Prayer, fun, entertainment, and fellowship. This is the essence of the Festival of Mercy, now in its fifth year at the Glenmary Home Missioners headquarters in Cincinnati. “It’s a neighborhood festival, very simple, free to all, to celebrate our neighbors. This is a way to invite African-Americans and Latinos who live in our neighborhood, many who are not Catholic, to celebrate with us,” says Father Steven Pawelk, second vice president of the Glenmary Home Missioners.
Celebrated the last Sunday of April, the Festival includes Spanish and Vietnamese foods, participation by the Knight of Columbus, a bounce house, games, and door prizes. “We do the Divine Mercy prayer, pray the rosary, have a Fatima statue, and have confessions all day long,” Father Steve states.
For Father Steve, “one of the main characteristics of Jesus Christ is that He is merciful, our sins are forgiven, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done or what you look like, God is gracious. In an ugly world, there is a place for mercy, a place for hope, a place for belonging,” Father Steve says.
Rather than focus on God’s judgment “we judge ourselves worse than God will ever judge us. It’s God’s mercy that opens the door for us, through mercy all are welcome. In a world today where the right, the left, and the middle judge everybody, and where there is little room for dialogue, mercy is really needed,” the priest continues.
Referencing St. Faustina Kowalska’s image of Divine Mercy — red and pale blue rays of light emanating from Christ’s heart — Father Steve says, “I have seen that Divine Mercy image of Jesus in many Protestant churches in the South. People don’t always understand the rainbow image but say they like it. It just speaks of the lights of hope. That’s Christ looking down upon us.”
“When you live in a world of judgement and when you deal with the judgement we place upon each other — who’s a good person, who’s a bad person — we need a place where we can hear who we really are and how much God cares and loves us.”
Wanting to share God’s mercy with others motivated Father Steve into entering Glenmary. “My hope is to help others see God’s mercy, grace, and love through the Eucharist, through confession, through fellowship. Sometimes we feel excluded, that we don’t fit in and so, I want to show that God has a place for everyone. When we enter that sacred space we become a new family, we find new bonds and new hopes.”
That truth encircles the Festival of Mercy. “You see people of different races, backgrounds, creeds smiling, eating food together, and praying together. One of the rosaries we do is a multilingual rosary in Swahili, English, Vietnamese, and Spanish. Praying that together in different languages is a very bonding experience,” Father Steve notes.
-Mary Ellen Pellegrini
