For With the Lord there is Mercy…

This evening after Vespers, I prayed the “Prayer for our Deceased Sister” with the other Sisters and visitors in our Chapel for the first time in quite a while.  We will be doing this for the rest of the week, since one of our German Sisters died recently, and we have the custom of praying for the deceased for a week.

This prayer is offered in conjunction with Psalm 130: “Out of the Depths.”  One phrase of this psalm was particularly striking to me this evening: “For with the Lord there is mercy…”

It is consoling to think that in the midst of our troubled world, facing natural disasters, murders, political unrest and other issues, “with the Lord there is mercy.”

We really cannot grasp how this mercy works and how far it extends.  Without our even thinking about it, God’s mercy can work through us.

This sunk in for me in a particular way recently when I received an email from a gentleman in Texas, requesting prayers for his family.

I was just living in my little corner of the world, not thinking about reaching out in prayer to those suffering in other areas.  However, the Lord, with His mercy, was able to use my little prayer, solicited by a needy family, to somehow do some good. 

It is amazing, and mind-boggling, to grasp at how God’s mercy and providence works.  A little song we all learned as children comes to mind, encouraging my confidence: “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.”

Thank you, dear Jesus, for holding us all in your merciful hands.

Adapted from an article on Our Franciscan Fiat