Happy Feast Day in the Year of Mercy

During the ceremony for the opening of the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, Pope Francis said, "How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by his mercy. . . . We have to put mercy before judgment."

Today, Sisters of Christian Charity around the world commemorate the death anniversary of Blessed Pauline von Mallinckrodt, the founder of our community.  During this Year of Mercy, we are struck by the many ways in which Mother Pauline's words and actions provide shining examples of how to live mercifully, to put mercy before judgment.  In a letter to Sister Walburga in November 1872, Mother Pauline wrote:  "We cannot have people only with their good qualities; they have their faults, too.  This is an imperfect world; heaven alone will bring perfection.  And it is a work of mercy:  What you cannot change in your neighbor you must bear with patience."  

Perhaps the best way we can remember Blessed Pauline today, during the Year of Mercy, is to remember to put mercy before judgment in our dealings with each other.  

Happy Feast of Blessed Pauline!