SAINTS IN MERCY

In this month of November, the Church in Peninsular Malaysia focuses on “Saints in Mercy.” Every Catholic is invited to imitate the mercy of Jesus as we look at the life of Saints during this Jubilee Year of Mercy. The Saints have served as witnesses to Christ and His Church.

Mercy is a virtue and a fruit of charity. It has to be lived every day in our lives. We become merciful when we place kindness, compassion and forgiveness into our practice. Many of Saints of the Church have been disciples of God’s mercy and they stand out as very good examples that can help us to play as models in spreading the mercy of God. The Beatitudes of the Gospel (Mt 5: 1-12) shows how to be people of mercy and to set a part to becoming a saint. This month of November we have an opportunity to look back and celebrate the saints of the Church who have lived the words of the Gospel faithfully.

Let’s have a glance at some of the saints who transformed the corporal and spiritual works of Mercy in action and see how we can draw inspiration and wisdom from them for our own as we come to the end of the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Each year on 1^st January, we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. She played an important part in God’s plan of salvation for the whole world. She is our greatest Saint. She helps the miserable, strengthens the discouraged and comforts the sorrowful. She gives maternal care, intercedes for us and brings back the answers to our prayers.

St Maria Domenica Mantovani (1862), whose feast we celebrate on 2^nd February devoted herself to build a strong parish community and cared for the needs of others by serving the poor, visiting the sick and elderly.

St Catherine of Siena (1347) devoted much of her life helping the prisoners and visiting the sick in the hospitals. She touched the life of many people by comforting them with prayers and through her great writings. We commemorate her feast on April 29.

St Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901) is a saint for today’s young people. Pier or Peter Frassati was born into a wealthy family but he donated all his money to people he saw as more needy than him. He dedicated his life to works of social action, charity, prayer and community. His feast day falls on July 4.

St John Mary Vianney (1786), who was spending 16 hours a day in the confessional. He was a priest who displayed a great example on the importance of the spiritual works of mercy, which God extends to us in the Sacraments. He too used his homilies to educate people about the Catholic faith. He is well known as the patron saint of Parish Priests and his feast day is on August 4.

We pray to these spiritual patrons as we continue to grow stronger in our faith and more effectively witnessing Jesus through the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.

Few other Saints of the Church who involved very much in the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.

CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY:

a) Feed the Hungry: St. Maximilian Kolbe. St. Vincent de Paul

b) Give Drink to the Thirsty: St. Peter Claver, St Marianne Cope

c) Clothe the Naked: St. Martin of Tours

d) Visit the Sick: St. Vincent de Paul, St. Samson:

e) Shelter the Homeless: St. Benedict, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

f) Visit the Imprisoned:  St. Peter Nalasco, St. Saturus

g) Bury the Dead: St. Joseph of Arimathea, St. Catherine of Siena

SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY:

a) Comfort the afflicted: StThomas Merton, St. Dorothy Day

b) Counsel the doubtful: St. John Vianney, St. Francis de Sales, St Padre Pio,

c) Admonish sinners: St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Thomas Aquinas

d) Forgive offenses willingly: St. Maria Goretti, St. Stephen

e) Teach the Ignorant: St. Francis Xavier, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

f) Bear wrongs patiently: St. Bernadette of Lourdes, St. Maximilian Kolbe

g) Pray for the living and the dead: St. Simeon Stylites, St. Mary of Egypt

We pray to these spiritual patrons as we continue to grow stronger in our faith and more effectively witnessing Jesus through the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. Let these and other saints be our guide always in living our faith in the way they lived their faith.

Prayer:  Merciful God, your mercy is inexhaustible. Bless Pope Francis for designating this as a special year in which we celebrate your mercy to us and to the whole world. Help us to receive your mercy and to share it with others. In particular, grant us the grace to be witnesses of your mercy – especially to those who are poor or vulnerable, sick or lonely, or marginalised. May we also never forget to be merciful with family members and others who are closest to us. Help us to always live in your mercy. Amen.