Mercy throughout the Liturgy

Ihad the wonderful opportunity to spend two summers in Graz, Austria, with the American Institute of Musical Studies. It was a glorious experience, except for a few hours one day.

A friend and I were traveling across town to a laundromat, which involved walking to the tram with bags of laundry in tow and transferring to a bus to reach our destination. Getting off the bus, I noticed that something was missing—my purse! Panic doesn’t come close to what I felt. So much of what I needed, including my passport, was in my purse. I left my laundry with my friend and hopped on the next bus, trying to explain my crisis with my limited German.

A kind man who understood English took me to the city’s center for transportation. There, the staff looked at me with sympathetic eyes, encouraging me to check for my purse later but saying there was little chance I would get it back. After a couple of hours and many prayers to St. Anthony, I returned. This time their eyes were brighter. They reached into the lost-and-found cabinet and out came my purse. I looked inside and everything was there. My response was one of humility and gratitude.

Humility and gratitude are fundamental elements of liturgical prayer. For that reason, the Penitential Act follows soon after the priest’s greeting at the beginning of Mass. In the Penitential Act, the assembly humbly acknowledges that they often lose their way, while recognizing that God is always seeking the lost. With humility and gratitude to God’s faithfulness, the congregation prays, “Lord have mercy.” These words carry the realization that God’s mercy is greater than any sin.

God’s mercy is a subtle theme throughout the liturgy. In the Gloria we sing, “you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.” As the Scriptures are proclaimed, the assembly hears about God’s merciful love throughout salvation history—how God chose, again and again, to temper judgment with mercy to a sinful humanity.

In the Eucharistic Prayer comes a call for God’s mercy, as the priest says, “Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection, and all who have died in your mercy”

(Eucharistic Prayer II).

The assembly prays the Lord’s Prayer, petitioning for mercy from God and also seeking to be merciful as they pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Before the table of the Lord is approached for Communion, the faithful pray, “Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us.”

While receiving Communion, people encounter the intimacy of God’s merciful love that was poured out in the death and Resurrection of Jesus.

At the Dismissal, the faithful are sent forth to be God’s mercy in the world. This mission was articulated especially with the dismissal text offered as an option during the Year of Mercy: “Be merciful, just as your heavenly Father is merciful. Go in peace.”

Five Minute Jesus

Using the Gospel for Prayer – The Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 9, 2023

It’s simple. 1. Read the Gospel for the following Sunday slowly, reflecting on the story it tells. 2. Reflect on the questions assigned for each day. 3. Make some resolution about how what you read can be lived that day. 4. Then thank God for speaking to you through this reflection.

Gospel Matthew 11:25-30

At that time Jesus exclaimed: "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him." "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

Monday

Was there something in this reading that spoke to me? Challenged me? What was it? Why did it have this effect on me?

Tuesday

At times we intellectually try to understand the teachings of Jesus. But what would it be like to be one of the little ones? To be one who just accepts God without having to figure it all out and know all the answers? Today, how can I just let go and trust God?

Wednesday

Jesus says, “no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him." What does it mean to have God revealed to me? When has it happened to me? How has it affected my life today?

Thursday

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Whatever burdens me: guilt, ailure, pain, loss, shame, depression, hopelessness, Jesus is there to help me. How can I reach out to Him in prayer and really let go of some of the burdens that weigh me down today?

Friday

We all struggle in life. It is easy to feel weighed down but we do not need to struggle alone. Today as I pray, how can I ask Jesus to help me with my struggles?

Saturday

Christ has come to lighten our burdens. We as followers of Christ are to practice his teachings. As Christians, we are called to be Christ-like. Is there something I can do today to help lighten the burden for someone I know?