May daring aid us
In this edition of Great Lakes Bay Catholic, there are articles concerning outreach for grieving parents, Pope Leo XIV’s Dilexi Te and the Ukrainian refugees. As we consider our own need to reach out to the poor and marginalized among us, we often need to use the passion or emotion of daring.
In this edition of Great Lakes Bay Catholic, there are articles concerning outreach for grieving parents, Pope Leo XIV’s Dilexi Te and the Ukrainian refugees. As we consider our own need to reach out to the poor and marginalized among us, we often need to use the passion or emotion of daring.
Daring helps us to remove obstacles that are keeping us from the good we want. What are some of the obstacles we face in reaching out to those on the fringes right in our midst? Perhaps it is our own apathy, perhaps our lack of confidence that we have something to give, perhaps a lack of generosity on our part? Daring can help us to take appropriate risks to go out of our comfort zone with a kind word, a financial donation, extra prayers and sacrifices or volunteering our time.
Daring characterizes many of the saints who were willing to suffer shame and even death in exercising the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. St. Lucy, whose feast we celebrated on Dec. 13, is one such saint. Known for her generosity to the poor, she was ultimately martyred because of her love for God above all things. Let us call upon this saint to help us to discern those areas in our life where we need to practice daring to do what is right. Perhaps daring is necessary to be kind to someone whom we think has injured us in some way. Daring can be necessary not only with strangers but also with those in our own families.
Daring helps us to practice charity even when it is most difficult and when the cost might be the greatest. Sometimes this is simply through practicing the virtue of humility and being willing to serve our mother, brother, sister, husband or wife. As we are celebrating the Christmas Season, may daring aid us in overcoming all the obstacles to charity in our lives!
Whole & Holy is written by a member of the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Michigan. The Sisters were founded in 1973 in the Diocese of Saginaw and are committed to providing comprehensive healthcare. The Sisters contributing to this column are trained in fields such as social work, psychiatry and social work. They strive to provide excellent healthcare through the professional training they receive and are sustained in their work through their common life of prayer.
