Foot-washer

 Published in the JagWire, Mercy Academy's alumni magazine. On September 22, we celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy, the anniversary of the day in 1827 on which Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy, opened the first “House of Mercy” in Dublin, Ireland.  Mercy Academy observed the day with a scholarship reception, a tribute to three of our Sisters of Mercy, and mass presided by Archbishop Joseph Kurtz. In his homily, the archbishop recalled one of the most beautiful lines from scripture, Psalm 85:11, “Mercy and truth have met each other; justice and peace have kissed.”   Other renditions of the first part of the verse have, “where mercy and truth meet.” That phrase would make a fitting motto for Mercy Academy. Before all of our wonderful academic, athletic, artistic and service programs, we are a “school of mercy.”   A place where we learn to forgive each other, to teach each other, to counsel, correct, and accept,   to be patient when we are wronged, to heal

A reflection written for Mercy Academy on Mercy traditions.  In this reflection, I am going to explore one of our Mercy rituals: praying the Hail Mary together on Friday mornings by joining hands and making a circle in the classroom.     On Tuesday, we celebrated the first mass of the year, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary.  We heard the first part of the Hail Mary proclaimed in the Gospel on the lips of Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin:  “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”  So, why do Catholics pray these words now?  We see in Mary what God did: a simple Jewish girl who said ‘yes’ to the terrifying, transformative path God laid before her.  Because of this she was chosen to become the Mother of God.  As she proclaimed, “He has looked with favor on his lowly servant / From this day all generations will call me blessed: / the Almighty has done great things for me / and holy is his Name.”  (NAB, Luke 1:46-49) Inspired by Mary’s willingness, Venerable Catherin