Hello and welcome to Van life Devotions. We are looking at each of the Beatitudes – the incredible teaching of Jesus that was a part of His famous Sermon on the Mount. Then, after Easter, Session Three will commence and it will be from Turkey, Greece, and Egypt. In fact, by the time of this devotion’s release we should be in Turkey.
The past few weeks, we have looked at the first four Beatitudes, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…”, “Blessed are those who mourn”, “Blessed are the meek” and “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”. Today we are looking at the fifth beatitude, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7 NIV).
In God’s Kingdom, Jesus calls all to be merciful because God has been merciful to us. The Greek word for mercy (Eleeo) means to be patience and compassionate toward those who are suffering or afflicted. It is a concern for the physical as well as spiritual need of those who are hurting. But mercy is even deeper. Mercy shows its concern by coming alongside people over periods of time and see them through their healing process. They are truly the hands and feet of God to the afflicted.
Catherine McAuley was born in late 18th Century Ireland. At that time most of the population was poor. She was born into a wealthy Catholic family in Dublin. Both her parents who had compassion for the poor died while she was young. She was invited to live at the Callaghan’s, a wealthy couple who had recently returned from India. She cared for them and their estate for the next twenty years, grew in her faith, and performed many acts of kindness for the poor. She had a dream that she would find a place where the poor, especially girls who were particularly at risk, could learn skills so that they could gain employment.
When the Callaghans died, they left their entire fortune to Catherine, and this gave her the opportunity to build her dream. She used the money to construct a large house in Baggott Street, Dublin. It was to be a home for prostitutes and orphans as well as a school for poor children. She called it the House of Mercy. Other women were attracted by Catherine's dream, and they began to live and pray together. Catherine therefore began her own religious order, Sisters of Mercy.
Catherine and others became known as "the walking nuns". They went out to visit people in their homes and walked the streets of Dublin where the poor were to be found, often bringing them back to the House of Mercy. They educated poor women and gave them skills for gaining employment. Soon the Sisters of Mercy were asked to set up houses elsewhere in the world including Australia.
Catherine died on 11 November 1841, having established 14 houses in the ten years of her life as a Sister of Mercy. What a wonderful person who showed the virtue of mercy.
In Australia, Sisters of Mercy particularly assists with indigenousness who live in poverty, and in the resettlement of refugees from many places across the world. They also provide pastoral and practical support to asylum seekers who are in detention. On their website I love their definition of Mercy: It comes from the heart; Gives someone another chance. How do you practice it? Put yourself in someone else's shoes.
What a challenging beatitude with the blessing on receiving God’s mercy. Who in your life do you need to put yourself into their shoes?
Let’s pray.
God of Mercy, we thank you for showing us love and compassion. Help us to practice what James taught in his letter “mercy over judgment”. O God, preserve us who travel; surround us with your loving care; protect us from every danger; and bring us in safety to our journey’s end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
David Moyes
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