Mercy in the City: How to Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Visit the Imprisoned, and Keep Your Day Job

by Kerry Weber

Overview

When Jesus asked us to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, and visit the imprisoned, he didn’t mean it literally, right? Kerry Weber, a modern, young, single woman in New York City sets out to see if she can practice the Corporal Works of Mercy in an authentic, personal, meaningful manner while maintaining a full, robust, regular life. Weber, a lay Catholic, explores the Works of Mercy in the real world, with a gut-level honesty and transparency that people of urban, country, and suburban locales alike can relate to. Mercy in the City is for anyone who is struggling to live in a meaningful, merciful way amid the pressures of “real life.”

For those who feel they are already overscheduled and too busy, for those who assume that they are not “religious enough” to practice the Works of Mercy, for those who worry that they are alone in their efforts to live an authentic life, Mercy in the City proves that by living as people for others, we learn to connect as people of faith.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780829438925
Publisher:	Loyola Press
Publication date:	01/14/2014
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Kerry Weber is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York and Providence College in Rhode Island. Kerry has worked as an associate editor for Catholic Digest, a staff reporter for The Greenwich Post and The Catholic Observer, and a producer and reporter for the television news magazine Real to Reel. After college she volunteered for one year with the Mercy Volunteer Corps, serving as a special-education teacher in St. Michaels, Arizona on the Navajo Nation.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

Chapter 1 In which I host the Third Annual Sunnyside Pancake Day Spectacular 1

Chapter 2 In which I wonder whether I should have given a homeless man my tuna sandwich 7

Chapter 3 In which I am hungry, crabby, and grateful on Ash Wednesday 15

Chapter 4 In which I consider the meaning of sacrifice 19

Chapter 5 In which I am compared to a telekinetic, killer prom queen 23

Chapter 6 In which I pull a sandwich cart with Jesús 29

Chapter 7 In which I witness a modern-day transfiguration 33

Chapter 8 In which I am advised where "not to meet men" 37

Chapter 9 In which I contemplate my early fashion sense and my current clutter 43

Chapter 10 In which I realize I don't need as many clothes as I thought 49

Chapter 11 In which I ignore a homeless man and converse with a homeless man 57

Chapter 12 In which I contemplate the rules for riding the subway 63

Chapter 13 In which I consider the meaning of hospitality and homelessness 67

Chapter 14 In which I am mistaken for spicy Indian food 71

Chapter 15 In which I attend the stations of the cross 77

Chapter 16 In which I spend St. Patrick's Day surrounded by water 83

Chapter 17 In which I avoid thrusting cups at runners 89

Chapter 18 In which I attempt to create a Lent-appropriate date 95

Chapter 19 In which I get into prison in California, twice 101

Chapter 20 In which I talk about death row and St. Dismas with a prison chaplain 107

Chapter 21 In which I discuss faith and Midwestern friendliness with several inmates 115

Chapter 22 In which I learn not to make assumptions about who is sick 121

Chapter 23 In which I carry a cross and go on the world's most pious date 127

Chapter 24 In which I go to a cemetery to remember that I'm alive 131

Chapter 25 In which I get locked out of the church while trying to help people enter it 137

Epilogue: In which I end and begin my journey in mercy 147

Acknowledgments 151

About the Author 153

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Kerry Weber is one of the liveliest, brightest, most provocative and most articulate voices on the Catholic scene today.  With stories that are both profound and lighthearted (and often at the same time) her marvelous new book will help you locate mercy in your daily life.  This is that rare book that will indeed make you laugh and cry, but also pray and serve.  Highly recommended."
- James Martin, SJ author of My Life with the Saints and Jesus: A Pilgrimage

"With wit and wisdom, Kerry Weber  explores what mercy means in the everyday world. Her clear, spare style  reaches the heart and makes one seek just one more brief chapter before putting the book down. Weber focuses on Lent, but this literary treat holds  nuggets for all year long."
- Sister Mary Ann Walsh
Sister of Mercy of the Americas
Director of Media Relations, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

"This engaging book will take you to the heart of what it means to try to practice mercy in a cruel world. It helps us to remember that so much of what we take for granted -- food, water to drink, clothing, and shelter -- are a luxury to many, even in a land of plenty. From a soup line and homeless shelter to death row on San Quentin, the author makes us see the humanity of those we'd prefer to ignore. And if you're looking for a book that cites both Basil the Great and 'The Muppets Take Manhattan,' this is for you!"

- Kathleen Norris, author of The Cloister Walk and Acedia and Me

"If 'change the world' is on your to do list, then Mercy in the City should be on your reading list. Kerry Weber's work is instructive, inspirational, filled with heart, and -- perhaps most importantly -- destined to rock your world. If you've ever desired to be Christ to those in need, but didn't quite know how to make it happen in the context of a busy schedule, this is the book for you!"
- Lisa M. Hendey, author of The Grace of Yes and founder of CatholicMom.com

"You feel hopeful, excited and inspired about Lent after reading her book. Moreover, you want to try and complete the Corporal Works of Mercy just like Kerry does. Her honesty about the challenges she faced and the realizations she reached is refreshing to read."
- Melissa Stevens, Catholic Relief Services

 “Kerry Weber’s Mercy in the City is a must-read book for any contemporary Christian, but especially those in their twenties or thirties, looking to connect with their faith in a practical way. Like Pope Francis, who has called us to refocus on the mercy of God, Weber makes this central Gospel principle tangible with her relatable, insightful, and at times humorous delivery. You will love this book and be challenged by it too!”
-- Daniel P. Horan, OFM, author, The Last Words of Jesus: A Meditation on Love and Suffering 

Editorial Reviews

02/24/2014
Though titled "how to," Weber's first book is really a reflection on mercy in modern life. Weber, managing editor of America magazine, takes on the seven corporal works of mercy—traditional religious duties such as feeding the hungry and burying the dead—as a practice during Lent, a convenient framework for the book. Each short, easy-to-read chapter contains a Lenten experience and a lesson learned from it, from volunteering in a homeless shelter to visiting a prison. In the book, she goes from breadline to daily Mass, sponsors a woman joining the Catholic Church, and makes a public commitment to Catholicism by becoming a Mercy Associate, a lay minister. As a young single woman living in New York, though, she also jokes about dating during Lent and is candid about her doubts and failures. Weber's insistence that she isn't a perfect Catholic may seem exaggerated to some, but young Catholics concerned with social justice may relate to the guilt she feels for not doing more. She learns, after all, that the works of mercy are not a to-do list, easily explained in a how-to manual, but a way of life. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Kerry Weber is one of the liveliest, brightest, most provocative and most articulate voices on the Catholic scene today.  With stories that are both profound and lighthearted (and often at the same time) her marvelous new book will help you locate mercy in your daily life.  This is that rare book that will indeed make you laugh and cry, but also pray and serve.  Highly recommended.

 

James Martin

In her concise, quick moving, and often funny book, Weber chronicles her experience of giving up sweets, alcohol, and - the real kicker- trying to complete all the corporal works of mercy in the 40(ish) days before Easter.

US Catholic Magazine

If you take even one thing away from this book, you’ll be a better person and a better Catholic.

Our Sunday Visitor

There is a renewed spirit of service sweeping through the Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Francis -- and Mercy in the City is a simply wonderful expression of how to go about carrying out that commission to service in the contemporary world of today.
 

Midwest Book Review

If 'change the world' is on your to do list, then Mercy in the City should be on your reading list. Kerry Weber's work is instructive, inspirational, filled with heart, and -- perhaps most importantly -- destined to rock your world. If you've ever desired to be Christ to those in need, but didn't quite know how to make it happen in the context of a busy schedule, this is the book for you!

CatholicMom.com - Lisa M. Hendey

Kerry Weber’s Mercy in the City is a must-read book for any contemporary Christian, but especially those in their twenties or thirties, looking to connect with their faith in a practical way. Like Pope Francis, who has called us to refocus on the mercy of God, Weber makes this central Gospel principle tangible with her relatable, insightful, and at times humorous delivery. You will love this book and be challenged by it too!

Daniel P. Horan

Though Catholic in tradition, Weber’s book is catholic in spirit, that is, it provides a vision of everyday saintliness lived out by one who sees herself as being far from saintly. This is its strength and its inspiration.
 

Bruce Epperly

Weber strives to be a contemplative in action, a person who finds God in all things, and who seeks out the liturgical practices of the Church to nourish the desire to give of herself in imitation of Christ. This sister in faith can help to strengthen those who are still finding their way in the Church, or perhaps who have even lost their way for a time. Mercy, she reminds us, is at the heart of Jesus’ mission.
 

Tim Muldoon

With wit and wisdom, Kerry Weber explores what mercy means in the everyday world. Her clear, spare style reaches the heart and makes one seek just one more brief chapter before putting the book down. Weber focuses on Lent, but this literary treat holds nuggets for all year long.

Sr. Mary Ann Walsh

This engaging book will take you to the heart of what it means to try to practice mercy in a cruel world. It helps us to remember that so much of what we take for granted -- food, water to drink, clothing, and shelter -- are a luxury to many, even in a land of plenty. From a soup line and homeless shelter to death row on San Quentin, the author makes us see the humanity of those we'd prefer to ignore. And if you're looking for a book that cites both Basil the Great and 'The Muppets Take Manhattan,' this is for you!
 

Kathleen Norris

You feel hopeful, excited and inspired about Lent after reading her book. Moreover, you want to try and complete the Corporal Works of Mercy just like Kerry does. Her honesty about the challenges she faced and the realizations she reached is refreshing to read.

Melissa Stevens

"Kerry Weber is one of the liveliest, brightest, most provocative and most articulate voices on the Catholic scene today.  With stories that are both profound and lighthearted (and often at the same time) her marvelous new book will help you locate mercy in your daily life.  This is that rare book that will indeed make you laugh and cry, but also pray and serve.  Highly recommended."
- James Martin, SJ author of My Life with the Saints and Jesus: A Pilgrimage

"With wit and wisdom, Kerry Weber  explores what mercy means in the everyday world. Her clear, spare style  reaches the heart and makes one seek just one more brief chapter before putting the book down. Weber focuses on Lent, but this literary treat holds  nuggets for all year long."
- Sister Mary Ann Walsh
Sister of Mercy of the Americas
Director of Media Relations, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

"This engaging book will take you to the heart of what it means to try to practice mercy in a cruel world. It helps us to remember that so much of what we take for granted -- food, water to drink, clothing, and shelter -- are a luxury to many, even in a land of plenty. From a soup line and homeless shelter to death row on San Quentin, the author makes us see the humanity of those we'd prefer to ignore. And if you're looking for a book that cites both Basil the Great and 'The Muppets Take Manhattan,' this is for you!"

- Kathleen Norris, author of The Cloister Walk and Acedia and Me

"If 'change the world' is on your to do list, then Mercy in the City should be on your reading list. Kerry Weber's work is instructive, inspirational, filled with heart, and -- perhaps most importantly -- destined to rock your world. If you've ever desired to be Christ to those in need, but didn't quite know how to make it happen in the context of a busy schedule, this is the book for you!"
- Lisa M. Hendey, author of The Grace of Yes and founder of CatholicMom.com

"You feel hopeful, excited and inspired about Lent after reading her book. Moreover, you want to try and complete the Corporal Works of Mercy just like Kerry does. Her honesty about the challenges she faced and the realizations she reached is refreshing to read."
- Melissa Stevens, Catholic Relief Services

 “Kerry Weber’s Mercy in the City is a must-read book for any contemporary Christian, but especially those in their twenties or thirties, looking to connect with their faith in a practical way. Like Pope Francis, who has called us to refocus on the mercy of God, Weber makes this central Gospel principle tangible with her relatable, insightful, and at times humorous delivery. You will love this book and be challenged by it too!”
-- Daniel P. Horan, OFM, author, The Last Words of Jesus: A Meditation on Love and Suffering 

"Though Catholic in tradition, Weber’s book is catholic in spirit, that is, it provides a vision of everyday saintliness lived out by one who sees herself as being far from saintly. This is its strength and its inspiration."
-- Bruce Epperly, Living A Holy Adventure

 "Weber strives to be a contemplative in action, a person who finds God in all things, and who seeks out the liturgical practices of the Church to nourish the desire to give of herself in imitation of Christ. This sister in faith can help to strengthen those who are still finding their way in the Church, or perhaps who have even lost their way for a time. Mercy, she reminds us, is at the heart of Jesus’ mission."
- Tim Muldoon, author of The Ignatian Workout

"In her concise, quick moving, and often funny book, Weber chronicles her experience of giving up sweets, alcohol, and - the real kicker- trying to complete all the corporal works of mercy in the 40(ish) days before Easter."
- US Catholic Magazine

"If you take even one thing away from this book, you’ll be a better person and a better Catholic."
- Our Sunday Visitor

"There is a renewed spirit of service sweeping through the Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Francis -- and Mercy in the City is a simply wonderful expression of how to go about carrying out that commission to service in the contemporary world of today."
- Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher