If one sees another only as different, as alien or, worse, as an enemy,
mercy will never happen. Only when we can look upon another person
and feel compassion for a fellow human being will mercy come about.
Compassion enables us to encounter the other without prejudice or
judgment, to respect his or her dignity as one fashioned in the image
and likeness of God, and to build bridges of understanding and
empathy. Compassion tempers our words; shapes our thoughts and
attitudes; moves us to act.
A compassionate church, Pope Francis reminds us over and over
again, can counter the tenor of the times: “You are the salt, leaven,
and light that provides a beacon of hope. . . . You . . . help to change
the course of your local communities, your states, your country, and
the world by your witness to that encounter with the Lord Jesus who
gives us abundant life and joy.”
In truth, “The well taught religious mind to all compassion gives; casts
round the world an equal eye and feels for all that lives.”
In this Issue
We hope you are enjoying and using Carmelite Sister Mary Grace
Melcher’s powerful intercessions and concluding prayer on mercy
and the Eucharist for the Sunday and solemnity Universal Prayers of
the Year of Mercy. These are meant to complement those you prepare
and pray locally.
Two articles in this issue focus on the theme of mercy: “Table of
Mercy” and “Laudato Si — On Care for Our Common Home and the
Eucharist,” written by Robert Stark, SSS. Another Blessed Sacrament
priest, Vittore Boccardi, shares more about the cultural and ecclesial
context of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress scheduled for
Cebu in the Philippines at the end of January, as well as excerpts from
the basic text of the congress.
As always, you will find much to nourish your spirituality, your prayer
life, and your ministry in this issue. A blessed and joyous 2016 to you!
Anthony Schueller, SSS
Editor