Mercy Matters
Opening Yourself to the Life-Changing Gift
Mathew N. Schmalz
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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible—Second Catholic Edition (Ignatius Edition), copyright © 2006 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2016 by Mathew N. Schmalz. Published 2016.
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Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division
Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.
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Huntington, IN 46750
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ISBN: 978-1-61278-996-5 (Inventory No. T1746)
eISBN: 978-1-61278-998-9
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For Dolores T. Schmalz,my merciful mom
Let us then with confidence draw nearto the throne of grace, that we mayreceive mercy and find graceto help in time of need.
– Hebrews 4:16
Contents
Chapter Two: Mercy and Reconciliation
Chapter Three: Mercy and Letting Go
Chapter Four: Mercy and Compassion
Chapter Five: Mercy and Freedom
Chapter Six: Mercy and Dignity
Chapter Seven: Mercy and Kindness
Chapter Eight: Mercy and Truth
Chapter Nine: Mercy and Forgiveness
Chapter Ten: Mercy and Suffering
Chapter Eleven: Mercy and Death
Chapter Twelve: Mercy and Life
Acknowledgments
This book is about opening ourselves to mercy, to love that responds to human need in an unexpected or unmerited way. This book is itself the result of many mercies shown to me by many people over the course of my life. While some of these people do appear in the following pages, many do not, and so I would like to acknowledge them here.
For love: My wife and daughters. They do appear in the book, although under pseudonyms of their own choosing. Our dog, Harold, has chosen his real name.
For editorial advice: Cindy Cavnar and Bill Roorbach.
For inspiration: Catherine Duclos, Mary Johnson, Joanne Pierce, and Donna Steinmetz.
For friendship: Peter Gottschalk, Keith Harmon, Father Warren Hicks, Jack Horky, Thomas Landy, and Malik Neal.
For mercies shared: David Robert Campbell, Elin Cohen, Anita Houck, Rebecca Krier, Vaughn Kurtz, Janice Lloyd, Kevin Meinert, Nestor Santana, Julia Schmalz, Hema Sharma, Kevin Walsh, and Kimberlee Wyche.
And for merciful memories: Albert Duclos, Betty Hubsch, Marzena Ladiejewska, Kim McElaney, Constance McKenna, Stephen Schmalz, Johnny T. K, and Theodore and Irene Tourangeau.
I would also like to express my gratitude to two journalist editors who have provided me encouragement and opportunity, and also gave me permission to draw upon pieces previously published online: Teresa Hanaflin of Crux (www.cruxnow.com) and Corrie Mitchell of On Faith (www.faithstreet.com/onfaith). Citations of the relevant articles may be found in the Endnotes.
Introduction
Mercy Matters
On April 11, 2015, Pope Francis proclaimed an extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, to begin with the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, 2015, and concluding with the feast of Christ the King, November 20, 2016.1 There have only been three extraordinary Jubilee years in the history of the Church, the last one called by St. John Paul II in 1983 to commemorate 1,950 years since the birth of Jesus.2 When he opened the special Holy Door in St. Peter’s in Rome to inaugurate the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis remarked, “To enter through the Holy Door means to rediscover the deepness of the mercy of the Father, who welcomes all and goes out to meet everyone personally.”3 This personal relationship that God offers us is based upon a love that reaches out to us in our weakness and vulnerability. “How much wrong we do to God and his grace,” Pope Francis said