The Promise is to You

Wielding the Weapons of Mercy

I prayed over a young woman at the Encounter Conference, and as I listened to her story, I began to cry, and the tears would not stop. The next day I was listening to Ave Maria Radio and someone was sharing her story with a counselor, and again I found myself weeping.

As counter-intuitive as it may seem, I thanked the Lord for this gift—compassion for those who suffer the wounds of the heart. This is His mercy being poured out and we are the vessels of that mercy. We are conduits of His grace.

Last summer, my son lost his girlfriend, who had a long history of health challenges. He was devastated. As a widow I know what grief feels like. When she died, that pain resurfaced for us both. Even more than the grief I experienced over her loss, even more profound, were the tears I shed for my son, as he faced his loss.

As our hearts ache for our spouses, children, grandchildren, how much more does Our Lord weep for us?  His tender mercy is rejected by so many. My tears are only drops compared to the ocean of His pain. St. Therese of Lisieux invites us to console Jesus by letting our hearts be moved by the suffering of others: “Let us make our life a continual sacrifice, a martyrdom of love to console Jesus.”

At the Encounter Conference, one of the speakers referred to “wielding the weapons of mercy.”

In a world that is dying of pain, ask God to lead you. How can I love more deeply? How can I wield the weapons of mercy? Ask Jesus to make your heart more like His, to give you the grace, to teach you how to act in this new role of mercy warrior.

This doesn’t mean you and yours have to dwell in a place of pain. The Lord once gave me this word:

“Give me your hearts.

Some of them are shattered, I know.

Many are heavy with grief and pain.

Yet I heal the broken-hearted.

I set free the Spirit within to praise Me, and

as you praise Me your hearts will overflow

with a sureness of My love and mercy in your life.”

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By Claudia Burns. Claudia is a prayer minister at Upper Room and part of the Art Committee at Christ the King. She wrote the icons of St. Mark and St. Luke that flank the tabernacle.

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