I recently read a magnificent book which was more than a lovely story, but rather it contained numerous insights which led to some thought and reflection. There were many scenes which were beautiful particularly because they pointed to God, some obviously and some not so overtly, but which nevertheless spoke of the spiritual. One scene involved a young, single father, Kendrick, who along with his own mother, Grandmother Whitaker, was raising his little girl. Kendrick’s wife was killed in a car crash that also injured his daughter who was now struggling to recover from a serious leg injury. At the point where Kendrick was faced with meeting the ‘perpetrator’ of the wreck, Grandmother Whitaker gave this advice: “Baby, they’s justice and they’s mercy. If you not sure what to do and you gotta choose one or the other, I say always go the mercy way. If you make a mistake, make it for mercy. Bad mercy don’t hurt nearly like bad justice, and always remember, the eye of God can see.” *

It is true that there are times when justice is done as it should be, and there are times when there has been failed justice (injustice), hence good and bad justice. But can mercy be good and bad? I think what the author was getting at through the character of Grandmother Whitaker was that it is better to offer mercy when in doubt then to be harsh and unbending. While justice relies on ‘the facts’ and on actions, mercy often relies on the heart. Therefore, a lack of mercy is part of an inner disposition and can leave deep scars on both parties. While it is better to err on the side of mercy, we do need both. Justice without mercy is harsh and cruel, and mercy without justice creates anarchy and becomes utterly chaotic; one tempers and guides the other. Truly, the most demanding mercy is about acting with love toward someone who does not seem to deserve it. To act with mercy then, is to act with justice. That is, to be merciful is just insofar as it is what love demands. 

Of course, this is the way of God who is a just judge and whose mercy is unending. Both of these attributes of God are incomprehensible because we do not have His wisdom, nor do we see as He sees. If we live as Jesus taught, when life is over we will be far more prepared for the just judgment that will come from God regarding how we had lived because it will be tempered by His fathomless ocean of mercy. There must be justice: without it we will fall into the thinking that everything is okay, that there is no sin, and that everything is ‘about me and my own truth.’ Nothing can be further from the message of Jesus than that attitude. Justice ensures an understanding of right and wrong, and that we recognize the strong pull of sin into which we fall often, but that in the end, our God who is Love will mete out His justice which will be tempered with His mercy. If we ask forgiveness, rely on the power of His grace to grow in holiness, trusting in His mercy, we have nothing to fear and everything to look forward to with Him in Heaven forever. 

Perhaps what Grandmother Whitaker was referring to is that we should refrain from going overboard with undiscerned mercy. It is not merciful to enable another person in bad behavior by keeping quiet in the face of sin so as not to appear ‘judgmental;’ we are not offering mercy in our lack of confrontation, but rather, we are encouraging sinfulness. Often, we do not want to hurt someone’s feelings, or we lack the courage to stand against an immoral or sinful behavior, and thus, we remain silent, inadvertently continuing to support the behavior through our fear of offending. However, to speak up against harmful actions or behavior in a kind, but firm way is not only what we are supposed to do, but it is actually one of the Spiritual Works of Mercy.** Remember, Jesus confronted the Pharisees and Sadducees not because He was superior to them, but because He loved them! In His love, He tried to teach them that their behaviors were often misguided. Even with harsh words, going as far as driving out the money changers in the Temple with a whip made of cord, Jesus did these things to warn them that what they were doing was moving themselves (and others) far from God. That is why we can correctly say that Jesus displayed righteous anger when He did that. 

To live justly means we love God: we want to do that which pleases Him, and no matter how difficult it is to understand, we will do as He teaches simply because we know He loves us, and therefore, we want to respond with love. To live mercifully means that we are becoming more and more like Jesus and that His love is flowing through us. However, we must always pray for the wisdom which comes from the Holy Spirit so that we learn when and how to be both just and merciful. As God said through the prophet Micah: “You have been told, O mortal, what is good and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness [mercy] and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) If we can learn how to really hear these words deep within our hearts, learn from them, and therefore respond, we will have learned how to align our heart with the Heart of Jesus. We will have grown holy.

​May we love justice without being judgmental! May we love mercy, discerning rightly how to offer it to others! And may we be filled with gratitude for both the justice and mercy of God! Let us meet in the Sacred Heart of Jesus! Peace!

                       ©Michele L. Catanese

NOTE: For those interested, I recommend an essay which dealt with the importance of literature, even that which we might call bad literature: The Theological Value of Fiction by Robert Lazu Kmita.
https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2025/06/20/the-theological-value-of-fiction/?utm_source=The+Catholic+Thing+Daily&utm_campaign=aec38af3f1-DAILY_6_19_2025_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_769a14e16a-aec38af3f1-619630970&mc_cid=aec38af3f1&mc_eid=e925af5318

​* The book to which I am referring, and from which the quote comes, is Theo of Golden, by Allen Levi.
​** The Spiritual Works of Mercy are to admonish the sinner, instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, comfort the sorrowful, bear wrongs patiently, forgive all injuries, and to pray for the living and the dead. Here is a good article which gives more information on them. https://media.ascensionpress.com/2020/04/29/serving-the-spirit-of-others-spiritual-works-of-mercy/#:~:text=The%20seven%20spiritual%20actions%20of,the%20living%20and%20the%20dead.

Images:
1. My photo; Grizzly Giant, a giant Sequoia tree in Mariposa Grove, California. 
2. Painting; The Good Samaritan, by James Tissot.
3. My photo; the ocean from a beach on Grand Cayman.
4. Icon; Christ All Merciful by Fr. William Hart McNichols. If you are interested in purchasing a copy, you can find it at fineartamerica.com/featured/christ-all-merciful-022-william-hart-mcnichols.html
​5. Fresco painting; St. Francis Gives His Cloak to A Begger, by Giotto.
6. My photo; roadside flowers in Yosemite National Park. My thought here was of the harshness of justice (rocks) tempered by the softness of mercy (flowers).

Note: In compliance with GDPR rules, I wish to make it clear that I do not gather any information on any of my readers at any time. 

I recently read a short story that contained a scene in which two teenage boys were riding their bikes past their neighbor’s house as he was looking up at the top of a tree. Mystified, they asked the neighbor, Mr. McGilicutty, what he was looking at, to which he replied, “I see God.” One of them, Billy, scoffed at the man as he rode away. But the other boy, Ravi, remained and said to Mr. McGilicutty, “It is beautiful.” Later, Ravi had occasion to talk with Mr. McGilicutty and asked about what he had seen that day. The man said he didn’t really know, but he “saw something different… divine.” But then he mused: “Most of the time we aren’t paying attention, are we?” Ravi admitted that he had in fact felt something as he had looked up. As the conversation continued Mr. McGilicutty explained that sometimes he struggled with faith, to which Ravi exclaimed, “But you go to Mass!” Again, Mr. McGilicutty’s response was interesting: “I do go to Mass, but I can’t tell you why. It is a habit now and it makes me feel good…. I need that ritual.” After a pause, he went on to say, “…this world isn’t just all the things we can see and touch. It is all the things we can’t see, the things we choose to believe.” *

The dialogue between Mr. McGilicutty and Ravi is full of important insights. First, it really gets to the heart of the matter when it comes to our faith and how we choose to engage it. Mr. McGilicutty was able to ‘see’ the Divine because he attended worship regularly, and even if he did not know how, he knew the ritual was essential for him: “I need that ritual.” Going to Mass regularly helped him to realize there is something beyond what we see and touch, and that the Divine is all around us. Thus, he chose to believe because he chose to go, and in so doing, he saw God more readily in the world. Second, the author highlights the gift received through worship with Mr. McGilicutty’s observation: “Most of the time we aren’t paying attention, are we?” Indeed, our lives are often filled with activities that cause us go from one thing to the next, distracting us from recognizing the presence of God.

The most important thing said by Mr. McGilicutty is that he needs the ritual of the Mass. Even though he cannot say why (beyond that it makes him feel good), deep within he recognized that there was something there that was indeed good​ for him because it was feeding his heart. While he is but a character in a story, there is truth here: we need the ritual of the Mass because it is good for us. There we meet God in a singular way through our worship and through fellowship with the community: it is our home. Scripture makes it clear that the people of God are a community, a family, a “people uniquely His own.” (1 Peter 2:9) Attending Mass helps us to experience and to recognize that God intended His people to be a unity as One Body, and together we are destined to eternal life in Heaven. We are a community forever as our worship joins Heaven to earth, extending from this life to the next. **

The ritual of worship opens our hearts to immerse in the Divine, that is, to become attentive; as Mr. McGilicutty discusses in the story, built into our lives we have that which teaches, reminds us to pay attention, and supplies the grace to do so. This is what Pentecost reveals: the Risen Lord who ascended back to the Father, sent the Holy Spirit, who brings God’s presence into the world through grace and power. The Ascension and Pentecost were not random occurrences, but rather they highlight the intention of God in securing our salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, who though ascended, did not leave us alone. To celebrate this reality and to be continually connected to the presence of the Holy Spirit, we have the rituals celebrated in the Mass. We may sometimes feel that it has become routine and struggle with attentiveness, an honest recognition of our humanness, but we do need to work with the Spirit. We need to put effort into attentiveness and participation, but also to expect the Lord to speak to our hearts in some way during Mass. If we seek, we will indeed find, and through the gifts of the Eucharist and the liturgy as a whole, our faith, hope, and love will be enlivened.

To consider: perhaps Mr. McGilicutty enjoyed the ritual of Mass because it was familiar, a time where he could just be himself before God. Perhaps the ritual taught him to listen and therefore, to see and hear the Divine beyond the doors of the Church. It seems that he saw beauty in little things that most would miss, a result of the working of the Holy Spirit enabled by participating in the graces of Mass. It would be good to reflect upon these things as we celebrate Pentecost and the Holy Trinity. We can ask the Spirit to open our eyes and hearts to see the Divine more readily so we might rejoice in seeing beauty in unexpected ways. If we begin to do this, we will begin to realize more clearly that “…this world isn’t just all the things we can see and touch. It is all the things we can’t see, the things we choose to believe.” 

May we choose to be more attentive by calling upon the power of grace! May we allow the Holy Spirit to expand our vision so that we might see the Divine in new and unexpected ways! And may the Holy Spirit open our hearts to the wonders, graces, and beauty of the Mass! Let us meet in the heart of Jesus! Peace! 

​                              ©Michele L. Catanese

Notes:
* The short story is Abscond by Abraham Verghese. I read it on Kindle and so the page numbers for the quotes will vary based on font size. 
** At every Mass the Eucharistic prayer contains sections that highlight the connection between heaven and earth in our worship. For example, in the first Eucharistic prayer the priest prays: “…command that these gifts be borne by the hands of your holy Angel to your altar on high in the sight of your divine majesty, so that all of us, who through this participation at the altar receive the most holy Body and Blood of your Son….” 
Also, we see that we are one Body, gathered in this way by the Spirit in each of the Eucharistic prayers. Thus, in Eucharistic Prayer 2 the priest prays “… [that] we may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit.” Eucharistic Prayer 3: “…by the power and working of the Holy Spirit, you give life to all things and make them holy, and you never cease to gather a people to yourself….” Eucharistic Prayer 4: “...grant in your loving kindness to all who partake of this one Bread and one Chalice that, gathered into one body by the holy Spirit, they may truly become a living sacrifice in Christ, to the praise of your glory.” This is why we should be attentive to these prayers the priest is praying with and for the community; we do give assent through our “Amen” when he finishes them. (All of the prayers of the Mass reflect what we believe!)

Images:
1. My photo; oldest live oak tree in Texas, Rockport, TX.
2. Painting; Fields by Camille Pissarro. (1830-1903)
3. My photo; the earth meets the sky outside of Taos, New Mexico.
4. Image; inset of The Holy Spirit by Fr. William Hart McNichols. This is part of a larger work of icons and images, Viriditas Finding God in All Things. You can find this at https://fineartamerica.com/featured/viriditas-finding-god-in-all-things-william-hart-mcnichols.html
5. Photo; Fr. William Hart McNichols praying one of the Eucharistic prayers while celebrating Mass.
6. My photo; bluff on the ocean near Grand Wailea Resort, Maui, Hawaii.

Note: In compliance with GDPR rules, I wish to make it clear that I do not gather any information on any of my readers at any time. 

At a visit with the dermatologist last year, I pointed out some spots on my skin that I figured were age spots, but that I thought I should inquire about anyway. She smiled and said, “Oh, those are just wisdom spots. They’re fine.” I definitely had never heard that ‘medical term’ before! I loved this description, but in actuality the doctor had touched upon the concept of wisdom coming with age. Of course, we do not become wise simply by getting older, but rather, from what we learn through life experience. We gather wisdom throughout our lives, but sometimes we conflate knowledge with wisdom, so it can go unrecognized. There are lots of people who never had much formal education and yet are wise. Just look at the lives of the Saints and you will find many who may not have had a great education or who may have struggled in school, such as St. Bernadette Soubirous, St. John Vianney, and Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati.* Each of them had wisdom which grew from their openness to learning from God. This highlights the point that to attain wisdom, we must learn from God through a radical openness and docility which is born of faith, hope, and love. 

The liturgies at the end of the Easter season focus our attention on the gift of spiritual wisdom, especially in the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus to send the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we are encouraged to reflect upon the apostles who experienced great growth in wisdom in the time after the resurrection of Jesus. In the aftermath of Jesus’ crucifixion, the process of intense spiritual scrutiny readied them to open their hearts more fully to the presence of the Risen Jesus than they had previously been capable. Thus, experience was the foundation of the process. However, it important to note that they could not develop wisdom without the action of God. When Jesus appeared to them, He said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”” Clearly this power was only available to them as gift from God. He also said, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”” (John 20:22) The mission they were to undertake required that they possess the wisdom to discern, recognizing that the authority to forgive or hold bound comes from God alone. This suggests that their minds were now open to mysteries that were not open to them before, but also that they had been empowered to go forth with authority. 

The apostles returned to Jerusalem after the Ascension of Jesus, spending the next ten days “praying in one accord” as a community of disciples, about 120 gathered together. (Acts of the Apostles 1:14-15). As Jesus had instructed, they devoted themselves to prayer as one, united in joyful expectation. This communal prayer enabled their readiness to receive the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.** Remember, they knew they were to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit, but they did yet not know exactly what that meant or when it would happen. Luke, the author of Acts, is quite clear in emphasizing their unity in purpose and in love. This unity is what enabled them to radically and openly receive powerful spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, something as a Body our prayer still has the power to do. 

If we want to grow in wisdom, the place to start is in recognizing that we already possess it; that is, as baptized Christians we already possess the graces upon which we need to allow the Lord to build. Then, we can reflect upon our spiritual life, what we have experienced and learned up to this point. Whether we have taken enough time for growth is not important; what is important is that we begin now, or continue what we have worked on, to deepen our faith and understanding. It is essential that we listen to God in prayer and through His Word, but also in study of the Catechism, in spiritual reading such as writings of the Saints, theologians, or spiritual leaders of today. (It is important to develop a good prayer life and familiarity with the Gospel to aid in our discernment.) Next, it is important to use the gifts we have received in the Sacraments, especially those of Baptism and Confirmation. We must not forget that we also have individual, unique gifts of the Spirit. ***

During these days between the Ascension of Jesus and Pentecost, it would be good to join the 120 gathered in the Upper Room in prayer and reflection just as Jesus instructed them. We can turn to Mary and the apostles who were at the center of the gathered community and ask them to intercede. The unity in prayer of the gathered disciples can inspire us to pray for the same outpouring of the Spirit when we are worshiping as a gathered community so that we, too, can go out to all the world in a renewed way. In short, the starting point for all wisdom is God, and if we are one in Him, individually and as a community we can indeed bring the power of His Holy Spirit out into the world in an explosion of mercy and love.

May we accept the Lord’s invitation to grow in spiritual wisdom so that we can more effectively put it into action in our daily lives! May we follow the wise words of Mary who at the start of Jesus’ ministry said, “Do whatever He tells you!” And may the apostles and Mary intercede for us that we may receive and act upon the mission that has been entrusted to us in bringing forth the power of the Spirit in an explosion of mercy and love! Let us meet in the Heart of Jesus! Peace!


                             ©Michele L. Catanese

* It is important not to confuse knowledge or even intelligence with wisdom. Each of the saints I mentioned were intelligent, even if they had some issues with education: St. Bernadette struggled to learn the basics of the Catechism as a child; St. John Vianney couldn’t pass the seminary Latin exams, and Bl. Pier Giorgio needed a tutor for a couple of subjects that he struggled with. In the final analysis, St. Bernadette did learn and was able to read and write with insight, St. John Vianney, while never a great scholar, was allowed to did pass and became a great orator/preacher, and Bl. Pier Giorgio was a better than average student. But more importantly, all three possessed much wisdom!
** Clearly the Holy Spirit is not quantifiable, and so this is a reference to the mystery of God being revealed as God sees fit. One can look to what Jesus told Nicodemus by way of analogy to explain the Holy Spirit’s action. He said the Holy Spirit is like the wind which "blows where it wills." (John 3:5-8) That is, God has the ultimate wisdom, and therefore the ultimate freedom, to grace us when and how He sees fit (given our needs) in fulfilling His will.
​*** See what St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12. Also, in regard to discernment, we should be careful of being swayed by the opinions of those who sound authoritative, but who are not aligned to true gospel values and teaching. The Holy Spirit unites, evil divides. Thus, we ask the Holy Spirit to help us discern as we reflect upon what we read or hear in current media or documents.

Images:
1. Painting; The Boy Jesus Teaching in the Temple, by Duccio Buoninsegna.  Jesus, the young boy, is teaching the older, seemingly more learned scholars of the Law: age and wisdom do not necessarily go together. Indeed, Jesus is fully God, but He is also fully human. To emphasize this reality, Luke related not only the obedience of Jesus, but also that He still had to grow gradually as all people do "in wisdom and in stature...."  (Luke 2:52)
2. My photo: Farview Point, Brice Canyon, Utah. As quoted above, in explaining how the Holy Spirit works Jesus said to Nicodemus, "The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8)
3. My photo; dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. If you look closely, you will see the people who are on the balcony on the dome. (You will need to enlarge the photo to see them.) I love this photo because it symbolically depicts the Church "holding up" the people; that is, we are one Body, one Church.
4. My photo; the Holy Spirit window which is behind the Bernini columns (the baldacchino) and the main altar at St. Peter's in Rome.
5. Painting; Pentecost, Chilean. Again, if you look closely, you will see Mary in the middle of the Pentecost scene with the outline of a church surrounding her. She is Mother of the Church. 
6. Icon; Our Lady of Las Cruces, by Fr. William Hart McNichols. On the scroll in Mary's hands, it says: "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good tidings, who brings peace. Isaiah 52:7" One cannot help but think of the first words of Pope Leo XIV when he came out on the balcony at his election: "Peace be with all of you." If you are interested in purchasing this icon in one of many mediums, go to fineartamerica.com/featured/our-lady-of-las-cruces-345-william-hart-mcnichols.html

Note: In compliance with GDPR rules, I wish to make it clear that I do not gather any information on any of my readers at any time.