Loved Forever: A Guide to Living the Year of Mercy
Mercy: the bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to the hope of
being loved forever despite our sinfulness (Pope Francis).
Comforting the Afflicted
The spiritual work of mercy
of comforting the afflicted
can be a little hard to understand. After all, “Who
are the afflicted, and what
could I possibly do to comfort them?” The bad news is
that the afflicted are everywhere: they are anyone
who is suffering, distressed, hurt, or troubled.
The good news is that God
gives the afflicted to us as a
gift to everyone. Those not
suffering as heavily are
given the opportunity to
speak God’s love and truth
into other people’s lives,
and those suffering are given someone who has mercy
on their suffering just as
God has mercy on suffering.
Jesus holds hearts. Suffering is the part of this life
that purifies each person so
that they may hold on to
God alone, but that doesn’t
make it easy to handle. Suffering comes, but in all of
the storms of stress, pain
and grief, the Lord is
asleep in the boat of each
heart. He calls each person
to curl up next to Him, and
like a child, sleep (See
Mark 4:35-41).
It is this comfort of receiv-
Issue 5
Comforting the Afflicted
Mission Statement for This Issue:
 Helping all Catholics, especially
families, find ways to understand
and live the Spiritual Work of Mercy
of “Comforting the Afflicted” in their
day to day life.
ing the Lord’s love that enables Christians to broadcast it to the afflicted ones
around them. Without it,
however, it will be all too
easy to grow impatient,
short, and selfish with the
people God has given them
to comfort. That is why a
real relationship with the
Lord is so important to living this spiritual work of
mercy. Every day, God
calls each of his children to
silence their hearts and
bring their troubles, joys,
tasks, and entire life to the
foot of the cross. He wants
them to hear him saying “I
love you” while resting in
his presence.
In this way they will have
strength to proclaim his
mercy: “Go out to every
man and woman, bringing
the goodness and tenderness of God! May the balm
of mercy reach everyone,
both believers and those
far away, as a sign that the
Kingdom of God is already
present in our
midst!” (Pope Francis).
It is easy to fall into the trap
of asking why God doesn’t
just comfort those hurting.
“Why would He rely on me,
who messes up so easily?”
He uses humans because
he loves them, and wants to
give them an opportunity to
act like him, to be his presence in the world. It is an
act of mercy to let us be his
mercy.
Let God’s children keep on
the lookout, then, for those
who are suffering, who
Inside this issue:
About Comforting the Afflicted
1
Ideas for Acting with Mercy
2
Ideas for Talking about Mercy
3
Excerpt from Misericordiae vultus 4
Pray it!
4
need a kind word, who need a
reminder of the kind and abiding presence of God. How easily they are missed when everyone goes about their day only
worrying about themselves!
How easy it would be for Christians to reach out to those
whom the Lord is calling them
to show his mercy!
Loved Forever: A Guide to Living the Year of Mercy
Page 2
Go For It: Some Activity Ideas for Living Out “Comforting the Afflicted”
Come Down, Zacchaeus!
Supplies:



3 old socks per player, at least
one of them a tube or knee high
sock.
Something (such as a rock or
marble) to give the ball extra
weight, if desired.
Stopwatch
Set up:
Ball 2 socks together. Stuff them into
the toe of a third, together with
something small to add more
weight, if desired.
How to play:
1)Read Luke 19:1-10. Talk about all
the ways Jesus comforted Zacchaeus
and made him feel loved, and what
happened because of that.
sock. Swing it and release to make
the sock go as high as you can
straight up in the air. When it starts
coming down, have someone start
the timer by screaming, “Come
down, Zacchaeus!”
The person who has the longest time
on the stopwatch wins.
2) Go outside. Hold the top of the
Go Deeper
Talk with a trusted group, whether
family or close friends, about the
ways each one is currently suffering,
whether big or small, and how best
to comfort them in it. Throughout the
next week, make a special effort to
show each one that they are loved.
Open Your Eyes!
The way to act on this spiritual work
of mercy depends on who the afflicted ones are around you. Brainstorm
about friends/neighbors/extended
family/strangers who might be
grieving or suffering in any way and
how to help them.
Ideas: Invite the widower to dinner;
babysit the kids across the street to
let the single mom have a night
off; Visit with a lonely neighbor;
etc.
Then do it.
The afflicted are all around us:
they are anyone who is
suffering, distressed, hurt, or
troubled.
Issue 5
Page 3
Talk About It: Discussion Starters for “Comforting the Afflicted”
All the Saints!
St. Damien of Molokai volunteered
to spend his life serving people with
a deadly disease called leprosy because no one else would care for
them. They were too afraid of catching the disease themselves. He
cared for both their bodies, which
were sick, and their souls, by building Churches and giving them the
sacraments. He comforted them in
the face of their death and gave
those who were able the dignity of
being able to help him on projects.
Even when he caught leprosy, he
gave all of his energy to comforting
others. He eventually died of the
disease.

How did St. Damien live out
comforting the afflicted?

How can you be like St. Damien
this week?
Jesus Says . . .
Read about what Jesus did for the
widow of Nain, Luke 7:11—17
What can we learn from Jesus’ actions?
When the Lord saw her, he was
How does Jesus comfort the mother
in the story?
Can you think of any other time Jesus comforts someone in the Bible?
to her, “Do not weep” (Luke
How do you think she felt before her
conversation with Jesus? During?
After?
Extra Credit: Why does God allow
suffering? To help us to find happiness only in him
moved with pity for her and said
7:13).
Application



How does Jesus comfort you
when you are upset?
What gets in the way of feeling
comforted by Jesus? Desolation
caused by lack of fervor or distractions, or willed by God to
help you grow
Have you ever comforted someone? How did it make them feel?

How did you feel?

Why is it important to comfort
the afflicted?

How can we be on the lookout
for people to comfort?

What are some examples of
how people suffer?

How can we help them?
Caption describing picture or graphic.
Loved Forever: A Guide for Living the Year of Mercy
Diocese of Superior
Bishop Hammes Center,
315 W. 5th St.
P.O. Box 280
Haugen, WI 54941
“Mercy is the very foundation of the Church’s life. All of her
Phone: 715-234-5044
Church’s very credibility is seen in how she shows merciful
pastoral activity should be caught up in the tenderness she
makes present to believers; nothing in her preaching and in
her witness to the world can be lacking in mercy. The
and compassionate love. The Church ‘has an endless desire
to show mercy.’ Perhaps we have long since forgotten how
to show and live the way of mercy . . . we must admit that
the practice of mercy is waning in the wider culture. In
some cases the word seems to have dropped out of use.
However, without a witness to mercy, life becomes fruitless
and sterile, as if sequestered in a barren desert. The time
has come for the Church to take up the joyful call to mercy
once more. It is time to return to the basics and to bear the
weaknesses and struggles of our brothers and sisters. Mercy is the force that reawakens us to new life and instils in us
the courage to look to the future with hope ” (Pope Francis,
Misericordiae vultus, 10).
Pray It!
Dear Jesus,
There are many people suffering
around us. Help us to look around
and see how you want us to help
them. Help us to see them how
you see them and love them like
you love them. Show us a small
way to comfort them, so they
might know your love and mercy
for them.
Caption describing
picture or graphic.
We ask this though our most merciful mother.
Hail Mary . . .
Amen.
Meditate:
Imagine your heart has a door.
You hear a knock at it. It is Jesus.
Open the door, let him in, and
show him around. Show him everything that gives your heart joy,
excitement, and peace. Show
him what troubles it and makes it
sad and heavy. What does he
say to you about it? What does
he do?
What is it like when he hugs
you?