Today we celebrate Mercy Day, which is a day dedicated to Mary. One of her many titles is “Our Lady of Mercy.” Mary was a Model of Mercy for Catherine McAuley.
By a happy accident, Catherine opened her House of Mercy on the feast day of Our Lady of Mercy, September 24. This House of Mercy on Baggot Street in Dublin was a place that educated the ignorant, especially women, housed the homeless, and healed the sick. It was and is a place of welcome, symbolized by a striking red door. Nine more Houses of Mercy would open in Ireland—Tullamore, Charleville, Carlow, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Birr, Kingstown and Booterstown—and many more around the world.
Following Communion, we will recognize several people in the community of Assumption who model Mercy, following the examples of Mary, Catherine and the Sisters of Mercy.
I would like to tell you about a person in my own life who models mercy, my mom, Karen Cassidy. Through her work as a nurse serving the elderly, she saw a need in our Louisville community. There were a significant number of people who had nowhere to go in the last weeks of their life – dying people with limited money and sometimes no family. Hospitals would sometimes discharge them to die in the streets or alone without comfort, company or medical care.
Mom felt called to step in. After a lot of hard work and fundraising, she opened Hildegard House, a medical facility named for Hildegard of Bingen, a woman religious in the Middle Ages with a own heart of Mercy. It is a medical facility where the dying can come and be comfortable and care for at the end of life. To see a face of love as they died. With the help of an army of volunteers and donors, So far Hildegard House has helped over one hundred residents to die with dignity. And the work continues. This is a wonderful example of what a House of Mercy can look like.
The works that are done there are works of mercy: to care for the sick and to bury the dead. We are also called to do likewise. There are other ways that we can show Mercy to each other.
[Tuesday] Another work of Mercy is forgiveness. Jesus models this by forgiving a person who society would say doesn’t deserve it. In the Gospel today, we about the tax collector Matthew. Matthew was sitting in a tax booth counting the money that he had gained by exploiting and oppressing his fellow Jews. Jesus called him out of the darkness, saying “Leave your money behind. I will have mercy on you. Come and follow me.” That Mercy that Jesus offered him transformed Matthew. He became one of the 12 Apostles and wrote or inspired the gospel named for him. Imagine how many people like Matthew could be transformed if we showed them a little Mercy, too. His example should inspire all of us to have hearts of Mercy, too.
[Thursday] In the first reading today, we heard God challenging his people to build a temple where his spirit can dwell – a house like Catherine’s where his throne of Mercy will sit. Through the prophet Haggai, he challenges the Jews of the time to rethink their priories. They are building themselves extravagant homes to live. But decades after returning from exile, they have given no thought to building a house for worship. No thought for a house to serve poor. His call works! The people re-commit themselves to building the temple dedicated to the Mercy of God.
May our campus, Assumption High School, be known throughout the community as a “House of Mercy” by the way that we treat one another and the way that we serve the poor. Just as Catherine opened that first House of Mercy. Just as Mom’s Hildegard House of Mercy serves the dying. We can be a beacon of Mercy for our city.
God bless you and Happy Mercy Day!
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