Different aspects of living a life of Mercy discussed

PENANG: The 4th Asian Apostolic Congress on Mercy (AACOM 4) organised nine sessions over three days.

The Vatican representative from the Pontifical Council for the promotion of the New Evangelisation, Msgr Krzysztof Marcjanowicz, delivered the first talk on Mercy in the life and writings of St John Paul II.
He related the struggles of the early life Karol Wojtyla, with the loss of his father and elder brothers and the effects of World War II leading towards his life as a Pope. He also mentioned the role he played in granting the sainthood to St Faustina and the decree of the Divine Mercy Sunday as the Sunday following Easter. This was followed by a brief testimony by Dr Tony Dayot from the Philippines.

Mercy in the New Evangelisation
Popular preacher Fr Simon Pereira from the Singapore Redemptorist Order spoke on his experiences of reaching out to the people in the streets, prisons, hospitals and even in the pubs. He emphasised that these people are hungry for Mercy. He said that we needed to recharge ourselves and the Spirit will speak to us. He reminded us that God wants not just praise and thanksgiving but also works of mercy, prayers and adoration. In her testimony, Mrs Jennifer Yeo related in detail how the Divine Mercy saved her from a life threatening rare sickness and also gave new life to her youngest son, who was expected to die in early childhood but is now completing his fifth year in medical college.

Mercy and the Sacrament of the Eucharist
Bishop Ruperto Santos explained how St Faustina was drawn towards the Holy Eucharist early in her life and how she drew strength from it. She also deemed it to be the greatest of all gifts. His Grace went on to explain the four elements of the Eucharist in Divine Mercy, namely the Image of Jesus, the Chaplet, the 3.00pm Hour of Mercy prayer, and finally the Feast of the Divine Mercy. He reminded us to go frequently for confession and Think of Mercy, Speak of Mercy and Perform Mercy in our lives. In his testimony following this talk, Msgr Josefino S. Ramirez mentioned the pivoting role the Eucharist had played in his priestly vocation.

Mercy and the Sacrament of Reconciliation
Indonesian Archbishop Anicetus Bongsu A. Singa said that Grace is the greatest attribute of God. His Mercy is greater than our sins. We are called to share in God’s Joy, of which there are three dimensions. The first is to totally trust in God’s Mercy. The second is to be merciful to others, and lastly to spread the Divine Message message to the world. Peter Chang, a very successful businessman from Indonesia, gave a most remarkable testimony of how his and his wife’s devotion to the Divine Mercy had saved his wife, his daughter and his own life in miraculous ways.

Mercy is a Joyful Mission
Bishop Sebastian Francis explained the four types of mission: Personal, Family/Community, Ecclesiastical and Ecological missions. He went on to quote St Catherine of Genoa: “Renewal without conversion/metanoia is the corruption of the Church”. He spoke about the conversion process and how the Church is fully equipped with the sacraments, theological virtues, the Word of God and the Gifts/Fruits of the Holy Spirit. He also quoted Pope Francis: “ … the only tragedy in life is not to become a saint”. He emphasised that Joy and Mercy cannot be separated to be meaningful in our lives. In her testimony, Elizabeth Simon, a retired nurse, mentioned the many times the Divine Mercy had touched her life and helped her overcome the loss of her child.

Mercy in the Youth Ministry
Archbishop Simon Poh began with a lively action song which the delegates all joined in. He gave a definition of Youth and spoke on the current characteristics and dynamics of the youth today. He said that the youth are eager to learn and can accept new ideas. They are also cautious about their health and value their privacy. Most are open to entrepreneurial ventures. He also provided suggestions on how to engage the youth to get their involvement and commitment by way of adopting Divine Mercy programmes. He also gave the four elements needed in a Church community, namely the Eucharist, Word of God, Fellowship and Service. He emphasised that Service in the ministries is an important way to draw the youth and inspire them. He even offered a formula for all to adopt. In the testimony, Paul Julianose, a student testified that the healing power of the Divine Mercy was given to him after all his family resources were exhausted towards finding a cure. He strongly advocated putting complete trust in the mercy of God in all things.

Mercy in the Light of Spiritual Considerations
Archbishop Michale Jude Byrnes of Guam began by saying that the message in the Bible is that Jesus loves you. He briefly ran through the Old Testament with regards to how we were meant to be partners with God. God made various covenants with man and never gave up on us but continued to work with various individuals to bring us back to him. In the New Testament, Jesus speaks of a new way of living.

We need to be merciful, be peacemakers and keep the commandments. Mercy, in the Hebrew translation of that word, means an obligation. God takes on an obligation by himself and gives up his life as a cost of it. Mercy is the obligation that Jesus presented to us because of his steadfast love for us. As such, we also need to exercise mercy through works of mercy. Fr Joel Delos Reyes then gave a testimony of how his recitation of the Divine Mercy chaplet with family helped the recovery of a lady friend in a coma whom doctors had given up all hope on. He also related how it helped him to source funds to sponsor all the delegates of the Guam Youth Choir to this congress.

(The other two talks were on Mercy in the Life of Consecrated Men and Women and Mercy in the Life and Writings of St Faustina (in theform of video presentations.)

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online