In 1727 the French Ursuline Sisters arrived in New Orleans and founded an orphanage, the first Catholic charitable institution in what would become the United States. Over the decades the Society of St. Vincent de Paul organized local charity efforts into a national movement that would eventually be known as Catholic Charities.
Now, there are 164 Catholic Charities agencies in the United States at 2,361 locations, serving a total of 8.7 million people. Here in the Diocese of Charlotte, Catholic Charities provided services to nearly 20,000 people in need in 2015.
The reason that Catholic Charities is so prevalent is that the Catholic Church has been, and is, dedicated to that very basic Christian call of charity: To love your neighbor. Catholic Charities takes the "Golden Rule" and organizes it as a service to the community.
In December, we entered the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, and to celebrate Catholic churches around the world literally opened their doors to invite in all who seek mercy. The word "mercy" helps define our tradition of charity. The great theologian and philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas makes a distinction between two types of mercy: affective and effective. Affective mercy is what amounts to pity – one sees the need but does not respond. Effective mercy, however, is something that we do: "It's a positive action for the good of another, it is taking steps to relieve the miseries of the other." Our tradition invites us to participate in effective mercy.
In the first several months of his papacy, Pope Francis signaled clearly to the world that mercy would be central to his ministry. He showed up at a juvenile detention center in Rome, Casal del Marmo, on Holy Thursday to wash the feet of 12 inmates. Pope Francis displayed for us that if we are indeed a people of mercy that we must attend to those who are in desperate need of that mercy.
In 2009 I visited St. Patrick Church in Washington, D.C. to attend my first Mass. For quite some time I had been contemplating what seemed like a clear call to join the Catholic Church. My visit to St. Patrick's confirmed this call – not only because I was overwhelmed with the sacredness and ritual, but because it was also the first time I saw a Catholic Charities sign. Without knowing anything more than the name, I intuitively understood that the existence of Catholic Charities must come out of a deep theological commitment to the vulnerable and those on the margins. It must offer mercy.
It does. And we saw this commitment manifested in Pope Francis' recent visit to the United States.
Pope Francis declined an invitation to lunch with some of the most powerful people in the world. His reason for saying no to the leaders of Congress: to have lunch with clients of Catholic Charities at St. Patrick Church in Washington, D.C.
In his address at St. Patrick Church, Pope Francis said:
"Jesus not only wanted to show solidarity with every person. He not only wanted everyone to experience His companionship, His help, His love. He identified with all those who suffer, who weep, who suffer any kind of injustice. He says this clearly: 'I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me.'" (Mt 25:35)
Each day at Catholic Charities we respond to this call to feed the hungry, visit the sick and welcome the stranger. And together, as people of faith and action, we fulfill the calling to be, as Pope Francis puts it, "islands of mercy in a sea of indifference."
Justin Reilly is the Asheville regional director for Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte.
In the Book of the Prophet Isaiah we find the announcement of the anointed of God, the promised Messiah. Eight centuries prior to our contemporary Christian era, the prophet Isaiah describes the mission of the Messiah, almost as if he was looking at the Messiah face to face. The prophet delivers a message with the promise of a future liberator, a message of hope.
Isaiah makes a wonderful depiction of the life and ministry of the future Messiah, but he doesn't use his own words, but he uses the words of God the Father saying, "Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he shall not break, a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching," (Is 42:1-4).
With these words and others, the prophet Isaiah describes the figure of the upcoming Messiah who is to come to be the light of the world, justice for the nations and freedom from the slavery of sin that oppressed His people. Isaiah describes the mission of the Messiah as someone who rebuilds what has been destroyed, as one who rescues His people from darkness, and reestablishes the lost harmony between the Creator and His people.
During this Jubilee Year of Mercy, these words of the prophet take on an even deeper meaning after Pope Francis' invitation to rediscover the redemptive mission of the Messiah, a mission of love, a mission of mercy. As we listen to the words of the prophet Isaiah describing the Anointed One of God, we immediately reflect on how these prophetic words are fulfilled in the Person, the life and ministry of Our Lord Jesus Christ – the quiet and humble servant since His birth, with a complete self-offering even to His death, death on a cross, (Phil 2:6-11). And Christ did all that to offer us the grace of redemption through the mercy of God.
It really jumped at me when Isaiah writes: "A bruised reed he shall not break, a smoldering wick he shall not quench" (Is 42:3). This verse is especially charged with a deep sense of the mercy and love of God, which is none other than His mercy. The bruised reed and the smoldering wick are metaphors for a weakened and wounded humanity, and they refer to the poor, the oppressed and the sinners. Part of that weakened humanity includes those lacking resources to live a life with dignity, those who have been excluded in our society – be it economically, politically or socially. This weak part of the human race is also composed of those oppressed by sin, personal and community sins, social sins; which happens when the Enemy leads people, communities and societies to fall in temptation and offend God. In general, our humanity is weakened and wounded by original sin, and its consequences are manifested in the different aspects of our daily living.
The Good News is that Jesus, the Christ, did not come to break this "bruised reed," our weak humanity, but He came to redeem it with the mercy of God the Father. Christ came to reestablish the lost harmony between God and man. Christ came to bring hope and break the chains of death and to open the doors of the Divine Mercy of God. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him" (Jn 3:17). Christ did not come into the world to burden our humanity, but He came into the world to relieve and to liberate it from the oppression of the evil one. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Mt 11:28-30).
Such beautiful, consoling and forgiving words Our Lord Jesus Christ offers us! Our Messiah and Redeemer came to unburden us from the yoke and the inheritance of sin, and came to bring healing in His mercy and forgiveness.
During this Year of Mercy, let's not miss the opportunity to have an encounter with Jesus Christ, the Promised Messiah. Let's draw close to Him with sincere contrition for our sins, by making a good confession and by practicing the works of mercy: spiritual works of mercy such as instructing the ignorant, giving good counsel to those in need, consoling the sorrowful, forgiving offenses, praying for the dead, etc. And let's also practice the corporal works of mercy: Feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, visiting the sick and the imprisoned, sheltering the stranger and burying the dead. Let's show the world the mercy of God in Jesus Christ, Our Messiah and Redeemer.
May God bless you.
Father Fidel Melo is the vicar for Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Charlotte.