Divine mercy is a promise.

Loving.

Infinite.

Dynamic.

Peaceful.

I am a pilgrim of mercy.

God isn't fixing this. That was the headline in the New York Daily News. It was emblazoned in huge white letters on the black cover of the magazine. Scattered around the cover were pictures of tweets offering thoughts and prayers for the victims of the latest mass shooting on American soil, which tragically left 14 dead in San Bernardino, California. "Our thoughts and prayers are with you." This phrase is part of our culture. First used by Queen Elizabeth II, Harry Truman, and Dwight Eisenhower in the middle of the 20th century, it has been used in response to all types of calamities from natural disasters to terrorist attacks. For 75 years, it has been customary for leaders of all types to express a promise of thoughts and prayers. And with the emergence of social media, it has become customary for ordinary people from all walks of life to post "Our thoughts and prayers are with you." But now, something else has become all too common. Understandably frustrated that these tragedies continue to occur, some people spend their time and energy denouncing and ridiculing the power of prayer. This type of criticism has come to be called prayer shaming.

Here are just a few examples of these types of messages in the wake of recent tragedies. "They were in church. They had the prayers shot right out of them. Maybe try something else." "Dear thoughts and prayers people, please shut up and slink away. You are the problem, and everyone knows it." "Prayer, how to do nothing and still think you're helping." "Ooh, it's prayers and condolences now. Well, that's way better than hashtag thoughts and prayers followed by zero action." "Hashtag thoughts and prayers aren't enough." First, it is important to acknowledge that the desire these messages convey for decisive action to prevent more tragedy is a good desire. As we hear in the letter of St. James, faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. Pope Francis once put it this way, "Prayer that doesn't lead to concrete action toward our brothers is a fruitless and incomplete prayer." Offering our thoughts and prayers does risk becoming a mere platitude if we don't pair it with love for our neighbor. And it certainly has no value if we simply tweet it out but never actually enter the classroom of silence to pray as we have promised. These messages also reveal the spiritual poverty of our culture. Extreme secularism banishes God and denies the need to feed the human soul. A person who is praying is therefore seen as doing nothing. Worse yet, that person is ridiculed and shamed for their prayer because some have decided prayer is unproductive and useless. Whether we realize it or not in the moment, these comments are diametrically opposed to Christianity. Throughout the gospels, we hear that Jesus went away to a quiet place to pray. Was Jesus wasting his time? I think not. Our culture is desperately in need of prayer and reflection. The meaning and purpose we hunger for will never be found by excluding spirituality. I honestly don't know how people live without prayer. I can tell the difference in myself on days when I don't pray. I'm less patient and more anxious. I give people the benefit of the doubt less and judge more. I think about myself more, and I'm less generous with other people. And the list goes on and on. I know for certain that prayer makes me a better friend, a better husband, father, brother, son, employer, and citizen. It is possible to mislive our lives, and our chances increase exponentially if we neglect prayer and reflection.

In the summer of 1845, Henry David Thoreau left Concord, Massachusetts, because he believed it had become too busy, too noisy, too distracting. He built himself a little hut out by Walden Pond and began a two-year experiment in simplicity. During his time in the woods, he wrote these words. "I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life. To put to route all that was not life and not when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." Thoreau has captured here some compelling reasons to pray. "I go to the woods of prayer each day because I want to live life deliberately. I pray because I want to live deeply and suck out all the marrow of life. I pray because I want to figure out what matters most and what is of little or no consequence. I pray because I do not want to come to die and discover that I have not lived."

I have tried life with and without prayer. With prayer is better. Life without prayer is unbearable. Without prayer, life doesn't make sense. I don't know how people live without prayer. I don't know how someone could remain sane in this crazy, noisy, busy world without a few minutes in the classroom of silence each day. But I understand why people don't pray. I see how it happens. Many have never been taught how to pray. Many have never been taught how to simply spend time with God. And the sheer busyness of our lives can be overwhelming. The spiritual poverty of our age is robbing us of the benefits of prayer. But it's also robbing everyone in our life of those benefits. And it's robbing everyone in our family trees. The seventh spiritual work of mercy, pray for the living and the dead. Every family in every generation needs a prayerful giant to cover their family in prayer. Would you steal from a dead person? Most people would consider it a profound moral failure to steal from the dead. To paint a clearer picture, if there was a dead man on the sidewalk and someone came up and stole his wallet and his watch, how would you regard that person? To deny the power of prayer is to steal from the dead because the denial ultimately leads less people to pray for their dead relatives and friends. When we slip into the secular belief that prayer is useless, we also deny those we love most in this world of the benefits of prayer. When was the last time you really prayed for someone? I mean every day by name and for specific intentions. That kind of prayer is powerful. I've been covered in that type of prayer and I know firsthand how very powerful it is. Give someone that gift and tell them you are praying for them by name every day. I've known the power of this type of prayer. Tony and Lorraine Grace were youth group leaders in my parish while I was growing up in Australia. We are praying for you by name every day. They told me this every time they saw me. They explained that they did morning prayer together each day, and then prayed for a list of people one at a time, each by name. That's commitment. That's consistency. They were prayerful giants. So many people have prayed for me and this ministry and their prayers have been the source of great strength and comfort.

There have been so many dark moments of discouragement in ministry over the years. And this darkness is usually experienced when you are far from the love and support of family and friends. The world says, "Prayer is useless." But your prayers can have a profound influence on other people and the outcomes of events. The world needs a new generation of the people of God who are prepared to abandon the materialism and secularism of these modern times. Men and women who know the value of a soul in the context of now and eternity. Men and women who are able to raise their eyes from the things of this world to the greater things of the next world. People who allow heaven and earth to meet each day in their prayer and in every activity of their lives. Will you be one of them? Mercy is always an invitation to a better life. Are you ready to embrace that better life? Trust, surrender, believe, receive.

50 million American Catholics have stopped going to mass over the past 30 years. If you think that is sad and tragic, I'm right there with you. If you think they have no idea what they are missing out on, I'm right there with you. And if you wish we could change that for future generations, our children and our grandchildren, I'm right there with you. Dynamic Catholic is incredibly excited to announce that we're creating a game-changing program that will transform the way Catholics, young and old, experience the mass forever. Nobody who experiences this program will ever say mass is boring ever again. Help us eradicate mass is boring from the Catholic vernacular. Click the button below, choose your welcome gift, and become a Dynamic Catholic Ambassador today. Have a great day and remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.

Eternal God.

In whom mercy is endless.

In the treasury of compassion and exhaustible.

Look kindly upon us.

And increase your mercy in us.

That in difficult moments–

We might not despair.

Nor become despondent.

But with great confidence–

Submit ourselves to your holy will.

Which is love and mercy itself.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

See you tomorrow.

Thank you, Ambassadors.

You are changing the world.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day!

Hey, Ralph. One of the best ways to be a pilgrim of mercy is to collaborate with God to create holy moments. So I figured while we have a couple of minutes, you could inspire our audience. So tell me, what is today's Holy Moment Challenge?

It is pray for the people who are having the hardest day of their life right now.