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Working with children (and raising a batch with my husband), I've picked up a few critical pieces of information about how children learn. For example, children require simple explanations in terms they can understand instinctively. Children also have little patience for information or activities that seem irrelevant to their concerns; they learn new concepts best when they can relate to the topic personally. Pope Francis knows this well, which is why he hopes families, in this Year of Mercy, will provide children with an experience of mercy. In his book-length interview, The Name of God Is Mercy, Pope Francis helps us all understand mercy by defining it in theological terms and then also giving us concrete, practical examples of what mercy feels like in daily life. Parents, grandparents, and teachers who want to share the Year of Mercy with children in their lives will find a wealth of wisdom in Pope Francis. Join me at Praying with Grace for the rest of the story. . . .

(From Rembrandt, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) (Jesus and the Adulteress, Rembrandt .) I figure you know what happens in John 8:1 - 11 . The scribes and Pharisees haul one of two folks who were committing adultery to the temple, tell Jesus what she'd done, and remind our Lord that it's a capital crime under their law.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Have you ever had to stay in the hospital for an extended period of time? Or, have you ever been homebound while convalescing to better health? I have, and I can attest to the fact that it gets very lonely and scary, while lying in a hospital bed. Because of my clubbed feet, I spent almost half of my childhood either in the hospital, or recuperating at home. The nights in the hospital were the worst. Especially for a child, it gets scary being in a strange place at night. I just wanted to be at home, surrounded by my family, in my own bed. Therefore, anyone who would come to visit me, especially at night, made my day! Visits help... Read more...

This is the second in my series of Meditations on Mercy from the Old Testament. Read this post prayerfully and use it as the basis for a conversation with God. We often hear nonbelievers say that the God of the Old Testament was a tyrant. On the completely opposite side, some speak of the “Original Blessing,” instead of Original Sin. Today I’d like to examine what I call Original Mercy. Sometimes we focus too pointedly on sin. Original Sin and personal sin are not the whole story. There is also redemption. God’s mercy is so great that He does not allow sin to get the better of those of good will, ever. He gently leads us back to Himself. He uses all things, even our sin, for our good. We can see this all-encompassing mercy in the story of the Fall. Continue reading at Contemplative Homeschool.

The Church of Mercy, by Pope Francis: Book Review For the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, I decided to learn more about the virtue of Mercy. What better book to read than Pope Francis’  The Church of Mercy ? I found this book very insightful. In this book, Pope Francis provides a selection of his 2013 speeches and homilies. Taking into consideration his election as Pope occurred in March 2013, these speeches and homilies were some of his first. Mercy, a hallmark of Pope Francis’ papacy, remains a priority for moving the church forward, as evidenced by his declaration of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. Throughout the book, Pope Francis... Read more...

Clothing those in need and sheltering the homeless are considered “corporal” acts of mercy because they physically impact the human body. Everyone has a need to be physically clothed and sheltered from the weather. They have a human right to these things; to act otherwise, would be disrespecting the dignity of the human person. Expressing such indifference towards the naked and homeless indicates that we do not live up to Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). In this Year of Mercy we are given ample opportunity to extend acts of mercy to those in need of clothes and shelter; ample opportunity to “love our neighbors as ourselves.” What Can You Do to Help the Homeless? Read to learn more...

We in the flesh are hindered in such a way that with our senses we cannot perceive eternity.   The God who took flesh in the form of Jesus in order to be like us in all things chose to forgo some knowledge in agreement that such temporarily 'forgetting' was part of the perfection of the plan of God.  As God shielded Moses when God passed by, Moses was denied a knowledge of God because his flesh could not look upon the face of God and live.  So to Jesus while incarnate in the flesh would suffer a 'shielding', or a lack of knowledge of some things that He would have had access to prior to the incarnation and would again gain access at the exact moment of His last heart beat.  This 'forgetting' of certain things for a time was part of God's participation in our humanity and the perfection of His passion on the Cross.  The God who knows all could by His own will decide to forgo knowledge in order that an infinite benefit could be given to us by His Passion.

Mercy in the City by Kerry Weber Mercy flows in abundance during the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. With that in mind, I thought it would be a good time to share with you my review of Kerry Weber’s book, Mercy in the City . Kerry is a young, single woman living in New York City. This book tells her true life story of her attempt to perform all of the Corporal Acts of Mercy within one Lenten season. In this book, we traverse through the season of Lent with Kerry chronicling her adventures. She shows us how to... Read more...

About two months ago at Holy Mass at St. Bartholomew, during the offertory, God allowed me to see part of the  Third Secret of Fatima .  Lucia told it right.  I saw part of what she wrote about.  It was like being present as it was happening.  Going to Holy Mass I was not thinking of the Third Secret in any way so this vision came suddenly, unexpected, quite shockingly actually.... TO READ MORE CLICK HERE.

Today in prayer I asked God to send me to where there was the blackest of heart that needed prayer. I was inspired to go to a local Hospice.  I went into the building, not sure if I was in the right place, and finding the directory, I found where I needed to be.  Coming out of the elevators, I saw a chair and sat down.  To my right what looked like a sheriff standing guard outside one of the rooms.  There was a middle aged woman talking to him.  It was obvious that something very serious was happening in that room. ... TO READ MORE...CLICK HERE. 

Head on over to Saints365 for the first installment in a series of posts reflecting on the gift of Mercy during this Jubilee Year of Mercy.  This week's reflection focuses on the gift of God's mercy in answering the prayers that we do not dare to ask.  You know those - the one's that we are afraid or hesitant to voice - the prayers that wonder if or why God would answer - the prayers that we barely allow ourselves to acknowledge.  Read more here...

The Year of Mercy/Jubilee of Mercy started on Tuesday, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. 1 In my home parish, it's also when we started receiving the Eucharist under both forms: our Lord's body and blood. If you think that's sounds gory and repulsive, you're not alone. Following our Lord has involved public relations issues from day one ... ...We'll be using Latin for parts of Mass during Advent, too: which is fine with me. I like Latin. I can even understand a little of the language. Mercifully, though, most of the Mass is in my native tongue. 3 — Which brings me back to the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis, and getting a grip.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

© 1986  Túrelio  (via Wikimedia-Commons), 1986 /  Lizenz:  Creative Commons CC-BY-SA-2.0 de It's fitting that the anniversary of Mother Teresa's speech upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize falls during the week we begin to celebrate a Jubilee Year of Mercy. Her call is as clear and relevant today as it was a generation ago. "Just get together, love one another, bring that peace, that joy, that strength of presence of each other in the home, and we will be able to overcome all of the evil that is in the world. Love begins at home. If we all look into our own homes, how difficult we find it sometimes to smile at each other. That smile is the beginning of love. Make time for each other in your family." Read more at Leaven for the Loaf .

Year of Mercy: What is it all about? What can we expect? Pope Francis ushered in the Year of Mercy yesterday. This Jubilee Year of Mercy extends to the Feast of Christ the King on November 20, 2016. From now until then, anyone who enters through the “ Door of Mercy…will experience the love of God who consoles, pardons, and instills hope. ” 1 What is this “Year of Mercy” all about? Pope Francis declared the Jubilee Year of Mercy “ so that we may become a more effective sign of the Father’s action in our lives ” 2 . Our world has become so fractured and broken with much hatred. We see it in the... Read more...

Pope Francis described the Jubilee Year of Mercy back in April 2015 in his official document,  Misericordiae Vultus . The final paragraph of that document knocks my socks off. Here's my favorite part: “In this Jubilee Year, let us allow God to surprise us. He never tires of casting open the doors of his heart and of repeating that he loves us and wants to share his love with us.” — Misericordiae Vultus, ¶25 Let us allow God to surprise us! Amen! I'm excited to journey intentionally through this Year of Mercy. On this December 8th morning, though, as we begin the jubilee, I am thinking less about what   I  plan on doing and more on what God can do. Truly, I am overwhelmed at what the Lord wants to offer us. “From the heart of the Trinity, from the depths of the mystery of God, the great river of mercy wells up and overflows unceasingly. It is a spring that will never run dry, no matter how many people draw from it. Every time someone is in need, he or she

I have not been able to shake a heavy feeling I've had since I first heard the news about the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses. The heaviness, I’ve come to realize, has had very little to do with the issue of same-sex marriage. What I’ve been feeling is embarrassed by my fellow Christians.

Dozens of times in the Gospels, Jesus "amazes" his listeners. Here are a few of my favorites: They were amazed, saying "What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?" -Matthew 8:27 They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went ahead of them. They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what was going to happen to him. -Mark 10:32 And all who were with him were amazed at the catch.  -Luke 5:9 Does Jesus amaze us? Is he so shockingly unique that we, his followers, are sometimes a little afraid of him? Read on at Praying with Grace ! Gold Aurei of the Twelve Caesars. Gift of C. Ruxton Love Jr., 1967.  www.metmuseum.or

People are writing with fear and panic underlying their comments and articles in the face of the States sanctioning same-sex marriages. Why?  We are people of hope, not doomsayers or fearmongers. Christ has already triumphed over sin and death. We are  not called to focus on disaster, on evil, on sin. Christ commanded us to refrain from condemnation and judgment so  we will not be judged and condemned by our Master.  Our mandate is simple; allow the Light of Christ to grow ever more brightly within us, especially as the darkness deepens. Then we will be a light unto the world. He will conquer darkness through us. We are simply channels of truth, light and mercy.  This is the central message of the New Testament. continue 

This is the third in my series on the works of mercy and how to live them in everyday life.  You can find posts about feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty in the archives.  The Works of Mercy are integral to living our faith, yet they are often overlooked because we do not know how to do them even though we know that we should.  Also, as parents we must teach the Faith to our children, but teaching does not mean just book knowledge.  To truly teach Faith, a Faith that is ingrained on the soul and in the heart and throughout the mind, it must be lived.  As St Paul said, "Faith without works is dead." Here are five ways that you and your family can learn to clothe the naked and so be the hands and feet of Christ here on earth. 1 In the Gospel of Luke,  John the Baptist says, "The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none"  We all have more than one shirt, and St John is not advocating only having one outfit. Conti

This is the  second  in a  series  of posts on the works of Mercy and how to live them as a family.  Today we will explore Giving Drink to Those who Thirst. Source 1 Like feeding the hungry, reaching out to the poor and homeless is a great first step.  Food pantries can use donations of bottled water or other healthy drinks for those who frequent them.  Likewise, soup kitchens need drinks to distribute to the hungry that pass through. It's a niche that is often overlooked.  Unfortunately, one of the greatest threats to the homeless is dehydration. It is very difficult for them to find adequate ran water supplies and they are most often provided with carbonated or sugary beverages... Continued on Veils and Vocations.