
lives, who dies, who finds love, who doesn’t. And yet you want to know again. 4
Living the Mercy Tradition
By engaging in acts of mercy we enrich our communities, our society and beyond.
As Paul tells the Romans, “we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to
us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching;
the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the
compassionate, in cheerfulness (Rom 12:6-8). Such behaviour is the opposite of
attitudes of self-interest, self-importance, and status seeking mentioned in Phil 2:1-4.
Unlike attitudes of jealousy and ambition, “wisdom from above is first pure, then
peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of
partiality or hypocrisy” (Jam 3:17).
Christian communities founded in Mercy are faithful to their mercy tradition when
they exemplify God’s mercy, and they share that gift with all whom they meet and
serve. Thus, the persons and communities they encounter should experience a
profound change of identity from anonymity, disgrace, sinfulness, and darkness to
one of being welcomed, known, esteemed, and reconciled as described so aptly in 1
Pet 2:9-10, “Once you were no people, but now you are God’s people; you had not
received mercy, but now you have received mercy”.
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In the Gospels, we learn that Jesus’ mercy is never vague or generalised but
personal and practised in his daily close contact with individuals and groups in all
levels of his society. He shows a particular love for the deprived, rejected, lonely,
weak and lost. He expresses mercy in concrete actions such as eating with sinners
and prostitutes, healing the sick, welcoming strangers, foreigners, outcasts, feeding
the hungry, teaching his disciples, and answering the questions of people seeking to
know and understand his teaching and actions. A New Zealand poet, James K.
Baxter, who in his later years exemplified in his own life Jesus’ care for the outcasts
of society expresses his deep appreciation of the uniqueness of the mercy
epitomized by Jesus in the following extract from his poem entitled Song.
‘Truth’ - he said, and - ‘Love’ - he said,
But his purest word was - ‘Mercy’. 5
Mercy in Transition: Exile, Loss, Recovery
Many today ask if the unique tradition of Mercy in service to the needy initiated by
Catherine McAuley and the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy, will continue to be
expressed in our time and beyond. I propose that we must opt either for the
reinterpretation and re-visioning of Mercy in our time and into the future, or for
maintenance of the status quo by attempting to retain things as they are. I believe
that the choices we make in this time of transition ultimately become choices that
bring life or death for our Mercy works and traditions.
A biblical situation described in the Old Testament shares similarities with what I see
as the contemporary situation of Mercy works and institutions today. By considering
this situation, we may find a perspective that a close-up view does not afford. Thus,
we may exercise our gifts of imagination, problem solving, and lateral thinking with
greater freedom, so that we may dream and plan for the future of Mercy. The Biblical
episode to which I allude is the Exile in the Old Testament. This took place in 587
BCE, and was pivotal in the history of Judaism and its survival. As the Bible tells it,
Israel had suffered many attacks by neighbouring peoples, but the Israelites believed
that their hold on the land was permanent because God had promised them the land
of Israel. They had settled in the land centuries before and they viewed the Temple,
their holy city of Jerusalem, and their Davidic king as the great signs of their election
by Yahweh.
However, the Babylonians swept down on this little nation in 587 BCE, and contrary
to the Israelites expectations of YHWH’s protection, the invaders defeated them.
Jerusalem lay in ruins, and the Babylonians razed the Temple to the ground, blinded
the king and took him and all those in positions of leadership into exile to Babylon.
Almost overnight, the Israelites found themselves in a foreign land, bereft of all the
physical and spiritual signs of their election by God, and deprived of much of what
they regarded as essential to their identity. They faced a life or death choice, outlined
clearly in their sacred tradition in Deut 30:15-19, “See, I have set before you today
life and prosperity, death and adversity. Choose life so that you and your descendant
may live. In a much later text, the wisdom teacher Sirach 15:17 writes, "before each
person are life and death, and whichever one chooses will be given".
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Choosing Life: Envisaging New Expressions of Mercy
A similar life or death choice faces us in this time of transition. Much of what we
regarded as permanent or destined to continue has vanished or is diminishing before
our very eyes. We may mourn the loss of much that was dear or we may cheer its
banishment and say not before time. No matter whether we embrace the change or
shudder to consider the outcome, we face a choice. Like so many choices we have
already made in our lives, we cannot foresee the outcome. It is through life lived with
integrity and passion that we choose life rather than death. If we offer a clear and
compelling witness of dedication to the works of mercy today, we enable one another
to grow and reach our potential. To clarify our choices in our works of mercy today
we must, I believe, reflect on the origins of the mercy works in which we engage
daily. I suggest three questions for consideration:
How and why did you become involved in your present mercy works?
How and why did the mercy institutions with which we are associated originate?
Do we know the stories of the mercy institutions and works with which we are
associated?
Micheal O’Siadhail’s in his short poem “Motet” reflects on the danger of neglecting
ancient wisdom. The excerpt that follows makes challenging reflection material in the
light of our present attempts to reinterpret our tradition. It is appropriate to reflect on
how we may bring new life to the “music of compassion” that is central to all mercy
works.
Infinities of space and time.
Melody fragments;
a music of compassion, noise of enchantment.
Among the inner parts something open,
something wild,
a long rumour of wisdom keeps on winding into each tune:
cantus firmus fierce vigil of contingency, love’s congruence. 6
Within our immediate environments, the doing of acts of mercy is a distinct charism
that enriches the entire creation. There is a variety of gifts in every person, group,
community, and institution. We would do well to ask ourselves and those with whom
we engage, if we are aware of our gifts and the gifts of our communities, institutions,
those near and dear to us and our enemies. Do we really believe Jesus’ teaching is
a present reality in our midst not something to be obtained later. As the Isaiah text
that Jesus proclaims in his home synagogue and that we have read/heard so many
times says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring
good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and
recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the
Lord’s favour” (Luke 4:18).
Let us ponder deeply on the tenderness of God’s mercy and let God’s loving
kindness be the hallmark of all our endeavours. If we aim to become kind and
compassionate people and kindly communities expressing tender mercy and
compassion for the poor, the difficult, the challenging, the wayward, we will never set
limits to mercy. Tenderness is the unique quality of mercy that removes the hurt of
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cold welfare handouts or the donations of the powerful to needy recipients. if we
believe what James K. Baxter expressed so vividly in, Song to the Holy Spirit, “In the
love of friends you are building a new house . . . .You are singing your songs in the
hearts of the poor”. 7 If this conviction compels us to act, we will seek to exemplify
the tender mercy about which Jesus spoke so often and as modelled by Catherine
and those who were inspired by her vision, we would acknowledge our failures in
mercy and be willing to accept accusations about our lack of mercy now and in the
past.
Our works of mercy and our institutions are often in the public eye. Most people
today judge according to the standards of our society. We may ask ourselves
whether the aims and aspirations of our institutions and our works centre on life or
death. Do we promote life and hope for all? To be people of mercy we must also be
people of hope. Our institutions must also be places of hope, greeting newcomers
and failures with the same mercy we extend to the successful and benevolent. Let
the blessing of mercy also accompany those who find our embodiment of loving
kindness unacceptable, falling short of the ideal they seek. As we have seen in so
many Gospel texts people who receive mercy, feel joyful and welcomed and healed
physically, spiritually and mentally. Merciful graciousness also creates new
communities and sustains those seeking to grow and change. As Paul tells us in
Rom 11:30-32, it is a universal gift to all people whether Jew or Gentile, male or
female, all receive God’s mercy.
The gifts that the poor bring enable us to identify with sections of the human race
that are part of God’s creation, and would otherwise be unknown to us. What
changes do we need to make so that the needy may confidently approach us and
receive mercy? (Heb 4:16). I believe that each of us, however we are involved in
this tradition, must exemplify mercy. Mercy cannot be theoretical, vague or
generalised. Personal and ongoing contact with individuals and groups in all part of
society is essential for the practice of works of mercy. We claim that gospel values
underpin our work and our institutions. Is witness to such values expressed in our
particular love for the deprived, the rejected, the lonely, the weak and the lost? Is our
mercy like that of Jesus, expressed in concrete actions such as welcoming the
rejected of our society, those who will never succeed academically, those who do not
attempt to mend their ways and become productive citizens, and particularly those
who are the outsiders in society. How can we ensure that our mercy will shine out in
a world that has become too concerned with laws, rules, success, money,
excellence, and winning. I believe we must reinterpret how we live out God’s mercy
as embodied by Catherine McAuley and those who followed her through the years;
we must continue to do so in each new place if we seek to embody mercy anew.
Reinterpreting Mercy Today
We may support the idea of re-visioning mercy in our time and place but wonder
what might be involved in the process of reinterpretation God’s mercy as embodied
by Catherine McAuley and those who followed in her tradition. Enculturation or
reinterpretation is a process by which an idea or movement or way of living and
being is brought to a new environment and enabled to take root and grow. I suggest
one possible way to proceed. Let us imagine ourselves as appointed to take the
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mercy tradition as we live it into a new era or setting. While a variety of possibilities
may come to mind, I shall confine myself to two possible scenarios.
In the first scenario, we take with us as much as possible of all that we believe to be
part of our mercy tradition as we have always done it. On settling in our new
environment, we continue to replicate as far as is humanly possible traditions,
practices, and our way of life in our former place and time. After all the only tradition
we know is our particular version. We work hard to cultivate and develop this mercy
tradition, as we know it. We seek to address the needs that led us to respond by
moving into our new setting. We imagine our Mercy tradition as a living tree and
consider what would be the most beneficial and fruitful way to move it to a new
environment. Some of us would probably opt to take a large tree or a well-formed
sapling, plant it in its new place, and hope for the best. We might find that for this
tree to grow and flourish we will need to provide it with nutrients from its original
habitat and a microclimate similar to its earlier one. It might even flourish for a while
if we replicate its original setting and persuade the locals to adjust their ways to ours,
as we believe we know best how to live mercy even in a new setting.
A second scenario could prompt an alternative plan. In this case, we travel lightly,
taking with us just some seeds of the mercy tree. While we plant these seeds in the
new soil or our new environment, we are unsure about how they will grow or even if
they will survive. Over time, if they survive and begin to flourish, they will no doubt
adapt to their local setting and become a sturdy and resilient new tree with its roots
firmly established in the soil that is its home.
Consider the implications of these two scenarios in the light of the task confronting
us today. How do we live mercy in our society today and tomorrow so that Mercy
takes root, grows and flourishes? Today we live in a world that suffers from a lack of
hope, a world full of fear and despair. Catherine McAuley and the thousands who
over the past 170 years engaged in mercy life and tradition drew strength from the
knowledge that our sure hope is in the faithful loving mercy of God. We work within a
tradition, which relies on the unfailing mercy and steadfast love of God. A firm belief
that all will be well is integral to our mercy tradition.
Throughout the Bible, we find tender expressions of God’s loving kindness and with
beautiful images of care for human beings and for all of the creation that have
universal appeal. Catherine pondered deeply on the tenderness of God’s mercy and
wanted this loving kindness to be the hallmark of all who joined in her mercy works.
One of her much quoted sayings is apt here: "Sisters of Mercy should be particularly
kind - the kindest people on earth, with the tenderest pity and compassion for the
poor." 8 Catherine set no limits to kindness. Tenderness is the unique quality of
mercy that removes the hurt of cold welfare handouts or the donations of the
powerful to the recipient, which demands a humble attitude on the part of recipients.
Catherine brought comfort and hope for a better future to those caught up in the
misery of poverty, sickness, the harsh brutality of workhouses, and particularly to the
neglected of a harsh society. This too, we must do today. Running a large, efficient,
and successful plant is not sufficient. We must attend to the needs of those in our
society who cannot meet life’s challenges and of those who lack the necessities of
life. It is imperative that Mercy Sisters, Associates, and Companions, involved in the
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development and education of people, creatively and courageously live out this
mercy in our society. We must also enable those whom we teach and with whom we
minister to work to alleviate need and to show mercy to those who do not succeed in
our society. In our troubled times of much injustice and greed we must bring the
touch of Jesus as we embody God’s mercy for the poor, the forgotten, the
marginalised and the overlooked in today’s society.
To remain unmoved in the face of need, and helplessness, is to harden our hearts
against the very people to whom the Gospel calls us to minister. Catherine believed
that education bestowed a life-giving power. Her conviction appears in her first rule
where she wrote:
The Sisters shall be convinced that no work of charity can be more productive of good to society, or
more conducive to the happiness of others, than the careful instruction of women; because, whatever
be the station they are destined to fill, their example and their advice will always have great
influence; and wherever a religious woman presides, peace and good order are generally to be
found. 9
Since mercy and justice go hand in hand, our expression of mercy may be
misunderstood or rejected in anger. Success is not the measuring stick of mercy.
Our compassion is a whole attitude of mind as we seek to live according to the
model of the mercy embodied by Jesus. To reinterpret the mercy charism I propose
that we clarify how we today envisage, interpret and express the mercy of God as
described in the Bible, and incarnated in Jesus. In order to engage in productive
thought, I suggest we focus on the following questions:
What do the under-privileged of our society call us to respond to individually and
corporately?
Whom are we listening to concerning the needs of the poor, individually and
corporately?
What gifts as individuals and as communities could we use to engage in
collaborative mercy works?
What mercy actions on behalf of the poor are within our capabilities, individually
and corporately?
Seamus Heaney in “The Rain Stick” captures that notion of the treasure, which is
ours to discover.
Upend the rain stick and what happens next
is music that you never would have known
To listen to. In a cactus stalk
Downpour, sluice-rush, spillage and back-wash
Come flowing through. You stand there like a pipe
Being played like water ...
You are like the rich man entering heaven
Through the ear of a raindrop.
Listen now again. 10
*[See also, “Bible Texts that Speak of Mercy” and “Mercy in the Bible” by Alice M.
Sinnott. RSM.]
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Bibliography
Baxter, James K. "Song." In Collected Poems, edited by John E. Weir, 477. Oxford: Oxford
University Press., 1979.
———. "Song to the Holy Spirit " In The Collected Poems of James K. Baxter, edited by
John E. Weir, 572. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979.
Brennan, Bonaventure. It Commenced with Two: The Story of Mary Ann Doyle First
Companion of Catherine McAuley. Belfast: Sisters of Mercy Northern Province,
2001.
Heaney, James. "The Rain Stick." In The Spirit Level, 1. London: Faber & Faber, 1996.
McAuley, Catherine. Familiar Instructions St Louis: Er. E. Carreras, 1888.
———. "Original Rule and Constitutions." In The Practical Sayings, Advices and Prayers . .
. Mary Catherine McAuley, edited by Mary Clare Moore, 46. London: Burns, Oates &
Co, 1868.
McCourt, Frank. Angela's Ashes. New York: Scribner, 1996.
O'Siadhail, Micheal. "Motet." In The Chosen Garden, edited by John F. Deane, 82. Dublin:
The Dedalus Press, 1990.
Roy, Arundhati. The God of Small Things. London: Flamingo, 1997.
1
Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes (New York: Scribner, 1996), 66.
Bonaventure Brennan, It Commenced with Two: The Story of Mary Ann Doyle First Companion of Catherine
McAuley (Belfast: Sisters of Mercy Northern Province, 2001).
3
Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things (London: Flamingo, 1997), 257.
4
Ibid., 218.
5
James K. Baxter, "Song," in Collected Poems, ed. John E. Weir (Oxford: Oxford University Press., 1979), 477.
6
Micheal O'Siadhail, "Motet," in The Chosen Garden, ed. John F. Deane (Dublin: The Dedalus Press, 1990),
82.
7
James K. Baxter, "Song to the Holy Spirit " in The Collected Poems of James K. Baxter, ed. John E. Weir
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979), 572.
8
Catherine McAuley, Familiar Instructions (St Louis: Er. E. Carreras, 1888), 37.
9
———, "Original Rule and Constitutions," in The Practical Sayings, Advices and Prayers . . . Mary Catherine
McAuley, ed. Mary Clare Moore (London: Burns, Oates & Co, 1868), 46.
10
James Heaney, "The Rain Stick," in The Spirit Level (London: Faber & Faber, 1996), 1.
2
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