857: Mercy gave the Prodigal Son a second chance. Grace gave him a feast.
Day 857: Thursday, July 21, 2022
Mercy gave the Prodigal Son a second chance. Grace gave him a feast.
Introduction to our upcoming Sunday Celebration
Created by Kay and Linda: (share prodigally!)
Two weeks ago our liturgy focused on mercy and loving our neighbor. Today we are looking at the other side of the coin. Grace.
Some consider it the same, and yes, both encourage loving your neighbor but Mercy is showing compassion or forgiveness toward someone when it’s within your power to punish instead.
Grace is understood as the free and unmerited favor of God.
Mercy is the kindness and compassion shown to one who offends, while Grace is an abiding presence of God in our souls which lifts us up.
Max Lucaod puts it - Mercy gave the Prodigal Son a second chance. Grace gave him a feast.
In a nutshell, they are two sides of the same coin. Grace is a gift we don’t deserve, while Mercy is not getting the punishment we deserve.
Announcement: Join FutureChurch for our Annual Feast of St. Mary Magdalene Celebration
Thursday, July 21st at 8pm EDT
Join FutureChurch for our Annual Feast of St. Mary Magdalene Celebration, which will once again be hosted online for all to join!
This year, we will reflect on and pray with Mary Magdalene’s faithful witness and powerful presence from the cross to the empty tomb as we reckon with the senseless violence – and particularly gun violence – that we ourselves witness in our communities each day and discern a path forward together. We are honored to welcome guest preacher, Dr. Kimberly Lymore, D.Min
Use link to register:
Announcement #2: “An Urgent Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament.”
Join us on Thursday, July 21, 7:00 p.m. ET., for a presentation by Archbishop John Wester (Archdiocese of Santa Fe, NM) entitled “An Urgent Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament.” Archbishop Wester will discuss his pastoral letter, Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace: A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament, in which he calls for a rejuvenated and sustained conversation about verifiable, world-wide nuclear disarmament. He will also maintain that the tragic war unfolding in Ukraine and the second nuclear arms race that we are experiencing both point to the urgency of this conversation. He hopes that his presentation will inspire and embolden us to become advocates for peace in our troubled world.
(Use link to Register)
Most Reverend John C. Wester was installed as the 12th Archbishop of Santa Fe, New Mexico in June, 2015. From 2007 until 2015, he served as the Bishop of Salt Lake City, Utah. Archbishop Wester grew up in San Francisco and was ordained to the priesthood in 1976 in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. There he served in a number of ministries including as pastor, faculty member, campus minister and assistant superintendent at Catholic high schools, Vicar general, and Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco. He currently serves on the founders’ board for Catholic Relief Services and as the Episcopal moderator for the National Association of Lay Ministry.About the speaker:
After reflecting on his soul-stirring visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 2017, Archbishop Wester realized how much his own Archdiocese is steeped in the nuclear weapons industry, and felt called to write about nuclear disarmament. In January of this year, he published a pastoral letter entitled Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace: A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament, noting the urgency for dialogue and action toward nuclear disarmament. Archbishop Wester will be speaking at the national Pax Christi, USA conference in Washington, DC in early August.