In 1218, the Blessed Virgin appeared to Peter Nolasco and asked him to participate in the work of redeeming captive Christians, who were being cruelly tormented in prisons, trying to make them deny their faith. She desired the establishment of a religious order, which would derive its name from the Spanish “merced” or mercy. The Mercedarian Order thus came into being through Mary’s request for the express purpose of showing mercy. At that precise moment in history, it was to redeem Christian captives; today the mission of mercy continues in a multitude of forms.
Merciful love is a strong love, capable of withstanding the Cross; capable of enduring the challenges and difficulties of life. When commenting on this Mercedarian spirit, as the convent in Berriz was undergoing the transformation from a cloister to a missionary institute, Mother Margarita said: “We had to be redeemers!…We turned our eyes to Rome, … the glance of the representative of Christ [the Pope], …and his hand… the same hand of Christ, was pointing to that multitude of brethren who were so terribly enslaved….We looked at the Blessed Virgin, our mother, our foundress of the Order, and she pointed to Jesus, hanging on the cross to save all men and it seemed to us that her lips were asking: ’My Mercedarian daughters, be co-redeemers with me.’”
Mary, the Mother of Jesus is the model of merciful love. She was able to stand firm at the foot of the Cross, and received the mercy of God in the most exceptional way. She is the one human being who has the deepest knowledge of the mystery of God’s mercy. She knows how great it is; this is why they call her “Mother of Mercy.” God has chosen Mary to reveal His Mercy to us, and so it is not surprising that Mother Margarita found in Our Blessed Mother, the perfect model of mercy, through which the Mercedarians could emulate the mission of mercy. Mother Margarita knew that the merciful heart of God is where the misery of humankind meets. It is only the merciful love of Christ that can fix the brokenness of this world. Jesus in his crucified love, receives all the human misery, pouring out His merciful love on the world. Mother Margarita knew that Mary would always point her to this mercy.
In 2015-2016 Pope Francis declared the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. In the prayer for that Jubilee, it asked that “with renewed enthusiasm… to bring Good news to the poor, pro- claim liberty to the captives and the oppressed….” It ends by “asking this of Our Lord Jesus, through the inter- cession of Mary, Mother of Mercy.” We are all called to live this command which is found in Luke 6:36 “Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.”
If we want to receive mercy, we have to be merciful toward others. Here Mary gives us a beautiful gift: her maternal heart, her merciful heart. Mary is God’s gift, because she enables us to place all of our trust in God and His mercy. This act helps us to be humble. The closer we are to Mary, the more we can accept our own smallness. Her maternal love helps us to recognize and accept peacefully our limitations and fragility. Mary’s MAGNIFICAT is a song of hope, because through it, she sings the marvels and mercy of God, “He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly.” (Lk. 1:52)
Like a mother, Mary gives us everything she receives from God. Speaking of Our Blessed Mother, Pope Francis said: “Entrust to her all that you are, all that you have, and in that way you will be able to become an instrument of the mercy and tenderness of God to your family, neighbors and friends.”
Mother Margarita always put her trust in Mary to lead her closer to God on her earthly journey. She envisioned a beautiful garden of treasures waiting to be discovered in the soul of Our Blessed Mother. She said: “I imagine the heart, the soul of the Blessed Mother as a vast garden hidden to souls who do not live an interior life. It is full of beauties known only to God who created her and was so generous in bestowing His graces upon her. God takes pleasure in uncovering the beauties of this garden, otherwise impossible to discover with the human eye.”
Mother Margarita often displayed this tender Mercy of God to others. Her sensitive soul felt the pain of suffering in those around her. Once, when one of the girls at the boarding school was tired of studying and was being difficult, Mother Margarita had a talk with her. The girl promised Mother that she would try to be more faithful in her duties and turned to focus on her studies. But, instead of punishing her, to the surprise of the girl, Mother Margarita told her to go out and play ball for awhile. She understood this young girl simply needed a break.
Another time when she was sailing on a ship to the Far East, the nuns gathered on deck in the evening to say the rosary. Everyone else had gone to the large hall of the ship to sing and dance until very late. A couple left their daughter sleeping in a deck chair while they went to the evening party. After a few hours, the little girl woke up to find herself on the deck in the dark, abandonment broke my heart.” The torment of hearing the little girl cry for over an hour exhausted her, but she would not return to her cabin until the child’s mother came to get her.
Our Lady of Mercy is a beacon of hope for all of us. The Mercedarians, gifted with the love of Mercy bestowed on them, continue to be signs of the tenderness and Mercy of God in their prayer and in their works. They serve victims of globalization: women, mi- grants, refugees, the aged, prisoners, the homeless, and youth with seemingly no future. Their mission is to be merciful; to be servant, as was Jesus. In Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Mercy, they find the inspiration for living in this style of Jesus. Like Mary, they aspire to be signs of the compassionate and maternal face of Jesus that welcomes, forgives, reconciles, unites, celebrates, nurtures life, intercedes for and loves everyone, giving preference to the weak.
HAIL, HOLY QUEEN
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To you do we cry poor banished Children of eve.
To you do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advo- cate, your eyes of Mercy toward us. And after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.
O Clement!
O Loving!
O Sweet Virgin Mary!
As we head into the month of May, the month dedicated to our Blessed Mother, let us ask her for the special grace of mercy. Daily proclaiming the HAIL HOLY QUEEN prayer would be a beautiful way to draw close to her as our Mother of Mercy. For as Mother Margarita so wisely advised,”…Have a frequent and trustful recourse to the Mother of Divine Grace, Universal Mediatrix and Merciful Lady. Let us live in Mary so she will teach us how to live in Jesus Christ.”
