Marian Helper Spring 2014

1.5 million top-quality Divine Mercy images, prayercards, pamphlets, and books. This ministry of mercy for the poor relies 100 percent on donations. (To learn more, visit giftofmercy.org.) Congregations that help distribute the materials have reported conver- sions through these Divine Mercy images. The second part of the new initiative includes street ministry led by Eric Mahl, a Marian lay aggregate who lived with and ministered to the homeless in Cleveland, Ohio, before joining the Marians last spring. The ministry’s task, says Eric, is to take the light of faith found at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy and introduce it into the lives of those in greatest spiritual and material need. “Our Lord is speaking to our hearts, telling us not to be simply a light in a room that’s already lit,” says Eric. “We want to be a light in someone’s darkness. We want to be a light in the darkness not so that we are seen, but so that people can see Christ .” Inspired by St. Faustina The ministry includes a number of young men, some of whom live and work with the Marians in Stockbridge. All of them, including Eric, have been called to service through the Divine Mercy revelations of St. Faustina, for whom glorifying Christ’s mercy became the exclusive task of her life. From a tender age, Faustina saw Jesus in the poor. For her — and for the Marian street ministers — those in greatest misery have first priority to God’s mercy. It’s Tuesday, Jan. 7, 4 a.m., outside the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy. The ministry van is warming up, the window defrosters blowing full blast. Eric and a young man named Lewis Brooks, who is discerning a religious vocation and living with the Marians in Stockbridge, have packed the vehicle with religious articles, coats, hats, socks, and gloves, and now they’re Boston bound. After a two-hour drive, the mission begins at the convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in the Dorchester section of Boston, where the two join the sisters of St. Faustina’s order for Holy Mass. “The sisters have taught us so much about the power of prayer,” says Eric. “There are so many needs in the world, and the sisters know they cannot physically address every need, but they always bring up how we need to pray, pray, and pray for God’s mercy.” Indeed, prayer. Taking mercy to the streets Even in Boston, one of America’s most well- to-do, well-kept cities, it takes little time to find a homeless person: a woman with scratches on her face, panhandling on Newbury Street; a Puerto Rican immigrant with a rosary around his neck, in ankle-high socks, waiting for a bus at the Boston Common and in search of a com- puter job. Most of the city’s homeless bounce from shelter to shelter. The Marian street ministers know that tidy, dramatic deliverances seldom present themselves, as evidenced with the case of Eloy and the many other men and women they’ll encounter this day. Some will thank them, even hug them, for the warm clothing and prayers. But rejection, such as Christ Himself experienced, is a hazard of the job. A man named David will yell at them as they minister to homeless who have taken shelter in a subway station. He’ll put his face up to theirs and say awful things about Jesus. Their choice is to either learn to love and pray and then leave things to God or to recoil and retreat to more comfortable climes. Their coat collars pulled up against the stiff wind, members of the Marians’ street minis- try decidedly eschew comfort. In the frost-bitten flats and canyons of Boston’s streets, powdery sheets of snow glide like giant air-hockey pucks. Even a font of holy water has frozen over in the vestibule of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, where they stop for a quick prayer. At noon, they meet with a young man named Patrick who joins them for the after- noon. In many unexpected ways, God has been providing the ministry with men who seek to serve. By dusk, their supply of coats, socks, hats, gloves, and prayercards is nearly depleted. Back at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy, they’ll bring the intentions of those they met before the Blessed Sacrament. They’ll pray for David especially. They’ll fill their hearts with the Holy Spirit. They’ll once again refill their van with hats, gloves, coats, and prayercards. It’ll be a long winter. Pray, pray, and pray. M arian H elper • S pring 2014 •  www.marian.org 17 M H They’re rolling now. Father Michael Gaitley, MIC, stands by a 15-passenger van donated to the Marians’ ministry for the poor last December by his sister’s family. Above, Fr. Michael is joined by his brother-in-law Mike and his nephews. C ourtesy of F r . M ichael G aitley , MIC Back to index