Living the Year of Mercy in (and out) of the Catholic Home

It’s the Year of Mercy folks…tell me you’ve heard!  Since first hearing about the Jubilee Year of Mercy, I’ve been contemplating how it will play out in our own Catholic home.  I’m taking this post to brainstorm and flesh out some of the ideas floating around in my head.  I know it will be an encouragement to you too!

In case you were wondering, here is a great article on what the Year of Mercy IS.  BUT..this post is about how we can LIVE it!

The Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy

It occurs to me that the most obvious way to celebrate this Jubilee year is to rely on the Church’s trusty list of Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy for guidance.  I’ll be taking time to memorize, reflect, and practice these with the children.

And because it is helpful to have the lists hanging for easy reference, here are a couple printables.  (Just click on the image and print!)

 

 

Kendra has some more colorful and whimsical prints if you prefer!

Some simple ideas to live it out:

• Take communion to or just go and visit the homebound (your children will brighten their day!).
• Donate clothes to those in need.
• Take food to someone you know who is going through a rough patch.
• Volunteer with or donate to your local food pantry.
• Fast for a specific person on your prayer list.
• Pray with someone who is having a hard time in their life.
• Donate to any number of causes that provide food, shelter, clothing, or instruction in our country or abroad.
• Teach an adult catechism class in your local parish.
• Create Mercy Packs to hand out to homeless you see on the local street corner.
• Really, I could go on all day thinking of ways to practice these works of mercy and I’m sure you could too!

Reading for the Year of Mercy

For myself, I’ll be rereading (for the fourth time!) Fr. Michael Gaitley’s book, Consoling the Heart of Jesus.  In the book, Fr. Gaitley takes the revelations of St. Faustina and the teachings of St. Therese, St. Pope John Paul II, and St. Ignatius, among others, and wraps them all in a beautifully simple (yet profound!) bow.
The teachings of this book have been such an encouragement to me when I have failed (yet again) and am tempted to discouragement.

The book contains excerpts from St. Faustina’s diary, which, incidentally,  would be another excellent read for the year!

Here is a talk that will give you a boiled down version of the book.  It is a great listen!

 

Here is a list of lots more literary fodder and self educational materials to spark your faith during this year.

An App for the Year of Mercy

Okay, I am NOT a smartphone person.  I am still living in the dark ages with my trusty flip phone.  I know, I know, what kind of a blogger am I?

But if I DID have a smartphone, I may be tempted to download the free Year of Mercy app from Our Sunday Visitor.  You’ll receive daily scripture and mercy reflections, tweets of the Pope (WOW! he is way more progressive than me!), Divine Mercy novenas and chaplets, and lots more.

There is also another app put out by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception.  (Yes, that is Fr. Gaitley!)  You can go here to check that one out too!

Practice Forgiveness (both giving and receiving)

What better time to reflect on situations in our life where the Lord needs to bring in His healing?  We could write a letter expressing or asking for forgiveness from someone who has wronged us or whom we have wronged.

Beyond letter writing, praying for God to heal and cover past hurts with His abundant grace can be so freeing.

During my evening examins, I’ll be asking God to show me who I need to forgive and where I need to ask for forgiveness.  We can help walk our children through these questions during a nightly guided examin.

Personally, I’ve found that a good test of forgiveness is whether or not I can pray for the other person.

Don’t forget to ask your children for forgiveness when you need to!

 

Frequent reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation

Receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation more frequently has long been on my spiritual to-do list.

I’m thinking of making it a fun family event every month.  After receiving God’s forgiveness, we’ll come home and enjoy ice cream sundaes served with whipped cream and toppings (which we served after my son received his First Reconciliation) and a casual family game night.

I think the hardest part about getting to confession is just taking the time to schedule it.  At our house if it isn’t written down, it isn’t going to happen!  I’ll be taking some time to schedule these evenings in my trusty planner!

(UPDATE:  Our family has been consistently going to confession with another family that was up for the task.  We go to confession and Mass, and then have fellowship and dinner at one another houses.  It has been such a blessing!)

Crafts for The Year of Mercy

I’m not a crafter, so if you want a list of ideas for that sort of thing go here.

What is more up my alley is sitting down with the Divine Mercy image and kids, and trying to replicate it as best we can.  I’ll post photos once we get them done!

 

Display the Divine Mercy Image

I love my Divine Mercy image.  We usually rotate it with other religious images throughout the year, but this year, I’m working on giving it a more permanent location.

Don’t have a Divine Mercy image yet?  Here is one I found framed on Amazon for under $30.

Say The Divine Mercy Chaplet

I’ll be honest and say right here and now that I am not a Rosary person.  And now, you will all stop reading my blog because you will consider me not-Catholic!  But I just want to be transparent with you all.  (UPDATE:  I challenged myself to pray the Rosary in a Month during May and now love this devotion!).

My wise father-in-law (who prays the Rosary daily) told me, it isn’t something you HAVE to say because you are Catholic, but rather, something God will put on your heart.  I have a desire to know more about the Rosary and feel compelled to try to say it, but I am just not in the place to say more than a decade at a time sporadically.  I believe God will call me to this beautiful devotion someday.

That said, I do LOVE the Divine Mercy Chaplet.  I love thinking about my prayer intentions while I say the words.  I also like it because it’s quite a bit shorter than the Rosary and fits in nicely with my mothering duties.

I want to teach my children this chaplet and I think the Year of Mercy would be the perfect year to do that!

My favorite time to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet is as a novena from Good Friday to Divine Mercy Sunday (the Sunday following Easter).

If the Divine Mercy Chaplet isn’t your thing, consider offering up your daily rosary for someone in need of God’s Mercy.

Observe the Three O’clock Hour

It is traditionally believed that Jesus died in the afternoon during the three o’clock hour.  I think it’s a beautiful habit to take a minute to offer God a short prayer in recognition of this hour.  Can it get any simpler?

Many people take this time to say the Divine Mercy Chaplet (it’s known as the Hour of Mercy).

Again, this is a little habit I want to pass on to my children.  At the least, we can just bow our head and tell Jesus “thank you.”  Somedays we’ll say a Chaplet and other days we’ll just recognize the moment with a brief prayer.  The point is just to take time out of our busy day to turn our heart in thanks to God for the infinite sacrifice of His Son.

In my wildest mothering dreams, I would love to have a clock that chimes the hour so I never forget!

Take time to Focus on God

I’ve saved the best for last!  It is always a great time to learn more about our faith and about God’s mercy.  Maybe you could attend a conference, buy a book, or study the Catechism.

My husband and I were able to attend our first Catholic Conference a year ago and what a blessing it was!  It was great to take some focused time to really reflect on and be inspired in our relationship with God.

Of course, that is not always easy, especially with little ones under toe!  But when we can make it work, God can truly bless us through these experiences.  (You could always attend the conference in your living room!)

How are you living the Year of Mercy in your home?

Other posts you’ll like:

Catholic Family Devotions around a Feast Table

Reasonable Expectations and Simple Strategies for Mass with Littles

10 Catholic Preschool at home Must Do’s

Must Reads for Young Catholics