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be merciful!
This is a little lengthy, but very good. Read and be merciful!
The Virtue of Mercy
By: Michael Rawls
Catherine McAuley, the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, had a
special love for the virtue of mercy. In her words, "mercy is more
than charity, for it not only gives benefits but it receives and
pardons again and again - even the ungrateful."
In the Christian tradition, there are seven defined ways to
demonstrate the virtue of mercy:
1. Feed the hungry
2. Give drink to the thirsty
3. Clothe the naked
4. Shelter the homeless
5. Comfort the imprisoned
6. Visit the sick
7. Bury the dead
However, merciful acts can extend well beyond this list of seven,
especially when it comes to extending mercy to one's enemies.
By way of example, in the days of the Revolutionary War there lived
in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, a Baptist pastor by the name of Peter Miller
who enjoyed the friendship of General George Washington. There also
dwelt in that town one Michael Wittman, an evil-minded man who did all
in his power to abuse and oppose this pastor. One day Michael Wittman
was involved in treason and was arrested and sentenced to death. The
old preacher started out on foot and walked the whole seventy miles to
Philadelphia to plead for this man's life. He was admitted into
Washington's presence and at once begged for the life of the traitor.
Washington said, "No, Peter, I cannot grant you the life of your friend."
The preacher exclaimed, "He is not my friend - he is the bitterest
enemy I have."
Washington cried, "What? You've walked seventy miles for the life of
an enemy?
That puts the matter in a different light. I will grant the pardon."
And he did.
Peter Miller took Michael Wittman from the very shadow of death back
to his own home in Ephrata - no longer as an enemy, but as a friend.
Nearly every day presents opportunities to practice the virtue of
mercy - and not once have I had to go as far as seventy miles on foot
to fulfill my obligation as a fellow-human and be merciful to others.
All I have to do is get in my car and drive a few miles to the
interstate during rush-hour traffic. Or walk through the downtown
streets during this season that should be joyful, but is not, for so
many of the homeless and downtrodden.
Seven major areas in which to practice mercy is a good start, a
foundation. Sure, it's a gift from an angel (you) to the hungry, the
thirsting, the ill-clothed and homeless, to those who are imprisoned
by their choices or by their health. But it is a gift that brings as
much happiness to the giver as to the recipient, and there must be at
least seventy different ways in which each of those seven acts of
mercy can be expressed.
My math teacher in school told me I should make use of what he taught
me, so let's do the arithmetic. "Seven times seventy" and "twice
blest" - each participant profiting from a single act of mercy.. carry
the two, ummmm..... equals... Wow, that means I have at my command
nearly a thousand blessings! It's like a chance to be Santa Claus, all
year long - and I get to keep half of the presents!
Being an example of mercy to others is a win-win situation, every time
- that's the way it adds up.
Copyright ©2003 Michael Rawls
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