As we celebrate Independence Day, I am conscious of the fact that many people are taking advantage of the summer months to get away. And, if your destination includes traveling abroad, you need to have your passport with you.
Well, here’s another kind of passport to take with you as you move about this summer: a Mercy Passport! The Archdiocese of Louisville, KY, has created and made available a Mercy Passport to encourage people to become intentionally conscious of opportunities to participate in works of mercy and to practice them in daily living. The passport offers suggestions and ideas for all ages, as well as resources for getting involved with programs in the wider Archdiocese and community that embody any number of the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. The other part of their passport project is encouraging parishioners, parishes, and schools to report on their works of mercy as a way of sharing best practices and ideas that may inspire others to discover ways of practicing works of mercy that they might not have thought of.
As we celebrate our freedom on this Independence Day, let us also recall that our freedom comes with the responsibility to care for the needs of others. May this passport idea be a way of inspiring all of us to travel beyond our comfort zones and reach out to others.
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