Being Ministers of Mercy

“I see clearly that the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity.” Pope Francis shared this in an interview 10 years ago. If anything, this has become more true.

He continued, “I see the church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else. Heal the wounds, heal the wounds.... And you have to start from the ground up.”

To do this, we need treat people as God wants us to. Pope Francis asks, “How are we treating the people of God? I dream of a church that is a mother and shepherdess. The church’s ministers must be merciful, take responsibility for the people and accompany them like the good Samaritan, who washes, cleans and raises up his neighbor. This is pure Gospel. God is greater than sin.”

What does that mean for those of us who work, paid or unpaid, in the Church? 

According to Pope Francis, we, as ministers of the Gospel must:

• Be people who can warm the hearts of the people,
• Be people who walk through the dark night with them,
• Be people who know how to dialogue,
• Be able be with people in their darkness, but without getting lost. 
• Support the movements of God among their people with patience, so that no one is left behind.

So, “Instead of being just a church that welcomes and receives by keeping the doors open, let us try also to be a church that finds new roads, that is able to step outside itself and go to those who do not attend Mass, to those who have quit or are indifferent.” (Pope Francis) 

How can you strive to be more merciful as a minister this month?

Find this whole interview here: A Big Heart Open to God – America Magazine