I want to thank all of you for your ongoing generous support to our St. Jude Church and to our Parish Outreach. In the spirit of Christian charity and fellowship, I want to express my gratitude of being a living testament to your faith and powerful witness to the love of Christ in our community. Your response to the call of the Gospel, whether monetary, food and non-perishable items, and our volunteers giving up your time, have been a beacon of hope for the poor, the hungry, and the marginalized among us. Because of your charity, we are able to provide for those in need in our parish community comfort, care, food, and love.
In a world full of need, your charity is a powerful sign of God’s love. In Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter, Misericordia et Misera (Mercy and Misery), he designated the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, which is this Sunday, to be “World Day for the Poor.” He wrote: “It will be a day that will help communities and each baptized person to reflect on how poverty is at the heart of the Gospel and on the fact that, as long as Lazarus lies at the door of our homes (Luke 16:19-21) there can be no justice or social peace. This day will represent a genuine form of new evangelization (Matthew 11:5) which can renew the face of the Church as she perseveres in her perennial activity of pastoral conversion and witness to mercy” (21). And St. Jude Church shines the Light of Christ ever so bright!
Pope Francis wrote this letter in 2016 at the close of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, not as a closing statement, but as a grand opening. He tells us that 2016 Year of Mercy is not a year-long event, a temporary program, or a limited-time offer. It is the permanent, beating heart of God, and it must become the permanent, beating heart of the Church and of our lives. The title itself is a profound summary of the human condition and the divine response. Misera/Misery. That’s us. Our poverty, our sin, our weakness, our brokenness. Misericordia/Mercy. That is God. His compassionate heart, moved by our misery, reaching down to heal, to forgive, to embrace.
In today’s world, we live in an age of judgements. On social media, in politics, even in our families, we are too quick to condemn, to categorize, to write people off. Pope Francis urges us to a radical shift. He writes of making confession more available, of encouraging priests to be generous and welcoming in the confessional, not as gatekeepers but as channels of God’s forgiving love. I pray and hope that myself and fellow priests are channels of God’s mercy, compassion, and love to all.
But this isn’t just for priests. For each of us, it means looking at the person who has hurt us, the colleague who annoys us, the family member we’ve given up on, or the stranger we fear, and making a conscious choice. Do I lead with judgement, or do I lead with mercy? Do I assume the worst, or do I, like the father of the Prodigal Son, look for them from a distance, ready to run and embrace them? Mercy is not being naïve, but a fierce and courageous choice to see with God’s eyes.
We must be a people who proclaim, loudly and joyfully, that no one is beyond the reach of God’s love. Is there someone in your life who needs to hear that? Is there a part of your own heart that needs to believe it? The message of Misericordia et Misera is that your misery has already been met, and overcome, by God’s mercy. Mercy received must become mercy given. Pope Francis powerfully links mercy with mission. He speaks of the “Sunday of the Word of God”, encouraging us to immerse ourselves in Scripture, because it is there we meet the God of mercy. He speaks of the works of mercy — feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, instructing the ignorant — not as optional extras for saints, but as the essential makeup of every Christian.
In a world drowning in information but starving for compassion, we are to be the hands of Christ. When you comfort a grieving friend, you are living Misericordia et Misera. When you patiently listen to a struggling child, you are living it. When you advocate for the marginalized, when you forgive a debt, when you simply offer a kind word to someone who feels invisible, you are putting flesh on this beautiful teaching. You are closing the gap between misery and mercy.
We are that people. We are the ones sent into the weary, judgmental, and hurting world not with more rules to follow, but with a story to tell. The story of a Father who waits, of a Shepard who searches, and of a Love that never, ever ends. Let us continue not as carriers of condemnation, but as ambassadors of mercy. Let our families, workplaces, and our St. Jude community be the disciples, missionaries, builders of the Kingdom of God, where misery is met with mercy, and where all can find a home. May the God of mercy bless us, heal us, and send us forth to be a blessing for others.
Again, thank you St. Jude Church for all you do in helping those suffering and expressing your mercy and love! We, in union with one another and living the Gospel, are a light to Mastic Beach, Mastic, Shirley, and the world ~
St. Jude, pray for us ~ Mercy and Peace,
Fr. Ryan