Year of Mercy Archives - Amazing Catechists

Proclaiming Christ Crucified

“Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
When I appealed to him in words,
praise was on the tip of my tongue” (Psalm 66: 16-17).

While driving to an appointment to have my blood drawn this week, I caught about five minutes of Ave Maria Radio’s Dr. Ray Guarendi having a discussion with a priest about how the understanding of Salvation differs between Catholics and Protestants (the “saved by faith, not works” error).

Just as I was pulling up to the blood lab, Dr. Guarendi posed a question to the audience that went something like, “If Jesus asked you right now why you should go to Heaven, what would you say?”

Wanting to know the genuineness of my heart, I turned off the car with expectation, eager to hear aloud what my answer might be.

With joy, my answer flowed out of me like a river down a mountain with the power to create a gorge below. Using my smart phone I spoke, and later listened to the convictions of my soul:

“Because I love You.”

“You’re beautiful. Breathtaking. You breathed life into me.

You let me feel Your Presence after waiting so long for me to turn to You. When I realized I was nothing without You, You showed up. Just like that.

You sent your Spirit to teach me, and in between, You healed Me. You answered my prayers and didn’t leave me. You still answer my prayers every day. You speak to me through others and give me light to know it’s You. When I adore You, I receive Your Wisdom and Understanding, even if for a moment. You let me understand and accept when You say “no,” and you smile with me when You say “yes!”

I see You in the person You created to be my husband and am amazed how his inner and outer beauty came from within Your Sacred Heart as You created him.

You give me Your beauty to think about, to dream of, to live by, to gather and give to others, and now I see that beauty in other souls.

You changed my heart.

I’m able to learn from Your lessons in humility and can thank You instead of cowering; smoldering.

Lord, You know I want to see you and spend Eternity with You. I want to say, “I love you” Face to face, because You are the beauty I long for each morning and the peace I sleep with each night. The thought of not spending forever with you makes me shudder and crumble.

Mercy. You are so merciful and kind. If I were to fall at the last moment of my life, I know You’d give me one moment more to tell You I’m sorry and you’d forgive me with Your open Heart of Love.

I’m so grateful You allowed me to have a friendship with You while still on earth; while still young enough to enjoy living the miracle of it. Today I understand You to the extent that I can today and I have confidence that tomorrow it will increase by Your Grace and my perseverance.”

I left my car and went into the lab with the fire of the Holy Spirit and sat down in what I always call, “the blood seat.”

“Which arm do you want me to use?” the nurse asked.

I’ve had blood draws more times in the last ten years than I’ve had my entire life and they’ve never bothered me in the least. But this time, still thinking about our Lord, my thoughts turned to His Blood. I thought about the Roman soldiers scourging Him and the immense pain He endured. And here I was going to get one little needle prick and was feeling uneasy. “Lord,” I prayed…this time I offer up these three vials of blood for You and for what You endured for me.” In went the needle and it BURNED and HURT like never before and seemed to go on forever. [Be careful what you pray for!]

When the needle was out and the nurse was labeling the vials, I looked up and noticed a small sign in front of me that read, LET YOUR PHLEBOTOMIST KNOW IF YOU HAVE AN ALLERGY TO LATEX.

The nurse asked if I was ok. Through my tears, I blurted, “The soldiers beat Jesus and tortured Him and then crucified Him, and never once did they give him a chance to let His phlebotomists know whether He was allergic to latex.”

She chuckled, but though amusing I chose not to partake, and dried my tears. Her face changed and she said, “I love Jesus too.”

I left the office wondering what her list might sound like out loud, but then realized that was between her and the same Christ who loves her just as large as He loves me.

***

“When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.”
(1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

The Corporal Works of Mercy

By Deanna Bartalini

Here is an infographic on the Corporal Works of Mercy to go along with the Spiritual Works of Mercy.

Miserere Mei Deus: 4 Video Resources for the Year of Mercy

By Karee Santos

Ever since Pope Francis announced that a Jubilee Year of Mercy would begin in December 2015, voices in the Church have been following the Pope’s call to spread the message of mercy to all people. There are excellent video resources available to inspire and educate us, and many of them are free. Here’s a sampling.

1. Ascension Presents An Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy

This series of four short videos (less than ten minutes each) is available here. Each video features a different popular Catholic speaker. My favorite is this one with Fr. Mike Schmitz, explaining what a jubilee year is and why it’s so important.

2. Catholic Conference 4 Moms Faces of Mercy

This online conference features more than 20 prerecorded presentations on the topic of mercy. Each presentation is about 20 minutes long. The conference will begin February 20, but individuals and parishes can register now. This trailer explains more about the conference.

My husband Manuel P. Santos M.D. and I will talk about Mercy in Marriage. Here’s a sneak peek at our presentation, where we talk about grudges.

3. The Wild Goose by Fr. Dave Pivonka

The mercy of God flows through the work of the Holy Spirit, and so we’re fortunate to have a new series of fourteen videos on the Holy Spirit, whom the Celts analogized to a wild goose because of the Spirit’s vast potential to surprise us. The videos last between twenty and thirty minutes and are available online for free. Only seven out of the fourteen have been completed so far. The first video was filmed against the stunning backdrop of Niagara Falls where we can “literally hear the love of God being poured forth into our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

4. Allegri’s Miserere Mei Deus

Music inspires me more than anything else, so these recommendations would be incomplete without a music video. I leave you with this astonishingly beautiful performance of Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere Mei Deus (transl.: “Have mercy on me, O God”) by King’s College Choir of Cambridge, England. You can hear the angels start to sing shortly after the one and a half minute mark. Enjoy!

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Spiritual Works of Mercy Infographic

By Deanna Bartalini

I made an infographic to explain the Spiritual Works of Mercy to the children in the faith formation classes. Each week I will teach about one work of mercy and then give some ideas as to how to practice it. At the beginning of the next session we will discuss how the spiritual work was implemented and then go on to the next one.

Be Merciful – A Retreat

By Deanna Bartalini

This post is written in response to a question from one of our readers for a fun retreat for catechists. I willingly took up the opportunity to craft a retreat. I hope it is of use to you.

Since we are currently celebrating the Year of Mercy, it seems appropriate that we form our retreat around the theme of mercy.

Theme: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:36
Gather: Serve refreshments appropriate to the time of the retreat; have music playing in the background; if your group is large and people do not know each other’s names, provide name tags.
Welcome: The retreat leader should welcome the group and give an overview of the day.
Opening Prayer: Have a prayer space set up with a covered table, crucifix, Bible, flowers, candle, etc. Use items which are meaningful to your group.
Song: Sweep me Away by Kari Jobe
Psalm 136: Have copies of Psalm 136 available for each participant. Separate the group into two groups and pray the Psalm with each group alternately praying two verses. (Click here for handout)
Reflection: How do I see God’s mercy enduring forever?
Prayer: Lord, you are the Father of all mercy. Throughout history you have shown your people how to love and serve you and each other. You gave us the ultimate sign of your mercy in your Son, Jesus. Help us to know your mercy and then to learn to share it with those you ask us to teach. May your mercy flow in us as we grow closer to you this day. We ask for Mary’s intercession as we pray: Hail Mary…

Ice Breakers: These are helpful and important, especially if your group is large or unfamiliar with each other.
Some possible ideas
1. Human Bingo: Make up Bingo cards with one item in each square, people find one person that has that characteristic in the square. Possible squares: married more than 10 years, is wearing boots, speaks a foreign language, loves to cook, has been anointed, has read the entire Bible, goes to daily Mass, has on a medal or crucifix, carries a rosary in their purse or pocket, is on Facebook, etc. The first one to have a signature in each box wins.
2. We’re all connected: one person stands up in front of the group and starts talking about themselves: I’m from New York, my favorite food is steak, I like to sew, etc… As the person is talking, if another person in the group hears something that is also true of them, they get up, link arms and start talking about themselves until another person hears something that is also true of them, gets up, starts talking and so on until everyone has gotten up. When you explain the game remind people to tell unique things about themselves, not your usual I’m a mom, I teach Confirmation class.
3. That’s Me: (I can’t recall if that really is the name of the game) this works with a small group, no more than 12 or so. Each person writes down something very unique about themselves that people cannot tell by being casual friends or acquaintances. I often write that I forgot how to speak English when I was little. Once everyone has written something, they fold the slip of paper and put it in a basket. Pass around the basket, making sure you don’t have your own paper. Each person reads the slip and tries to guess who wrote it.

Break for bathroom/water

Talk: Retreat Leader or other suitable person
Pick a story from the Gospels that focuses on healing and mercy. For me, I’d have to choose between the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) and the Healing of the Blind Beggar (Luke 18:35-43). Read the Gospel passage chosen and give an explanation of it. After the explanation, it would be appropriate to give a personal testimony of mercy in your own life. Then, either in pairs or small groups, have each participant tell their own story of mercy.

We want to give people the opportunity to see God’s mercy in our everyday lives. When we see mercy in our own lives and reflect on it, it convicts us and hopefully leads us to share it with others.

Group Activity: Mercy is Falling
Play the song Mercy is Falling for the group. Break up into small groups and give each group a large sheet of paper and markers. Instruct the groups to either make a list of or draw what they see when they think of mercy.
When everyone is finished, have them explain to the whole group what they discovered. Post them around the room.

Break for lunch, allow time for fellowship, going outside weather permitting; come back together and open with a song.

Song: Lord I need You by Matt Maher

Lectio Divina: Luke 6:27-36
Here is an explanation of Lectio Divina from the Religion Teacher. I’ve also included an explanation in the handout. I recommend doing this in small groups, no more than five or six people.

Closing Prayer: Before praying, have each participant write their name on a small slip of paper, fold it and put it in a basket.
Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
After the prayer, have each person take a name from the basket to pray for that person.

Closing: Thank everyone for coming, if a priest or deacon is present have him offer a blessing to the group.

If possible, do the closing prayer in a chapel or in front of the Blessed Sacrament. This outline is for a retreat without a priest; if you have a priest I’d add opportunities for confession and Mass depending on time constraints.

Living Advent 2: Don’t Judge a Person by Their Christmas Lights

By Maureen Smith

On my walk to the metro the other day, past houses illuminated with brightly colored lights (which were put up too early) and festive cheer, I found myself feeling irritated, lonely, and discouraged.

But this is Advent. I’m supposed to be happy. I work for the Church, so why am I not more excited?

The answer hit me like a snowball to the face.

One of the reasons why my heart has been restless is because I have been so critical of the “happy holidays” culture, separating myself from those who are not more traditional. In an attempt to celebrate Advent “successfully” (whatever that looks like), I put myself above anyone who does not observe this pentential season the “right” way.

I have fallen yet again into the, “I’m not one of those people mentality.”

How many times have we all said this, especially during Advent? Do any of these situations sound familiar?

Criticizing retailers for putting out merchandise too early
Gossiping about the neighbors who decorate the day after Thanksgiving
Rolling our eyes at black friday shoppers
If we did shop, our shopping was completely justified…we’re not one of those rediculous 3am shoppers…
Glaring at the barrista who hands us a red coffee cup and wishes us happy holidays
Plugging our ears in protest of Christmas music played before the Octave

Is this having the effect we really want? Is this really the Christian response? Are we so liturgically rigid that we deny returning charity to others of good will?

These “others” are trying to spread joy in that same secular world which told Mary and Joseph that there was no room for them. Do we not give them room in our hearts? Are we too busy complaining that it isn’t the right time to sing “Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee” that we forget to recognize and adore the presence of Christ whose love is incarnate in the smiling person before us?

Just because it is not the proper time to sing “Joy to the World” our Savior still reigns and we still can be joyful! We can still help others’ hearts unfold before us, opening to the Son of God.

In all of this holiday mania let us be lights of joy and let us receive others as lights of joy. Christ came in the most unexpected place on that first Christmas day, and we have the opportunity to meet him in those very people we are so quick to judge, those who “take Christ out of Christmas.”

No one can really take Christ out of Christmas. Our challenge is to recognize Christ in those place where he is needed most, and bring his love and light into the darkness. As Christians we cannot just ignore the darkness and those who are thirsting within it for a savior.

It was His Heart that beat under the heart of Our Lady waiting to be born for the salvation of the world. It was His Heart that cured the sick, forgave the sinner, and fed the hungry. It was His Heart that beat on the Cross for us and still beats for us in Heaven. It is His Heart that beats within our own Hearts. The question is, are we willing to bring that love into the world?

Christ sees us all men and women as his children, he does not evaluate us as “happy holidays” people or “Merry Christmas” people.

If we find ourselves frustrated by the culture, by the fact that our ministry makes it difficult to pray, or if this season brings with it personal challenges and struggles, let us be consoled by the truth that Christ comes into the world each time at Mass and is always present in our hearts and in the hearts of others.

Whether or not we do Christmas or Advent “right,” no matter when we put out our Christmas lights and decorations, he still comes, for he is always faithful.

This Lent, Join Thousands to Learn About Mercy in Marriage

By Karee Santos

My husband Manny and I are excited to join several stellar speakers for a February 2016 online event called Faces of Mercy, produced by CatholicConference4Moms. Over 4,000 Catholic women registered for last year’s event. Manny and I will be speaking on Mercy in Marriage and the power of forgiveness to make your marriage strong, long-lasting, and joyful. Other presentations cover a wide range of topics such as teaching children how to forgive, overcoming evil through showing mercy, lessons on Divine Mercy from St. Faustina, and the role of mercy in combating pornography addiction.

This year’s amazing line-up of presenters includes:

Jennifer Fulwiler, Sirius XM radio show host & author of the best-selling conversion memoir Something Other Than God;

Simcha Fisher, speaker at the World Meeting of Families and author of The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning;

Kimberly Hahn, Bible-study author and wife of theology professor Scott Hahn;

Mike Aquilina, author or editor of more than 40 books and host of several television series on EWTN; and

wonderful friends and colleagues like Elizabeth Reardon, Pat Gohn, Allison Gingras, and Lisa Duffy.

Conference organizer Tami Kiser has brought to life an extraordinary way of entering into the meaning of Christ’s mercy during this Year of Mercy, starting on December 8, 2015, that Pope Francis has declared for the Church. Pre-recorded talks from the Faces of Mercy conference will be available to registrants on demand. Parishes can schedule a viewing at their convenience, and individuals can download and listen whenever they want throughout all of Lent. Plus, on February 20, 2016, Jennifer Fulwiler will be speaking live at 10:30 a.m. EST, and moms can gather virtually at 3 p.m. for live stream praying of the Divine Mercy chaplet.

A special option available this year is for parishes to host the talks as a Lenten retreat. This is a great way to rejuvenate faith and trust in God during the cold winter months before we celebrate Christ’s resurrection! The CatholicConference4Moms website has all the information for parish participation here.

Please consider registering either as an individual or on behalf of your parish, if you’re a catechist or religious education director. May Christ shower his mercy and blessings upon you!

To learn more about Karee and her marriage ministry, click here, and to get the free eBook, Marriage Rx: 50 Inspirational Quotes to Make Your Marriage Better Today, click here.