Mercy is a key word that indicates God’s action towards us. God does not limit God’s self merely to affirming God’s love, but makes it visible and tangible. Love, after all, can never be just an abstraction. By its very nature, it indicates something concrete: intentions, attitudes, and behaviors that are shown in daily living. The mercy of God is God’s loving concern for each one of us. God feels responsible; that is, God desires our wellbeing and God wants to see us happy, full of joy, and peaceful. This is the path that the merciful love of Christians must also travel. As the Father loves, so do his children. Just as God is merciful, so we are called to be merciful to each other. —Pope Francis, Misericordiae Vultus #9

My brother comforts our mother, thankful for the blessing of 93 years and the gift of a wonderful mom. –Debbie Ryan

Students pray and touch the cross during a reconciliation service in the Basilica.

Johnny Romano ’14 volunteered at the Holy Family Surgery Center near Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Kelly McGauley ’11 serves meals at the Manna Meals soup kitchen in downtown Detroit, Michigan, as part of the Center for Social Concerns’ Urban Plunge project.

Meg Towle ’07 holds Lebo, a 2-year-old HIV-positive orphan, at Touching Tiny Lives in Mokhotlong, Lesotho. Lebo died a few weeks after this photo was taken.

Students work with Big Creek People in Action to rehab a house in McDowell County, West Virginia on the Appalachia Seminar.

Students help sort clothes at the St. Vincent de Paul Society donation center in South Bend.

Students have their heads shave at LaFortune to raise money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a pediatric cancer research fundraising organization. Because kids with cancer often lose their hair during treatment, participants shave their heads in solidarity and invite family and friends to donate money to support childhood cancer research.

If you would like to share a photo, we welcome all contributions. Send photos (full-sized, please, and include a caption of less than 100 words) to Josh Noem, editor of FaithND. We will publish new entries here periodically, and we will also share entries on our social media accounts (Facebook and Twitter).