Story by Lois Rogers, Correspondent

The Year of Mercy may be drawing to a close, but religious priests and sisters who gathered Oct. 8 for this year’s Diocesan Celebration of Consecrated Life agree there will be no stopping the need for its healing quality.

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Upwards of 65 men and women who have devoted their lives to the service of God in scores of ministries throughout the Trenton Diocese, came together in St. Ann Church, Lawrenceville, for the annual day of prayer and fellowship that focused on the Year of Mercy.

Though the holy year, declared by Pope Francis in Dec. 8, 2015, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, closes Nov. 20, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, many of those attending said they left with insights that will help them open more doors to mercy in the years to come.

The day was held at the invitation of Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M. – who celebrated the morning Mass – and the diocesan Office of Clergy and Consecrated Life. Concelebrants were Msgr. Thomas J. Mullelly, vicar for Clergy and Consecrated Life; Vincentian Father Martin McGeough, diocesan coordinator of Jail and Prison Ministry; Trinitarian Father Gerard Lynch, pastor of St. Ann Parish, and Father Michael Wallack, episcopal secretary and master of ceremonies to the Bishop.

In his homily, Bishop O’Connell, himself a Vincentian, spoke of how the day’s Gospel from Luke 11:27-28 at two verses, is one of the shortest readings in the Lectionary. In 43 words, it tells how while Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” To which Jesus replied, “Rather blessed are those who hear the Word of God and observe it.”

Despite the brevity, he said, the verses “contain a profound truth: Blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it. Two verses, two references, two actions, two recipes for happiness: hearing the Word of God and obeying it, keeping it.”

“We see that in the Gospel, as one of the women, full of enthusiasm, shouted out to him, praising his mother – how fortunate she was to have such a son,” the Bishop continued. “Jesus’ response might have seemed harsh, but it wasn’t. He wasn’t correcting her or denying the truth of her enthusiasm. He, too, believed his mother to be blessed.”

Jesus was “inviting the people [within] hearing to join in her response to God’s Word,” Bishop O’Connell said.

“Today’s Gospel,” he said, “gives us an insight into consecrated life: a simple, direct profound insight and truth.”

Religious hear the Word often as it threads through their lives, their teaching, their charism, the rule they follow, their daily experiences, he said.

“We are called to obey it. We are called to clothe ourselves in it, in Christ,” he said. “Christ is the habit we wear – actual or metaphorical. The Word is the rule we follow. The Word is the life we lead. The Word is the One we follow and serve.”

An Artistic Perspective

In her reflection on the Year of Mercy, Franciscan Sister Anne Amati, the guest speaker, spoke of “Eyeing the World with Mercy,” long after the official observances are over. In the presentation, she addressed mercy as found in Christian, Jewish and Islamic traditions as well as poetry and art.

Sister Anne, a Trenton native and 1960 graduate of Cathedral High School, Trenton, who has ministered in all levels of education, health care and retreat and facilitation ministry, spoke of the importance of viewing life as Pope Francis urges, not from “the center but from the periphery.”

The Pope, she said, calls on faithful to “move out, and go beyond … to come out of ourselves and not become a hostage to our own problems” but to “go into the peripheries” away from calmness and peacefulness into area where there is chaos.

“(Pope) Francis says it’s not a good strategy to be at the center of the sphere but to see new places where one can understand the life experience of others,” she said.

Familiarizing one’s self with other religions and cultures is a way to move out to the periphery, said Sister Anne. She said the Pope has set an example by referencing pages of the Torah and Islamic religious texts that are “steeped in mercy.”

Those seeking to understand Islam better, for instance, could gain some insight from the 99 names for God in Islamic texts in which Allah, the Merciful and Kind are among the most used by adherents, she said. “It’s good to get a broader perspective.”

Drawing from the religious poetry of Francis Thompson, T.S. Eliot, Jessica Powers and Franciscan mystic Jacopone da Todi, she encouraged all to engage their senses as they focus on the Incarnation – “the most profound act of God’s mercy to us.”

She described Jesus as the “mercy seat” – of the Old Testament – “Incarnate that says our sins are covered; that God has our back in Jesus. … Through his Death and Resurrection, Jesus becomes the center of the sanctuary. All our sins are covered. He is the revelation of God’s extravagant love. Christ is the merciful face of our Trinitarian God.”

Many in the congregation found Sister Anne’s inclusion of how other traditions also focus on mercy compelling, including Dominican Sister Elizabeth Gnam.

Sister Elizabeth, a chaplain at New Jersey State Prison, Trenton, has served in prison ministry for 28 years. At the luncheon that concluded the day’s events, she said that Christians are called to Mercy. “Mercy is the face of God, and what I appreciated was [Sister Anne’s] ability to draw in Judaism and Islam.”

“We don’t have that much understanding of the Muslim faith and that is the largest population in prison that I interface with,” said Sister Elizabeth. “I appreciated that it was spelled out that not only Christians but Jews and Muslims are called to mercy.”

Divine Word Father Edward Tetteh, pastor of Blessed Sacrament-Our Lady of the Divine Shepherd Parish, Trenton, said he appreciated the attention Sister Anne gave to “the Incarnation of Jesus as the face of mercy. It was a beautiful comparison.”

Father Tetteh, who has also served as a counselor to those suffering from addiction, said that in that capacity he focuses on the need “to blend mercy and healing. I encourage people to realize that we are created in the image of God and that we need mercy.”

“It was a really rewarding day,” said Dominican Sister Loretta Maggio, Emergency Assistance Program director for the Mount Carmel Guild, Trenton, where the focus is on assisting those in need.

Sister Loretta said she took to heart Sister Anne’s focus on the words of Pope Francis throughout her presentation. “The world needs to hear this focus on mercy and the people on the edge and how they endure despite everything.”

She said she wished more people were familiar with the teachings on mercy which should, she said, “be put in people’s hands so they can dwell on them.”