Mercy Matters
Opening Yourself to the Life-Changing Gift
Mathew N. Schmalz
Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division
Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.
Huntington, Indiana 46750
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible—Second Catholic Edition (Ignatius Edition), copyright © 2006 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2016 by Mathew N. Schmalz. Published 2016.
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Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division
Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.
200 Noll Plaza
Huntington, IN 46750
1-800-348-2440
ISBN: 978-1-61278-996-5 (Inventory No. T1746)
eISBN: 978-1-61278-998-9
LCCN: 2016935176
Cover design: Lindsey Riesen
Cover art: Veer
Interior design: Dianne Nelson
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
For Dolores T. Schmalz,my merciful mom
Let us then with confidence draw nearto the throne of grace, that we mayreceive mercy and find graceto help in time of need.
– Hebrews 4:16
Contents
Chapter Two: Mercy and Reconciliation
Chapter Three: Mercy and Letting Go
Chapter Four: Mercy and Compassion
Chapter Five: Mercy and Freedom
Chapter Six: Mercy and Dignity
Chapter Seven: Mercy and Kindness
Chapter Eight: Mercy and Truth
Chapter Nine: Mercy and Forgiveness
Chapter Ten: Mercy and Suffering
Chapter Eleven: Mercy and Death
Chapter Twelve: Mercy and Life
Acknowledgments
This book is about opening ourselves to mercy, to love that responds to human need in an unexpected or unmerited way. This book is itself the result of many mercies shown to me by many people over the course of my life. While some of these people do appear in the following pages, many do not, and so I would like to acknowledge them here.
For love: My wife and daughters. They do appear in the book, although under pseudonyms of their own choosing. Our dog, Harold, has chosen his real name.
For editorial advice: Cindy Cavnar and Bill Roorbach.
For inspiration: Catherine Duclos, Mary Johnson, Joanne Pierce, and Donna Steinmetz.
For friendship: Peter Gottschalk, Keith Harmon, Father Warren Hicks, Jack Horky, Thomas Landy, and Malik Neal.
For mercies shared: David Robert Campbell, Elin Cohen, Anita Houck, Rebecca Krier, Vaughn Kurtz, Janice Lloyd, Kevin Meinert, Nestor Santana, Julia Schmalz, Hema Sharma, Kevin Walsh, and Kimberlee Wyche.
And for merciful memories: Albert Duclos, Betty Hubsch, Marzena Ladiejewska, Kim McElaney, Constance McKenna, Stephen Schmalz, Johnny T. K, and Theodore and Irene Tourangeau.
I would also like to express my gratitude to two journalist editors who have provided me encouragement and opportunity, and also gave me permission to draw upon pieces previously published online: Teresa Hanaflin of Crux (www.cruxnow.com)
