Pray With Us

Becoming Who We Are

This reflection was written by Holy Union Associate Rachel Voiland in May of 2023.

BECOMING WHO WE ARE

Jesus certainly set the bar pretty high when He made known the first “Performance Evaluation” for the disciples! He told them that this is what they’d be judged on at the last judgment. We find His words preserved in Matthew 25:31-46 (Sermon on the Mount). Here we see the dramatic scene of the final judgment with the separation of the sheep from the goats, depending upon how each person has treated his or her neighbor in life. Truly, this is where our credibility as Christians and as disciples lies.

Holy Mother Church has taken these deeds that Jesus asks of us and has presented them as the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. When Pope Francis proclaimed the Jubilee Year of Mercy several years ago, he asked us to focus not only on the Corporal Works of Mercy but on the Spiritual Works as well. These are not so well known, so perhaps we could look at them together. We recognize them as Counseling the Doubtful, Instructing the Ignorant, Admonishing the Sinner, Comforting the Sorrowful, Forgiving injuries, Bearing wrongs patiently, and Praying for the Living and the Dead. These are not merely a matter of counsel, but may have an obligatory component, depending on one’s capacity and circumstances.

Those of us who are Associate Members of the Holy Union Sisters have chosen to live our Baptismal promises by following the Works of Mercy within the framework and the spirit of these apostolic religious women.

The journey continues.