Solicitude Not Solitude

Mercy for myself. This phrase may sound selfish. Nonetheless, I believe it’s one of the cornerstones for us to celebrate this year of mercy and the always present of God’s mercy. I guess we can start our merciful thoughts and actions with ourselves. Forgiving ourselves for the wrong decisions we have made or the not-so-right things we did. I believe that if we had known better at that time, or if we could have had the wisdom that aging offers, we could have acted differently. But, today is not the past. The past has passed, and we certainly know that we cannot change it. Wisdom is the ability to learn from the past. That is the value of our past; a life lesson.

I remember my childhood and teenage days with happiness surrounded by my parents, noisy siblings and a huge extended family. There was always a dinner or party to attend including birthdays, celebration of saints’ day, first communion, mothers and Father’s Day. Any event was pretty much an excuse for a family reunion. In those early years, when we are surrounded by many people, we do not necessarily take time to consider other people’s feelings. We just keep living in our small happy world. This was excused because, after all, we had the privilege of being a child or a young person. But as parents or grandparents, our words and actions have taken a different role. These actions may have been the reason for many to live in a silent solitude. But mercy today asks us to change solitude by solicitude; to go out and care for others. It’s never wrong to say: I’m sorry.

Pope Francis has invited us to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but how am I supposed to believe that God forgives me if I don’t forgive myself? Well, we can start by asking Our Lord to make room in our hearts, so that by having a little piece of God’s love in our hearts, we can make room for our own forgiveness. Do you remember these words: “Ask, and you shall receive”?

Now is our present time - time to throw off of our backs those pebbles or big rocks that we have been carrying for so long and not look at our solitude, but act with solicitude. Today is the time to start a happy future. Our solicitude will certainly give us a happy earthly life and take us back home to heaven.