Feb. 24, 2015 Tuesday: Week 3 Divine Mercy - I was a stranger
Feb. 24, 2015 Tuesday
If you were an NFL football player, the chances are that wherever you go, you would not be a stranger. That’s the life Eric Mahl was used to when he was a linebacker for the Cleveland Browns. After a conversion experience, he heard a call from God to bring the message of Divine Mercy to the poor and so he began to live among the homeless. His clothes became worn and dirty, his face unshaven, and hair disheveled. When he entered churches, he was greeted by coldness from the people, even when he smiled and tried to talk to them. Even in church people would say unkind things to him, express their disapproval, and sometimes act as though he wasn’t a human person. Eric explained, “Most of the homeless just want someone to look them in the eye, say hello, or listen to their stories. You don’t have to give them money, but at least give them a little bit of your time and recognize their dignity in the way you look at them and talk to them. When you treat them with respect and love, it restores their dignity, and that’s true mercy.”
Week 3 of Divine Mercy Novena - I was a Stranger and You welcomed me
If you were an NFL football player, the chances are that wherever you go, you would not be a stranger. That’s the life Eric Mahl was used to when he was a linebacker for the Cleveland Browns. After a conversion experience, he heard a call from God to bring the message of Divine Mercy to the poor and so he began to live among the homeless. His clothes became worn and dirty, his face unshaven, and hair disheveled. When he entered churches, he was greeted by coldness from the people, even when he smiled and tried to talk to them. Even in church people would say unkind things to him, express their disapproval, and sometimes act as though he wasn’t a human person. Eric explained, “Most of the homeless just want someone to look them in the eye, say hello, or listen to their stories. You don’t have to give them money, but at least give them a little bit of your time and recognize their dignity in the way you look at them and talk to them. When you treat them with respect and love, it restores their dignity, and that’s true mercy.”
Jesus asked us to see him in the strangers we meet and welcome them. But strangers do not have to be literally homeless persons we’ve never met before. Do I have in my life friends or family members that have become strangers to me? Have they become strangers to me because I have not forgiven them for the way they hurt me? Is there anyone whom I give the silent treatment because I’m angry with them? Is there anyone I would refuse to help if he needed it? Is there anyone for whom I would not pray?
If there is unforgiveness in my heart, perhaps it would be helpful for me to reflect on the abundance of mercy I have received from Our Lord. Do I reflect on how often Jesus has forgiven me? Do I reflect on his cry from the cross,“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” (Lk 23:34) Do I realize he still loves me when I choose to forgive even though I struggle with forgetting? As St. Faustina wrote in her diary, “We resemble God most when we forgive our neighbors.”
