We need mercy in our world now more than ever, Biloxi nun says
In the midst of everything going on right now globally, nationally and locally, it can be hard to see hope in these times.
We are all longing for answers, and yet I think right now we are being invited to questions: How could this happen? Why now? How am I complicit in the suffering of others? Do I seek ways to help others? When will this all go back to normal? Will it ever? How can I show my family, friends, and my community my love and care when my normal way of being is disrupted?
Ours is not the first group of people to wrestle with pandemics, racism, natural disasters, or grieve the loss of loved ones. While the news is incredibly challenging to deal with day in and day out, we all remain called to bring mercy and love.
I am a Catholic nun, a Sister of Mercy, so in fairness, I always hope I feel called to mercy on any day, but the struggles we face today invite me to look back to the history of my own religious community and our founding.
About 193 years ago, on Sept. 24, 1827, in the middle of a flourishing downtown area in Dublin, Ireland, a woman named Catherine McAuley opened the first House of Mercy to serve poor women and children. They taught school and trades, they helped women find work, and provided a haven to those in need of mercy. They served in the height of epidemics, sometimes in hospitals and sometimes in hovels. They brought hope to some and love to all.
The work of the sisters has inspired thousands of women to continue to seek out and provide a haven for those in need.
By 1860, the first Sisters of Mercy arrived to serve in Mississippi. Our ministries have sought to serve the underprivileged through direct service as well as advocacy. We have prepared meals, nursed the sick, educated, and advocated for many.
And in the midst of this pandemic, we took a pause and looked deep into our hearts and have begun to ask questions: How are we being called right now? Who needs us and how do they need us? How can we serve in new ways so we can keep people safe?
Our call continues as it has from the beginning through collaboration with the greater community. Some may remember the nuns of old donning habits, working in schools and hospitals and as those schools and hospitals developed many sisters sought new ways to bring mercy to all those living on the margins. As we see great flourishing of nonprofits we look again and ask: Where are those invisible today? In the midst of some flourishing there remains those held back. How do we bring them mercy?
You are needed to bring mercy to the world today. I invite you to ponder with these questions: Will you do so by serving the local outreach programs? Will you change policy like the late great Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg? Will you find a way to reach those struggling with rent and child care? Will you share your resources and talents as you are able so that your whole community can flourish? Your work is necessary, as mercy is always needed, now more than ever.
Sister Kelly Williams is a Sister of Mercy who has lived in Biloxi for the past three years. She served as a volunteer at Sacred Heart in D’Iberville, and has taught theology at St. Patrick Catholic High School for the past two years.