Welcome to the sixth issue of the Fit Shepherds’ newsletter. This issue includes a short audio testimony by Dusty Akers, a member of Fit Shepherds, who shares how being part of the group has affected his relationship with Christ. In the months ahead, other members of Fit Shepherds will also be sharing their testimonies about how getting to know Christ is affecting their faith journeys. So enjoy Dusty’s short testimony by clicking above.
In the meantime, with Divine Mercy Sunday coming up on April 28, I thought it would be appropriate to share a little bit about the topic of mercy.
Here is an excerpt from a sermon by St. Caesarius of Arles, the Bishop of Arles in France who died in the year 543:
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. My brothers and sisters, sweet is the thought of mercy, but even more so is mercy itself. It is what all men hope for, but unfortunately not what all men deserve. For while all men wish to receive it, only a few are willing to give it. How can a man ask for himself what he refuses to give to another? If he expects to receive any mercy in heaven, he should give mercy on earth.
Do we all deserve to receive mercy? Let us make mercy our patroness now, and she will free us in the world to come. Yes, there is mercy in heaven, but the road to it is paved with our merciful acts on earth…. There is, therefore, an earthly as well as a heavenly mercy; that is to say, a human and divine mercy. Human mercy has compassion on the miseries of the poor. Divine mercy grants forgiveness of sins. Whatever human mercy bestows here on earth, divine mercy will return to us in our homeland.
In this life, God feels cold and hunger in all who are stricken with poverty; for remember, He once said: “What you have done to the least of my brothers you have done to me.” Yes, God who sees fit to give His mercy in heaven wishes it to be a reality here on earth.
What kind of people are we? When God gives, we wish to receive, but when He begs, we refuse to give…. What do you wish for? What do you pray for, my dear brothers and sisters, when you come to church? Is it mercy? How can it be anything else? Show mercy then, while you are on earth, and mercy will be shown to you in heaven.
A poor person asks you for something; you ask God for something. He begs for a morsel of food; you beg for eternal life. Give to the beggar so that you may merit to receive from Christ.
The following was written by the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen:
Our Lord has made mercy the very soul of His Church. I think that is the reason why He chose as the head of His Church, not the innocent, the pure, not the virgin disciple John, but the impetuous, strong man called Peter—the one who had denied Him and cursed and swore that he knew not the Man…. And so he who knew by experience the mercy and forgiveness of our Lord was chosen the head of the Church so that the Church might forever practice mercy and kindness.
There is every reason in the world for mercy. There is some good in the worst of us, and there is some bad in the best of us. The good are those who try to find some good in others, and they generally do find it. The evil are those who look for the faults of others, and as a result never see their own…. If on the last day we would receive a merciful judgment, we must begin here on earth to be merciful to others…. By constantly thinking of ourselves, we render ourselves incapable of receiving the kindness of others. Only to the extent that we have emptied ourselves of ourselves can God fill us with Himself.
The late Bishop Robert Morlino once said this about mercy in an interview:
First having been shown mercy, I am now chosen to be a minister of mercy, to be a leader of mercy. So men should look upon themselves as dispensers of mercy and for them to be who they are as dispensers of mercy requires that they are fervent about going to confession to receive it because you can’t give what you don’t have. And then the humility also that comes from going to confession is the key to all the other virtues. Humility empowers obedience. Humility empowers joy in my own life because I don’t have to be something that I am not. When pride takes over someone’s life, they are trying to be someone they are not – not intended by God. Humility enables the man to accept himself or herself for what he is, [including his] strengths and weaknesses, and then to operate as a leader in the family out of that humility, to give the example of humility to his wife and his children.
If you want to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet, the following video will be of great help:
