MIRROR 01 16 by Aid to the Church in Need

Aid to the Church in Need

MIRROR GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

Merciful like the Father Comfort the afflicted

MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER

Aid to the Church in Need

MIRROR GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

CONTENTS PAGE God Comforts Us...................................................... J F Declan Quinn...............................1 The Redemptive Power of Suffering.................... Fr. Martin Barta..................................2 Merciful like the Father............................................. Pope Francis......................................4 A Lesson in Alleviating Pain and Suffering......... Deacon Thomas Frankenfield..........6 God is not Indifferent to Suffering......................... Dick Tripp............................................8 Being Loved by a Merciful God....................................................................................... 12 Like the Father............................................................ Pope Francis................................... 14 Preparing to Give Witness to God’s Mercy.................................................................. 18 Sharing in the Suffering of Another................................................................................ 20 The Transformation of Suffering............................ Dick Tripp......................................... 22 Preparing New Missionaries of Mercy........................................................................... 26 Grateful for God’s Call and His Mercy........................................................................... 28 Pope Francis Shows Us How to Comfort the Afflicted................................................. Monsignor Gaspar Ancona........... 30 The Ultimate Removal of Suffering....................... Dick Tripp......................................... 31 Going Forward............................................................ Johannes Freiherr Heereman........ 32

Editor: Jürgen Liminski. Publisher: Kirche in Not / Ostpriesterhilfe, Postfach 1209, 61452 Königstein, Germany. De licentia competentis auctoritatis ecclesiasticae. Printed in Ireland - ISSN 0252-2535. www.acn-intl.org

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GOD COMFORTS US SO THAT WE CAN COMFORT OTHERS Dear Friends,

ur pain often reveals God’s purpose for us. God often uses the problems in our lives to help us be of greater service to others. For example Who can better understand somebody who’s lost a child than somebody who lost a child? Who can better understand parents of a special needs child than parents who raised a special needs child? Who can better understand somebody struggling with an addiction than somebody who’s struggled with an addiction? Who can better understand somebody going through a bankruptcy or who has lost their job than somebody who went through a bankruptcy or was made redundant? So it is that the very thing that we may hate most in our lives could be the very thing that God wants us to use for good of others we encounter in our lives.

St Paul writes, ‘God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation. For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things’ (2 Corinthians 1:4, 6 NLT) Redemptive suffering is when one bears one’s own sufferings joyfully and offers them up to God on behalf of others through one’s words and one’s works. The two little prayers on pages 3 and 7 can help us transform our griefs into joy and give a meaning to our pains and sufferings.

Beir Beannacht

J F Declan Quinn Director, Aid to the Church in Need (Ire) PS. Always remember that God is only a prayer way... Talk to Him.

YEAR OF MERCY

8th December 2015 - 20th November 2016

MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER

THE REDEMPTIVE POWER OF SUFFERING Dear Friends, he year 2016 that has just begun has been proclaimed by Pope Francis as a ‘Year of Mercy’. In doing so the Holy Father is drawing our attention to one of the fundamental characteristics of God’s nature.

There is no greater or more consoling truth than the truth that God is Love and Mercy. Indeed, He even reveals Himself to us as Father, whom we may confidently address, with childlike familiarity, as ‘Abba – Father’.

through suffering and death and, wherever possible, to separate us from God. But through love he can be disempowered and defeated. When suffering, sickness or disasters befall us – if we, like Jesus, make them into an offering through love, then he can continue his work of redemption, so to speak, in us. Saint Paul confesses this, in fact, when he writes: ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.’ In other words, ‘it is no longer I who suffer, but Christ who suffers in me.’

God has given suffering redemptive power!

But if God is infinitely good, then why does He permit suffering? Is He not then partially responsible for all the misery in the world? Not in the least. God never willed suffering and death, just as He never willed what causes them, namely sin. Instead, God in His mercy took upon Himself the suffering of the entire creation. And by bearing it in infinite love He overcame evil and gave all suffering a redemptive power, a redeeming value. he sin of the first man, and the sins of us all have given the evil one increasing power. It is this power that Satan exploits in his hatred, in order to hurt us through catastrophes and wars,

If we can bear suffering, with our gaze fixed on Jesus and in His strength, then we can strip Satan of the very power that our sins have given him. And more than this – we can apply the co-redemptive value of this suffering, borne in abandonment and love, to others. And so it becomes a blessing and a saving power, not only for us, but also for those entrusted to our love.

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THE MORNING OFFERING O Jesus, through the most pure heart of Mary, I offer You all my prayers, works and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of thy divine Sacred Heart and the suffering souls in Purgatory.

AMEN

his is the profound mystery of Divine Mercy, of redemption and co-redemption. What a consolation it is for us Christians to know this! And how greatly this divine consolation is needed – not only by those visited by war and disaster, but also by the sick, the lonely and the elderly. This is a great mission for us all – to participate through love in the salvation of the world, in the victory over evil.

This is precisely what Pope Saint John Paul II is describing when he writes of ‘a marvellous exchange of spiritual gifts, in virtue of which the holiness of one benefits others in a way far exceeding the harm which the sin of one has inflicted upon others. There are people who leave in their wake a surfeit of love, of suffering borne well, of purity and truth, which involves and sustains others.’ Dear Friends, may your merciful generosity, which brings such blessings to so many, be a constant source of consolation to you.

With my grateful blessing on you all,

Father Martin M. Barta, Spiritual Assistant

MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER

MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER - POPE FRANCIS1

n the parables devoted to mercy, Jesus reveals the nature of God as that of a Father who never gives up until he has forgiven wrong and overcome rejection with compassion and mercy. We know these parables well, three in particular: • the lost sheep, • the lost coin, and • the father with two sons (cf. Lk 15:1-32). In these parables, God is always presented as full of joy, especially when He pardons. In them we find the core of the Gospel and of our faith, because mercy is presented as a force that overcomes everything, filling the heart with love and bringing consolation through pardon. rom another parable, we cull an important teaching for our Christian lives. In reply to Peter’s question about how many times is it necessary to forgive, Jesus says: ‘I do not say seven times, but seventy times seven times’ (Mt 18:22).

He then goes on to tell the parable of the ‘ruthless servant,’ who, called by his master to return a huge amount, begs him on his knees for mercy. His master cancels his debt. But he then meets a fellow servant who owes him a few cents 1 Extracted and adapted from Vultus Misericordia Paragraph 9.

and who in turn begs on his knees for mercy, but the first servant refuses his request and throws him into jail. When the master hears of the matter, he becomes infuriated and, summoning the first servant back to him, says, ‘Should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ (Mt18:33). Jesus concludes, ‘So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart’ (Mt 18:35). This parable contains a profound teaching for all of us. Jesus affirms that mercy is not only an action of the Father, it becomes a criterion for ascertaining who His true children are. In short, we are called to show mercy because mercy has first been shown to us. Pardoning offences becomes the clearest expression of merciful love, and for us Christians it is an imperative from which we cannot excuse ourselves. At times how hard it seems to forgive. And yet pardon is the instrument placed into our fragile hands to attain serenity of heart. To let go of anger, wrath, violence, and revenge are necessary conditions to living joyfully. Let us therefore heed the Apostle’s exhortation: ‘Do not let the sun go down on your anger’ (Eph 4:26). Above all, let us listen to the words of Jesus who made mercy

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YEAR OF MERCY

an ideal of life and a criterion for the credibility of our faith: ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy’ (Mt5:7): the beatitude to which we should particularly aspire in this Holy Year.

Read Pope Francis’

MISERICORDIAE VULTUS THE FACE OF MERCY on acnireland.org

MISERICORDIAE VULTUS THE FACE OF MERCY

As we can see in Sacred Scripture, mercy is a key word that indicates God’s action towards us. He does not limit Himself merely to affirming His love, but makes it visible and tangible. Love, after all, can never be just an abstraction. By its very nature, it indicates something concrete: intentions, attitudes, and behaviours that are shown in daily living. he mercy of God is His loving concern for each one of us. He feels responsible; that is, He desires our wellbeing and He wants to see us happy, full of joy, and peaceful. This is the path which the merciful love of Christians must also travel. As the Father loves, so do His children. Just as He is merciful, so we are • called to be merciful to each other.

by Pope Francis

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Available online at acnireland.org

MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER

A LESSON IN ALLEVIATING PAIN AND SUFFERING - Deacon Thomas Frankenfield

he fundamental roots of Comforting the Afflicted are found throughout many of the Gospel stories of Jesus. Often we see Jesus coming to the aid of others but it was especially difficult for Him during His Passion. However, Jesus still found time to insure that His Mother Mary, who was in the depths of grief, was cared for by St. John and Jesus touched a hurting when He reached out to the Good Thief.

In each of these cases, Jesus himself was at the brink of death and He still found time for others. Yes, Jesus is our role model. We are called to be Christ-like at all times, even when we are suffering. We do Jesus work when we find time for others. 2 Adapted from http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/columns/ tomfrankenfield/reflections/28.asp

A story of my struggle might help illustrate this point. These days, I suffer from very serious case of arthritis that causes me to drastically change my lifestyle. Dealing with such pain often means that I am tempted with mood swings. When things are most difficult, I find it a challenge to stay pleasant and cheerful.

ne morning, I was called to visit a parishioner at local hospital. On this morning, my pain was exceptionally sharp so much so that I was forced to use a cane to walk. In this process, I struggled with the temptation of self-pity. I asked Godâ&#x20AC;Śwhy? Of course, matters got more complicated when I could not find a parking spot close to the facility and I was forced to park a good distance away.

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THE ALL DAY OFFERING

O Jesus, I offer you (whatever is your concern or problem) for

Eventually as I neared the hospital, I was clearly struggling. This could be seen in my limping; my moaning and also though my internal grumbling. I asked God why He did not find another person to go to the hospital—one who could at least walk without pain. When I entered the lobby of the hospital, I soon discovered why God called me that particular day.

the conversion of sinners the forgiveness of sins and the salvation of souls.

AMEN

Just inside the lobby was a legless man in a wheelchair. This man greeted everyone who came in the door with a beaming smile and asked if they needed help. He offered me coffee and doughnuts as he told me that he was sorry that I was having a hard time walking. I just stood and stared! od had clearly showed me that reaching out to others was truly possible. As I wiped the tears from my eyes, I realized that it was God who was talking to me through the actions of that cripple.

Caring for others has no boundaries. Our Baptism calls each of us to go beyond our personal suffering to be available to comfort others. Before I encountered the crippled man, I was in pain by choosing to focus on myself— not others. This legless gentleman was ignoring his personal suffering and was reaching out to others. What a lesson in life. What a lesson in love. •

MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER

GOD IS NOT INDIFFERENT TO SUFFERING - Dick Tripp, An Anglican Clergyman3

od chose to enter human history in the person of Jesus Christ. He was born in a feeding trough. At an early age His parents took Him to Egypt to escape King Herod’s slaughter of all the small children in the area. He spent His early years in a foreign country. He grew up in obscurity. Throughout His ministry He was accused of being a friend of prostitutes, tax collectors and sinners. He was excommunicated from the synagogue and several times threatened with stoning.

Finally He was betrayed, deserted by His friends, suffered the worst kind of flogging, and was nailed publicly to a wooden cross. He is described in the Bible as ‘a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering’ (Isaiah 53:3). Since Jesus is God, as the New Testament declares then God knows all about suffering. As Dorothy Sayers wrote in Christian Letters to a Post-Christian World: ‘For whatever reason God chose to make people as they are - limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death - He had the honesty and courage to take His own medicine. Whatever game He is playing with His creation, He has kept His own rules and played fair. He can exact nothing from us that He has not exacted from Himself. He has Himself gone through the whole human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death. When He was man, He played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace and thought it all worthwhile’. 3 Adapted and edited from an online book by Dick Tripp. http://www.christianity.co.nz/author.htm Dick is an Anglican Clergyman with experience in parish ministry in the Diocese of Christchurch, New Zealand, and is also a business partner in a family farm. He holds an MA in Theology from Cambridge University and has several years experience training people to share their faith.

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Yet the physical and mental suffering I have described pales into insignificance beside another kind of suffering that Jesus endured on the cross. The Bible says, ‘Christ carried the burden of our sins’ (I John 2:2). n some remarkable way, when Jesus hung on the cross He was taking on His own shoulders the consequences of the evil of the human race. This is the amazing centrepiece of the gospel story. The God who gave us the dignity of freedom of choice, now takes upon himself the consequences for our wrong choices. ‘Christ died once for our sins. An innocent person died for those who are guilty. Christ did this to bring you to God’ (1 Peter 3:18). God suffered at the point of our greatest need. And that, for Him, meant the greatest possible suffering.

Where true love exists, and where there is suffering, then love must suffer. American philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff, who lost a son in a climbing accident, says in his book Lament For a Son: ‘God is love. That is why He suffers. To love our suffering world is to suffer... The one who does not see God’s suffering does not see His love. So, suffering is down at the centre of things, deep down where the meaning is. Suffering is the meaning of our world. For love is meaning. And love suffers. The tears of God are the meaning of history’.

The problem of reconciling human suffering with the existence of a God who loves is only insoluble so long as we attach a trivial meaning to the word ‘love’. For the Christian a true understanding of love must always begin at the cross of Jesus. ames Jones, in his very helpful book, Why Do People Suffer? tells the story of a school that collapsed, killing all the teachers and most of the children. A little boy, badly maimed, was rescued from the rubble and rushed to hospital. For hours a team of doctors and nurses fought to save his life while his mother waited anxiously outside the operating theatre. After seven hours of painstaking surgery the little boy died.

Instead of leaving it to the nurse to tell the mother, the surgeon went himself. As he broke the dreadful news the mother became hysterical in her grief and attacked the surgeon, pummelling his chest with her fists. But instead of pushing her away, the doctor held her to himself tightly until the woman’s sobbing subsided and she rested cradled in his arms. And then in the heavy silence the surgeon began to weep. Tears streamed down his face and grief racked his body. For he had come to the hospital the moment he heard that his one and only son had been killed in the same school.

MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER

We may feel angry with God at times. I somehow think He is big enough to take that. He understands: ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16). The influential Archbishop of Canterbury, William Temple, once put it like this: ‘“There cannot be a God of love,” people say, “because if there was, and he looked upon the world, his heart would break.” The Church points to the Cross and says, “It did break”.’ isa Goertz was a Jewish lady who lost most of her family in the Nazi holocaust, including her mother, husband, brother, son and daughter. At one point, when 16 members of her family had disappeared, she decided to end it all. In her book, I Stepped into Freedom, she tells what happened:

‘I walked out into the night, feeble with hunger, half crazy with fear and fatigue, and made my way down to the river Neisse. In a few hours all would be over, I told myself. What a relief! And there it happened. Across the dark river I saw the Cross and Jesus Christ on it. His face was not the face of a victor; it was the face of a fellow-sufferer, full of love and understanding and compassion. We gazed at each other, both of us Jews, and then the vision disappeared’. 10

For Lisa this was the beginning of the road that led to faith and personal healing.

t is this understanding of the compassion of God that is so powerfully revealed to us in through the life of Jesus, particularly through His cross, that can transform our attitude to suffering. During the waning years of his life, Malcolm Muggeridge penned the following words: ‘Contrary to what might be expected, I look back on experiences that at that time seemed especially desolating and painful. I now look back upon them with particular satisfaction. Indeed, I can say with complete truthfulness that everything I have learned in my seventy-five years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my existence has been through affliction and not through happiness whether pursued or attained. In other words, I say this, if it were possible to eliminate affliction from our earthly existence by means of some drug or other medical mumbojumbo, the results would not be to make life delectable, but to make it too banal and trivial to be endurable. This, of course, is what the cross signifies and it is the cross, more than anything else, that has called me inexorably to Christ’.

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The resurrection of Jesus from the dead was the public demonstration that He had defeated the forces of evil and conquered death itself, the end result of evil. In so demonstrating His victory He pointed the way to the final victory, when both sin and suffering would be banished forever from His kingdom. What I am saying here is that the answer to the problem of suffering is not an idea - it is a person. For the problem is about someone (God - why does He...? Why doesn’t He...?). We don’t just ask the questions in a vacuum, but within a relationship, like a little child with tears in its eyes looking up at Daddy and weeping, ‘Why?’ Or perhaps in anger, demanding an answer. God’s answer is not just to give us words, but to give us Jesus. As philosopher Peter Kreeft puts it in his excellent book, Making Sense out of Suffering: ‘He didn’t give us a placebo or a pill or good advice. He gave us Himself. He came. He entered space and time and suffering. He came, like a lover. Love seeks above all intimacy, presence, togetherness’. Kreeft continues: ‘Remove Jesus and the knowledge of God is questionable. If the knowledge of God is questionable, trusting this unknown God becomes questionable... Suffering is the evidence against God, the reason not to trust him. Jesus is the evidence for God, the reason to trust him’.

he British philosopher G. K. Chesterton presented a powerful thought. He argued that, for the Christian, joy is the central feature of life and sorrow is peripheral, because in the gospel the fundamental questions of life are answered and it is the peripheral ones that are relatively unanswered. For the atheist, sorrow is central and joy peripheral, because only the peripheral questions have answers and the central ones remain unanswered. It is significant that Jesus rose from the dead with a body that still bore the marks of His sufferings in His hands, His feet and His side. Throughout all eternity He will bear those scars. It is because of them that you and I may, if we choose, share that eternity with Him as ‘co-heirs’ of His glory (Romans 8:17). • somewhere in S tanding the shadows you’ll find Jesus; He’s a friend who always cares and understands; Standing somewhere in the shadows you will find him, And you’ll know him by the nail prints in his hands.

MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER

BEING LOVED BY A MERCIFUL GOD ‘Bringing the Good News to someone means saying to him, You too, are loved by God. And not only to say this, but also truly to think it. And not only to think it, but also to behave in such a way towards this person that he discovers within himself that there is indeed something great: I too am redeemed.’

rother Denis-Antoine of the Franciscan Emmanuel community in Cameroon not only quotes Saint Francis but actually thinks and lives these words, together with his 22 brothers and 95 lay members in five dioceses of the country. They go out and visit leprosy victims, blind people, prisoners, young people, families, and they pray with them.

‘They are my brothers and sisters. In their eyes I see Christ, I see the joy of the redeemed.’ It was 15 years ago when Brother Denis-Antoine founded the community, together with a few other brothers from Canada, in the diocese of Nkongsamba. Their joy is infectious. ‘We are children of God. What harm can befall us?’ Their infectiousness also rubbed off on the bishop of the diocese at the time. He invited the community to establish a spiritual centre where seminarians could inwardly prepare for their future life, shortly before ordination, and where active priests could gather new strength after years of painstaking labour in the missions. ‘We give, and we expect nothing in return. And what we do receive, we share.’ And

Building an oasis of love: ‘Whatever we receive, we share.’

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‘Some of the local bishops’ conferences would very much like to hold their retreat days here’, he tells us. ‘For they also need a few days of silence and recollection from time to time. They too need understanding and to be reminded again and again: I am redeemed.’

The blind, the poor and the lepers: ‘They are all our brothers and sisters.’

the present Bishop Dieudonné Espoir Atangana, likewise sees in the Saint Francis Centre a means of support and spiritual renewal for priests and bishops – and for the laity also. he need is great; many priests are exhausted, some of them burned out. They need a place of silent retreat. The centre needs to be extended. Once the extension work is completed it will be able to accommodate over 100 people. Then there are the daily visitors for Holy Mass and catechetical sessions.

For this too they need a large conference hall and public toilets. And at the same time the community kitchens need to be properly furnished and equipped for both modern and traditional methods of cooking. Brother Denis-Antoine has already found help for the furniture, but the overall construction costs fall heavy on his small budget. We have promised to help.

n short, the Saint Francis Centre is an oasis. Islam is advancing in the north of the country, while in the south evangelical sects and superstitions are spreading wildly. ‘The remedy for all this is love, is friendship.’ The radiance of this spiritual centre is the power of love.

‘It is love that redeems, that takes shape in our friendship with one another. A friendship built on mutual trust and esteem. Such a friendship conveys the feeling of being loved by a merciful God.’ •

Infectious joy: ‘We are children of God. What harm can befall us?’

MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER

LIKE THE FATHER - POPE FRANCIS

he word ‘father’ is a term dearer than any other to us Christians because it is the name by which Jesus taught us to call God: father. The meaning of this name took on new depth from the very way Jesus used it to turn to God and to manifest his special relationship with Him. The blessed mystery of God’s intimacy, Father, Son and Spirit revealed by Jesus, is the heart of our Christian faith.

In other words, particularly in Western culture, the father figure would be symbolically absent, paled, removed. At first, this was perceived as a liberation: liberation from the father-master, from the father as the representative of the law that is imposed from without, from the father as the censor of his children’s happiness and the obstacle to the emancipation and autonomy of young people.

‘Father’ is a term familiar to everyone, a universal word. It indicates a fundamental relationship, the reality of which is as old as human history. Today, however, one has reached the point of claiming that our society is a ‘society without fathers’.

t times in some homes authoritarianism reigned in the past, in some cases even oppression:

parents who treated their children like servants, not respecting their individual needs for growth; fathers who did not help them to start out on their life’s journey with freedom — and it is not easy to bring up a child in freedom; fathers who did not help them assume their own responsibilities to build their future and that of society. This, certainly, is not a good approach; but, as often happens, one goes from one extreme to the other. In our day, the problem no longer seems to be the invasive presence of the father so much as his absence, his inaction.

4 Adapted and edited from Pope Francis’ General Audiences of 28 January and 4 February 2015

Fathers are sometimes so concentrated on themselves and on their work and at times on their career that they even forget about

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the family. And they leave the little ones and the young ones to fend for themselves. As Bishop of Buenos Aires I sensed the feeling of orphanhood that children are experiencing today, and I often asked fathers if they played with their children, if they had the courage and love to spend time with their kids. And the answer in most cases was negative: ‘But I can’t, because I have so much work...’. So the father was absent from the little child growing up, he did not play with him, he did not waste time with him. Now I would like to say that we must be more attentive: the absent father figure in the life of little ones and young people causes gaps and wounds that may even be very serious. Indeed, delinquency among children and adolescents can be largely attributed to this lack, to this shortage of examples and authoritative guidance in their everyday life, a shortage of closeness, a shortage of love from the father. And the feeling of orphanhood that so many young people live with is more profound than we think. They are orphaned in the family, because their fathers are often absent, also physically, from the home, but above all because, when they are present, • • • •

they do not behave like fathers. They do not converse with their children. They do not fulfill their role as educators. They do not set their children a good example with their words, principles, values, those rules of life which they need like bread.

he educative quality of the time the father spends raising the child is all the more necessary when he is forced to stay away from home because of work. Sometimes it seems that fathers don’t know what their role in the family is or how to raise their children. So, in doubt, they abstain, they retreat and neglect their responsibilities, perhaps taking refuge in the unlikely relationship as ‘equals’ with their children. It’s true that you have to be a ‘companion’ to your child, but without forgetting that you are the father. If you behave only as a peer to your child, it will do him or her no good.

And we also see this problem in Civil Society. Civil Society with its institutions, has a certain, let’s call it paternal, responsibility towards young people, a responsibility that at times is neglected or poorly exercised. It too often leaves them orphaned and does not offer them a true perspective. Young people are thus deprived of safe paths to follow, of teachers to trust in, of ideals to warm their hearts, of values and of hopes to sustain them daily; • become filled perhaps with idols but their hearts are robbed; • are obliged to dream of amusement and pleasure but they are not given work; • become deluded by the god of money, and they are denied true wealth.

MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER

And so it would do everyone good, fathers and children, to listen again to the promise that Jesus made to his disciples: ‘I will not leave you orphans’ (cf. Jn 14:18). He is, indeed, the Way to follow, the Teacher to listen to, the Hope that the world can change, that love conquers hatred, that there can be a future of brotherhood and peace for all. o this point I have spoken about the danger of ‘absent’ fathers now I would like to look instead at the positive aspect. Even St Joseph was tempted to leave Mary, when he discovered that she was pregnant; but the Angel of the Lord intervened and revealed to him God’s plan and his mission as foster father; and Joseph, a just man, ‘took his wife’ (Mt 1:24) and became the father of the family of Nazareth.

Every family needs a father. Let us now reflect on the value of his role beginning with a few expressions that we find in the Book of Proverbs, words that a father addresses to his own son, and it reads like this: ‘My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad. My soul will rejoice when your lips speak what is right’ (Pr 23:15-16). Nothing could better express the pride and emotion a father feels when he understands that he has handed down to his child what really matters in life, that is, a wise heart. This father does not say: ‘I am proud of you because you are the same as me, because you repeat the things I say and do’. No, he does not say anything so simple to him. 16

He says something much more important, which we can understand in this way: ‘I will be happy every time I see you act with wisdom, and I will be moved every time that I hear you speak with rectitude. This is what I wanted to leave to you, that this one thing become yours: the attitude to feel and act, to speak and judge with wisdom and rectitude. And that you might be like this, I taught you the things you didn’t know, I corrected the errors you didn’t see. I made you feel a profound and at the same time discrete affection, which maybe you did not fully recognise when you were young and unsure. I gave you a testimony of rigour and steadfastness that perhaps you didn’t understand, when you would have liked only complicity and protection. I had first to test myself in the wisdom of my heart, be vigilant of my excesses of sentiment and resentment, in order to carry the weight of the inevitable misunderstandings, to find the right words to make myself understood.’ Now, continues the father, ‘I see that you strive to be this way with your own children, and with everyone, and it moves me. I am happy to be your father’.

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This is what a wise father, a mature father, says. A father knows all too well what it costs to hand down this heritage: how close, how gentle and how firm to be. But what consolation and what recompense he receives when the children honour this legacy. It is a joy that rewards all the toil, that overcomes every misunderstanding and heals every wound. The first need, then, is precisely this: that a father be present in the family. That he be close to his wife, to share everything, joy and sorrow, hope and hardship. And that he be close to his children as they grow: when they play and when they strive, when they are carefree and when they are distressed, when they are talkative and when they are silent, when they are daring and when they are afraid, when they take a wrong step and when they find their path again; a father who is always present. To be ‘present’ is not to say ‘controlling.’ Fathers who are too controlling cancel out their children, they don’t let them develop.

he Gospel speaks to us about the example of the Father who is in Heaven — who alone, Jesus says, can be truly called the ‘good Father’ (cf. Mk 10:18). Everyone knows that extraordinary parable of the ‘prodigal son’, or better yet of the ‘merciful father’, which we find in the Gospel of Luke in chapter 15 (cf. 15:11-32). What dignity and what tenderness there is in the expectation of that father, who stands at the door of the house waiting for his son to return. Fathers must be patient. Often there is nothing

else to do but wait; pray and wait with patience, gentleness, magnanimity and mercy. A good father knows how to wait and knows how to forgive from the depths of his heart. Certainly, he also knows how to correct with firmness: he is not a weak father, submissive and sentimental. The father who knows how to correct without humiliating is the one who knows how to protect without sparing himself. f, then, there is someone who can fully explain the prayer of the ‘Our Father’, taught by Jesus, it is the one who lives out paternity in the first person. Without the grace that comes from the Father who is in Heaven, fathers loose courage, and abandon camp.

But children need to find a father waiting for them when they come home after failing. They will do everything not to admit it, not to show it, but they need it; and not to find it opens wounds in them that are difficult to heal. The Church, our mother, is committed to supporting with all her strength the good and generous presence of fathers in families, for they are the irreplaceable guardians and mediators of faith in goodness, of faith in justice and in God’s protection, like St Joseph. •

MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER

PREPARING TO GIVE WITNESS TO THE RESURRECTION AND GOD’S INFINITE MERCY uture priests must be witnesses to the Resurrection and God’s infinite mercy, Pope Francis teaches, for ‘ultimately, it is not administrators and managers we are training, but brothers and fathers, who will accompany the people on their journey through life.’

But after 25 years of civil war people in Sri Lanka are in need of a helping hand and not a wagging finger. Love and Logos – this is his motto, in full agreement with the words of Pope Benedict XVI: ‘Love alone is not enough; only when love and truth agree, is man made free.’

These words of the Pope are cited with feeling by the rector of the Saint Francis Seminary in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, in his annual report. For his most heartfelt concern is to train good shepherds, and the words of Pope Francis are an encouragement to him. Naturally, all the other subject disciplines are also taught, starting with philosophy, via Canon Law and right through to dogmatics.

he seminary in Jaffna is almost 35 years old. Several times the seminarians were forced to flee during the war. They could take no more than a few books and other essentials with them. And yet despite these circumstances, 125 priests were trained during this time. At first there were just five of them; now there are 34 young men, and it is becoming very cramped.

Cramped but clean: a dormitory for 17 seminarians.

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t present they share two large dormitories. Yet the senior seminarians, who are close to ordination, ought really to have rooms of their own. For as the rector tells them, in the words of the Pope, ‘even if you lose everything else in life, you must hold on to your profound relationship with Christ in your hearts.’

That is why they need a room to which they can retire, alone in communion with Christ. So now the seminary is building a ‘theology block’ for these more senior students. We are supporting the project. For in the words of Pope Francis, the relationship with Christ is the ‘guarantee of success, the way forward.’ By helping these seminarians in this way you will be showing them that Christ is indeed the Good Shepherd, who unites love and truth in his Church.

Already they have had to extend the refectory, and now they are still short of four tables and 25 chairs, plus another 25 chairs and desks for the study rooms. And there is an imminent need for another 40 beds as well. The diocese and the seminary between them have just about managed to fund the building work. But now there is nothing left for the furniture. These Spiritual Fathers, these future witnesses to the Resurrection and God’s infinite mercy need to be able to sit at their desks and prepare themselves well for their ministry. •

ut even seminarians cannot live on words alone. They must eat, drink, sleep as well. And eating and drinking are likewise opportunities for fraternal communion among the seminarians. So they also need a table to sit at and a chair to sit on. But even these are lacking in the seminary of Saint Francis Xavier in Lahore, Pakistan.

It has been in existence for 15 years, and there are numerous vocations. It has 92 seminarians preparing for the priesthood, including 18 students from different religious orders.

Diligent in poverty: a future shepherd in his study corner.

MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER

MERCY AS SHARING IN THE SUFFERING OF ANOTHER aint Augustine defines mercy as ‘our heart, sharing in the suffering of another person’. Saint Thomas Aquinas goes further and says that the only person who shows true mercy is the person who actively strives to alleviate the suffering of others.

This is precisely the spirit in which the Institute of Saint Augustine, in Kampala, Uganda strives to work. Suffering and need can take many forms, of course, and can be experienced by priests as well. In applying to ACN for help, the Institute describes one form of it: ‘Those who always only give and care for others can risk one day becoming emotionally and spiritually exhausted themselves.’ Priests like this need a time of prayer and recollection. A priest who is constantly

busy and active and does not have time to spare for his own spiritual development can run the risk of sinking into a kind of spiritual rut. He needs a time of spiritual and theological refreshment. And a priest whose seminary studies were made way back, before the technological revolution with its computers and smartphones – and that is only around 30 years ago – can run the risk of being thought outdated, backward or even IT illiterate. e himself may be in need of an ‘update’, so to speak. It is this kind of practical and theological knowledge, this spiritual refreshment and revival of the priest’s relationship with his Creator, that Saint Augustine’s Institute offers to all priests, regardless of age or previous formation.

Studying together: not simply a refresher course.

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It organises ‘alumni days’ for former seminarians after 25 years; It teaches how to use computers and offers study sessions on the most recent documents of the Popes. It organises retreats and prayer sessions and Gives health and advice for those suffering burnout or doubts about their mission.

Brotherly embrace: joyful reunion after years of arduous ministry.

Every priest has his own particular struggles, and the better he can cope with them, the better he can then minister to his flock. Identifying this need and supporting these shepherds – this is the • face of mercy.

YOUR MERCY-FILLED GENEROSITY IN EAST TIMOR

od speaks to His children – ‘Maromak koalia ba nia oan sira’. This is the name of the ACN Child’s Bible in East Timor. The Salesians of Don Bosco have now distributed it to the 50 primary schools in their parishes. It is being used here as part of the school timetable, and now many teachers in the state schools are also becoming interested in this little children’s Bible. And so the Good News success story continues. The children are delighted with it, and so too is the provincial Superior of the

Salesian Fathers, Father João Paulino Aparício Gutierres. On behalf of the children and teachers, he thanks you for your mercy-filled generosity. •

MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER

THE TRANSFORMATION OF SUFFERING - DICK TRIPP, AN ANGLICAN CLERGYMAN5

ecause of His death for our sins and His resurrection, Jesus is now able to offer us forgiveness and reconciliation to God. If we turn to Him in trust and submission, He comes by the Holy Spirit to live within us. His purpose is to transform us into the kind of people He wants us to be and to fit us for God’s service. Often He will use suffering in our lives to achieve this purpose. Catholics use the term ‘redemptive suffering’. Mary Craig had four sons, two of whom were born with severe abnormalities, one with disfiguring and incapacitating Hohler’s syndrome, and one with Down’s syndrome. In her book, significantly entitled Blessings, she says:

owever, if we can think in terms of Jesus paying the price to set us free from the negative consequences of suffering, then maybe it is also a useful term to use in this context. He can set us free from bitterness, rebellion, a sense of hopelessness or uselessness, and other negative attitudes that often come with suffering. He can bring good out of the worst experiences. He is able to teach us the truth of Paul’s word, ‘all things work for the good for those who love God’ (Romans 8:28).

The Bible indicates that suffering can at times be the direct result of our sins. However, it is unique in teaching how God uses suffering for his own glory

‘...the value of suffering does not lie in the pain of it...but in what the sufferer makes of it...It is in sorrow that we discover the things which really matter; in sorrow that we discover ourselves’. She speaks of ‘the redemptive power of suffering’. The word ‘redeem’ means ‘to set someone free by paying a price’. In the Bible the word is used of people or things.

5 Adapted and edited from an online book by Dick Tripp. http:// www.christianity.co.nz/author.htm

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and ultimately for ours too. This is where the emphasis lies in the New Testament. It is interesting to note the number of occasions when suffering and glory are mentioned together. rue happiness results from being a certain kind of person, not from being in a certain set of circumstances. God loves us enough to persist in molding our character, often through trials, and even when we would rather remain in our immaturity. C. S. Lewis said in The Problem of Pain:

‘When we want to be something other than the thing that God wants us to be, we must be wanting what, in fact, will not make us happy...whether we like it or not, God intends to give us what we need, not what we now think we want. Once more, we are embarrassed by the intolerable compliment, by too much love, not too little’.

‘This I know is God’s own truth, that pains and troubles and trials and sorrows and disappointments are either one thing or another. To all who love God they are love tokens from him. To all who do not love God and do not want to love him they are merely a nuisance. Every single pain that we feel is known to God because it is the most loving touch of his hand’. Jesus did not come to make a way out, but a way through. He came not to make life easy, but to make people great. Life can be like a grindstone for some, but whether it grinds or polishes is up to us.

It was this understanding and faith that enabled Helen Keller, blind and deaf from early childhood, to say, ‘I thank God for my handicaps, for through them I have found myself, my work, and my God.’ r. Edward Wilson, who died with Scott on the journey back from the South Pole, left this testimony behind him:

MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER

George Macdonald adds a thoughtful insight when he says: ‘The Son of God suffered unto the death, not that we might not suffer, but that our suffering might be like his’.

hroughout my years of ministry I have often seen folk come to faith in Christ as the result of some personal suffering or tragedy. In some instances I am sure they would not have found that faith otherwise. The Bible declares that exclusion from God’s presence, and the consequent loss of everything good, is the ultimate end for those who choose to reject God. If this is so, then permitting us to suffer may be the kindest thing that God could do. Sadly, we may refuse to listen to His voice and become hardened or bitter. A moving story of a Christian who experienced suffering comes from the pen of John Wimber, told in an article in Christianity Today. Wimber has a ministry that has touched thousands of people around the world. He tells of a Christian man whose life was completely reshaped by personal tragedy.

‘One afternoon, while baby-sitting for a family a few houses from his home, this man’s teenage daughter was brutally murdered by a young man who attempted to rape her. At the end of the day, utterly desolate, the father went back to his house and gathered his family together to pray. He bowed his head and said, ‘Father, I don’t understand. But I trust you.’ Over the months and years that followed, he experienced a profound motivation to make Christ known. The story of his daughter’s murder, the pursuit of her killer, the trial, and the father’s forgiveness of the young man were front-page news for months in the Los Angeles area. People knew about him and were willing to listen to him. Through his testimony to Christ, hundreds of people came to faith in Jesus’. ome years later, his 22-year-old only son who had just graduated from college - a wonderful Christian, a fine athlete, a brilliant student - was in an auto accident and his skull was crushed. Today this father cares for his big, handsome boy, who functions with significant handicaps and must be watched at all times. However, the mysterious working of God’s purposes, which would have driven many into unbelief, has driven this man on. He continued to pray, ‘Father, I don’t understand, but I trust you.’

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He continues to lead people to Christ. Wimber says: ‘I am one of them. One evening years ago I knelt in this man’s living room, and he prayed for me as I turned my life over to Christ. Something that was in this man’s life was placed on me...God blessed me and gave me great opportunity. I carry in my being the mantle that was passed on to me by this man. I am sure that if I were designing a programme to prepare an evangelist, I would never come up with anything like that...But God’s action in this man’s life produced a broken and contrite heart, and a highly motivated personality. He went out and has done the job the Lord gave him from that day forth. If we are going to pursue the things of the Lord, we will often not understand what he is doing... As my friend always used to tell me, “Sometimes God crushes a petal to bring out its essence.” Sometimes he offends our minds to reveal our hearts’.

od may not remove our suffering, but he can transform it into something that will bring benefit to us and glory to him - if that is what we desire, and if we will trust him to do so. •

MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER

PREPARING NEW MISSIONARIES OF MERCY AND OF JOY he rising number of seminarians in the ‘Regina Pacis’ seminary in Butembi, (DR Congo) inevitably raises the question, ‘Where are we to find bread to feed them all?’ (cf Mk 8:4).

In actual fact, the seminarians themselves provide for the ‘multiplication of the loaves’ in this case. For they sow and till the fields and raise goats and sheep, providing cabbages, carrots, potatoes, bananas and beans, milk, wool and even meat – once a week. It is just enough to feed the 67 seminarians and their professors. But of course, even planting their own crops and raising their own livestock has a financial cost. For example, two shepherds are needed to look after the small flock of sheep, and from time to time the services of a vet are

needed. To say nothing of the seed for the sowing and the irrigation of the crops. But in an unstable region like the DR Congo they also give independence and guarantee the continuing studies of the seminarians. And so the seed of the Word can likewise fall here, quite literally, on fertile soil. any applicants continue to knock on the door. So now the bishop and the rector of the seminary need to extend the building, so that all who have a genuine vocation can take their place at table in the seminary, in the refectory and in the classroom.

We have promised a contribution to help the bishop and the rector prepare these young men to be effective as missionaries • of God’s mercy and His joy.

Each seminarian has his own particular task. Joseph is working in the cabbage patch.

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PRAYER FOR PEACE OF HEART and Eternal God A lmighty Give me the great gift of

inward peace. Command the winds and storms of my unruly passions. Subdue my tendency to love the things of this world too much.

PERSECUTED & FORGOTTEN A report on Christians oppressed for their Faith

me a love of suffering for G ive Your sake.

Make me forbearing and kind to others That my life may be a reflection of Your light. Teach me to be resigned to Your Holy Will Which alone brings interior peace.

AMEN

Available to read online at acnireland.org

MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER

GRATEFUL FOR GOD’S CALL AND HIS MERCY

he criteria for acceptance in the seminaries have now been overhauled worldwide, since the abuse scandals of around five years ago. Now there is greater attention to psychological health and a well adjusted character. Now there is only one area in which the future priest is allowed to be somewhat ‘crazy’ – and that is in his love of God. In fact this burning love is even a crucial element in the formation of his priestly personality. We receive many letters from the almost ten thousand seminarians we support all around the world. One particular virtue is especially noticeable in them, namely gratitude. Gratitude to God, who has granted them this vocation, and gratitude to you all, in whom they see the hand of Divine Providence.

For example, Gover Chavez of Yurimaguas in Peru is conscious of the ‘difficulties of the world’ and of his own weakness – yet sees that God nevertheless helps him to fulfil his vocation with understanding. Julio Cesar, at the same seminary, sees further and sees your help as a spur to remain faithful to his vocation and ‘to be able to express his gratitude one day in service to the Church’. ll of them – Gover, Julio, Enrique, Juan and the rest – justify us in the hope that they will worthily receive the sacrament of ordination and allow themselves to be penetrated by it in the way that Saint Augustine described: ‘The spiritual power of the sacrament is like the light: the one who is to be illuminated by it receives it in its clarity.’ There are 26 young men preparing for the priesthood here in Yurimaguas, one of the very poor apostolic vicariates of Peru. Your support of strengthens them in their vocation.

Stages in the life of the seminarian: clothing, study, prayer, ordination.

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ikewise in the 172 candidates, from 27 different dioceses, currently studying for the priesthood in the seminary of Christ the Priest (Cristo Sacerdote) in La Ceja, Colombia, we can confidently hope for faithful pastors and missionaries. We are helping here. The selection criteria are strict, and the expectations high. German Dario sensed his vocation even as a small child. ‘One day a Capuchin priest came to our village and sang the song El Sembrador (the Sower). That struck me very deeply and I knew that this was the path for me.’ His mother did not understand him, and nor did his parish priest. He entered the seminary, but was forced to work because of financial problems. Now, at the age of 32, he has come back and is happy. ‘I thank God with all my heart for this wonderful vocation, and also all the benefactors who are strengthening me in my vocation. You will always be in my

prayers, so that God may reward you with many blessings.’ Reinaldo too had to take a roundabout route. But the seed of his vocation, planted in his heart by his grandmother, ‘who taught me a great love for God and his Church’, and by his parish priest ‘through the witness of his life’, sprouted and flourished within him. Reinaldo was successful in many occupations – and yet he still found his way into the seminary. thers have come here straight from school and are grateful, like Oscar Alirio, to everyone ‘who has helped me to hear the call of God within me, since the day he first tenderly called me’. Each of the 172 candidates has his own story, for God calls each one by his name.

ACN and it’s many benefactors have the privilege of helping each of them respond to God’s call, to carry His light and His love, to those that are in need of His mercy. •

MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER

POPE FRANCIS SHOWS US HOW TO COMFORT THE AFFLICTED  

- Monsignor Gaspar Ancona6



ome of the most unforgettable images of Pope Francis first flooded the world’s consciousness when he visited a centre for the severely disabled in Italy. The Pope was televised not at an altar, or a pulpit, or seated magisterially in a chair reading a speech. He moved slowly from person to person among the residents, embraced and caressed each of them, and blessed them one by one. It was his way of offering comfort to the afflicted.

at his last supper with them, he gathered up a towel and a basin of water and washed their feet as a servant would. There was to be no mystery or misunderstanding about it. He was a servant of those he was commissioning to  be servants.

Almost every day, each of us has the opportunity to say a word of support, offer a helping hand, or give a nod of understanding to lighten the burdens of another. Yet, so many afflictions are not temporary; so many are not even visible. We marvel at those who bear them with grace and dignity. They are not looking for anyone’s admiration. It’s just what they do and how they do it. For some, such as nurses, doctors or other professional caregivers, their profession is to care for and comfort the afflicted.

ne of the ancient titles of the Pope’s was servus servorum dei. The title appears grand in Latin but it means ‘servant of the servants of God.’ Unsurprisingly, we manage to construe it to mean ‘head servant,’ injecting the worm of rank before ever getting around to the needs of the afflicted.

To comfort, though, means to strengthen and to encourage, and we don’t need to be professionals to do that. In fact, the Lord directs all of us to serve one another, as he serves us. He demonstrated unforgettably for his apostles just what he meant when, 30

The images of Pope Francis, serving the high and the low among us, should reinvigorate us to offer simple and straightforward comfort to the afflicted in the manner of • our Merciful Lord, Jesus Christ.

6 Adapted from Monsignor Gaspar F. Ancona is a senior priest of the Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids.

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THE ULTIMATE REMOVAL OF SUFFERING - DICK TRIPP he victory won by Jesus through His death and resurrection is given in the Bible as the guarantee of His final triumph, when He will judge the world and usher in ‘a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness’ (2 Peter 3:13).

In that day ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’ (Revelation 21:4). As Philip Yancey, one of today’s most helpful writers on the problem of suffering, puts it, ‘God’s miracle of transforming Bad Friday into Easter Sunday will be enlarged to cosmic scale.’ How glorious that future will be is beyond our full understanding, though the New Testament gives us some clues if we will but search them out. We need to have long-term goals that have as their end-view God’s ultimate purpose for us in His kingdom.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, executed by the Nazis for his stand against Hitler, wrote from prison, ‘In view of our supreme purpose, the present difficulties and disappointments seem trivial.’ For the person who is trusting in Jesus, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. A Ugandan Christian, Henry, was on a bus that was attacked by guerrillas. Half his face was blown away. A Christian organisation got him to Montreal where he had many operations. David Watson, an Anglican clergyman, tells of his visit with him. He could not help flinching when he saw the mask that was once a face. But Henry’s eyes still sparkled. He was unable to speak, but he wrote on paper for David, ‘God never promises us an easy time. Just a safe arrival.’ Thank God that we have that assurance. As St. Clement of Alexandria put it, Christ • has turned all our sunsets into dawn.

od whispers to us in our pleasures,

speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

C. S. Lewis

MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER

GOING FORWARD Dear Friends,

ust under two years ago I told you how we felt the time had come for ACN to adopt a more unified worldwide identity as a charity. For even as the world seems to be falling apart, yet in terms of the information media it is growing ever closer together. Having a unified name and identity enables us to present just who we are – and what makes us distinctive in terms of our priorities as an international catholic charity – in a much more coherent manner. Initially we attempted, with your help, to think of a new international name to be used in all our different national offices. We ended up with over 600 different suggestions, but none of them, we felt, would ultimately justify the risk of changing our name, which for so long has symbolised the immense trust placed in us over so many years by our benefac-

tors in all the different countries where we are present. o this name will remain unchanged. But it will be supplemented, in every country, by the abbreviated form ACN – already familiar in the English-speaking world. And the graphic design of the name will also be unified across all countries in order to emphasise that we are one unified charity. The first step will be the change of name at our international headquarters in Germany, from ‘Kirche in Not’ to the universally recognised form: ‘Aid to the Church in Need’, or ACN for short. Nothing dramatic, then, but still a step forward for us. Thank you once again for your continuing faithful support.

Johannes Freiherr Heereman, Executive President of ACN International

WHERE TO SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTION FOR THE CHURCH IN NEED Please use the Freepost envelope. Aid to the Church in Need, 151 St. Mobhi Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 9. (01) 837 7516 info@acnireland.org www.acnireland.org

IBAN IE32 BOFI 9005 7890 6993 28 BIC BOFI IE2D If you give by standing order, or have sent a donation recently, please accept our sincere thanks. This MIRROR is for your interest and information. Registered Charity Numbers: (RoI) 9492 (NI) XR96620.

Aid to the Church in Need

GIFTS FOR ETERNITY... A Wedding Gift I had long wanted to help persecuted Christians, but didn’t know how. As my wedding day approached, the desire grew stronger, so I asked ACN’s Madrid office how I could combine this gift with my wedding. The solution they suggested was simple but beautiful: have a Mass celebrated for each wedding guest. This way I would be helping the priests of the persecuted Church and at the same time giving our guests a spiritual gift for all eternity.

...THANK YOU AMDG Dear Friends, Thanks to your help we are able to collaborate with thousands of others in consoling millions of souls in need. Thank you for being a , a Witness to Hope and a ‘little light’ in our dark world. Our world needs His merciful light, our families need His merciful light.

So I gave one hundred Mass offerings and at the same time sent out Holy Mass offering cards to each of the guests, so that they would know where it came from and at the same time perhaps use the idea themselves for other occasions. A young bride in Madrid, Spain

May the Good Lord bless you and all who are dear to you for the love you are showing to all those in need of your works of mercy.

Bringing God’s Word to the children I have recently realised the importance and power of God’s word in the Bible, something I wish had happened in my childhood. How different my life would have been. This Word is now changing me and changing my life, and I want for this to happen for others also. I believe it is important for children to be taught God’s word at an early age, and so I am enclosing a cheque for $50 to enable you to provide Bibles for children, and to assist you in your work.

J F Declan Quinn Director, Aid to the Church in Need (Ire)

Thank you for doing God’s works in the world, and for spreading God’s light and strength in the darkness. A benefactress in Australia

In Christ,

PS. Be Merciful like the Father: remember in your prayers all who are suffering and are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ.

‘GOD HAS GIVEN SUFFERING REDEMPTIVE POWER!’ ACN Spiritual Assistant

‘We are all called to comfort our brothers and sisters,to testify that God alone can eliminate the causes of existential and spiritual tragedies.’

Pope Francis, Angelus message, December 7, 2014

The comforting hand of God – whether in his priests, religious sisters or brothers. Here and now, high in the Andes.

THE MIRROR IS AVAILABLE TO READ AT ACNIRELAND.ORG

Aid to the Church in Need

MIRROR

Merciful like the Father Comfort the afflicted

God’s Name is Mercy

God is only a prayer away

GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

Aid to the Church in Need

GO REBUILD MY CHURCH

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