“A reflection by: Sr. Marian Therese Arroyo, RSM”.
A rendering of Mary as Our Lady of Mercy is that of her son Jesus carrying the world in his small hand as he sits on his mother’s lap. Here Mary, Queen of heaven and earth, brings Christ to the world as she herself understood her vocation as mother and the bearer of the Incarnate Word, the “Word made flesh.” We could assume Jesus, the God-Man, was once a child who learned “the basics of life” from his Jewish mother as every child learned within the cultural setting of the time. Mary and Joseph were his models; their role was to teach him and certainly to learn from him.
Most specifically, Mary showed him how to be hospitable and compassionate, to be thoughtful and respectful, to be kind and merciful. Mary was indeed “in synch” with all that was good, with all that came from the Father and brought to life the Lord’s desire for justice and peace. When we reflect on and practice the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, we see how the following statement is a significant one in the life of Mary and her son Jesus: “whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do unto me.” The Corporal Works of Mercy: Feed the hungry. Cloth the naked. Care for the sick. Visit the imprisoned. Bury the dead. The Spiritual Works of Mercy Comfort the sorrowful. Offer counsel. Admonish the sinner.
On November 5, 1946, the first Sisters of Mercy came to Guam to establish a community of women religious whose charism of gift to the Church is to serve the poor, sick and ignorant. Today, the Sisters of Mercy throughout the world continue to be animated by their foundress Catherine McAuley of Dublin, Ireland, and by the Gospels of Jesus Christ. Catherine’s compassionate love for the poor and unfortunate is rooted in the ordinary example of Mary who modeled the mercy of God in extra-ordinary ways. May the rendering of Our Lady of Mercy inspire us to reach out to those in need and to bring to life the boundless love and compassionate mercy of God in our midst. (2001)
