“As consecrated women, we receive God’s mercy as pure gift and are called each day to let that same mercy flow through us, especially in our community life.”

Is mercy innate for religious? On the one hand, mercy flows naturally from our consecration because we belong to Christ, who is “the face of the Father’s mercy.” By our vows, we choose to live not for ourselves but for God and His people. Mercy, therefore, is inscribed in our identity: to look upon others with compassion, to forgive, to console, to accompany. In this sense, yes, mercy is part of our deepest calling.

On the other hand, mercy is not automatic. Religious life does not remove our human limitations, weaknesses, wounds, or struggles with patience.

Mercy must be cultivated daily in our prayer, in self-denial, in opening our hearts to the Spirit. It is learned day by day in our encounter with the LORD in the Eucharist, where we receive mercy and transformation.

Mercy is tested most not in great gestures, but in the hidden life of community: bearing each other’s weaknesses, listening without judgment, forgiving quickly, and serving without counting the cost. This is where our mercy becomes real and credible.

So, mercy is both gift and task:

• Gift, because God plants it in our hearts when He calls us to consecrated life.

• Task, because we must continually nurture it, allowing ourselves to be shaped by Christ’s merciful heart.

So, therefore our mission in the Church is not only to proclaim God’s mercy but to embody it…so that anyone who meets us may encounter a reflection of the tenderness of Christ.