Empathy:

"Let me hold the door for you.
I may have never walked in your shoes,
but I can see your soles are worn,
your strength is torn
under the weight of a story
I have never lived before.
Let me hold the door for you.
After all you have walked through,
it is the least I can do"  
-Morgan Harper Nichols

This quote has been a guiding mantra for me. It particularly resonates in the last twelve months - COVID and quarantining, a racial reckoning, increased domestic violence, and mass displacements of persons. At times it can feel the door is getting heavier and heavier to hold open. It’s in those times I find most comfort in Mercy.

This month, we explore the theme of ‘mercying’. Admittedly, it’s challenging to put into words because I feel that word more than I can describe it. Mercying feels to me like the crinkled pages of a book as you uncover a character’s story or the car windows down on a beautiful summer day. It feels like a moment when your body and your soul are so in sync. But unlike these moments ‘mercying’ is not fleeting. It’s here to stay, always moving, always fluid...

Spanish translation by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Traducción al español por las Hermanas de la Misericordia de las Américas

Elizabeth MacNeal is a Mercy Associate originally from Philadelphia, USA where she attended Merion Mercy Academy. Elizabeth previously worked as the Director of Marketing for Mercy Volunteer Corps before moving to Dublin, Ireland. Elizabeth often presents on topics including connectedness through Mercy, strategic leadership, digital marketing, and Art Journaling as spirituality. 

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