CCL and the Year of Mercy: January

We continue our prayer campaign in this Year of Mercy by remembering how the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines mercy: “The loving kindness, compassion, or forbearance shown to one who offends (i.e., the mercy of God to us sinners).” In the spirit of that definition, as we pray monthly for mercy in various areas we, then, are not asking for prayers or grace in general but specifically for the grace of mercy, which involves forgiveness.

This month we pray for everyone who would benefit from learning NFP but who have rejected it in some way, such as:

– Those who have heard of NFP but dismiss it before investigating it or learning anything about it
– Catholics, in particular, who know the Church teaches against contraception, but choose not to investigate NFP or why the Church teaches what it does
– Those who share outdated knowledge (e.g., equate NFP with the Rhythm Method), thus contributing to others not learning NFP

The people we are praying for this month are, most likely, not aware they need God’s mercy in this area of their lives. All of us have blind spots where we are not aware that we need God’s mercy. Some may think ignorance is bliss, but when it comes to the spiritual life ignorance can only harm us. When we are not aware of our sin we cannot ask for forgiveness and we cannot change. Our growth to become the men and women God created us to be is hindered. As we pray for January’s intention, may we also ask God to reveal to us the areas in our own lives where we are blinded to sin.

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Don’t forget to let us know how you are praying! We are creating a spiritual bouquet that (we hope) will have a multitude of flowers in it from all of our prayers. Each email report we receive of prayers said becomes a heart “flower” in our bouquet. Here’s the progress we’ve made so far, but we know that we can do much, much better. Please tell your friends and family about our prayer campaign and invite them to pray along with us. Please contact Sarah with your prayer efforts at sdrew@ccli.org.

This year we are given a special opportunity to ask for and receive God’s mercy in our lives and for the good of the whole world. Let’s celebrate the Year of Mercy by ardently praying for what is most sorely needed in our world: an education in love.

December’s intention: For ourselves
Official Jubilee Year of Mercy website