The Lenten season is a natural time to focus on acts of service, diving deeper into our faith journey as we prepare for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These liturgical observances point and guide us to love as Jesus loves and serve as he serves. They offer gentle lessons reinforcing the blessings experienced in giving and receiving mercy. Just as God’s divine mercy touches our pain and suffering on both the physical and spiritual levels, so our mercy towards others shows itself in both material and spiritual ways.  

My family has incorporated our participation in the 1,000,000 Acts of Mercy Challenge as part of our Lenten observation. For us, this means talking about and calling the corporal and spiritual works of mercy by name every day. It also means committing to complete at least one every day and holding each other accountable as we update our “Mercy Challenge Board.” By the end of each week, our board is full. We are each completing several acts a day – praying for others, forgiving offenses, comforting the afflicted. And, the best part is we are also teaching about the faith when we share what we are doing with others.  I feel pumped about this – we are doing great things, and I am sharing a key aspect of our faith with my family. 

And we are not alone. More than 100,000 Acts of Mercy have been submitted to date! The variety of acts and the participation efforts have come from children and adults from across our diocese, offering inspiration for all to join the challenge: 

Judy (St. Petersburg):
Judy has been a St. Anthony Hospital volunteer 8 years and ongoing.  She knits chemo caps for oncology and twiddle muffs for dementia patients. She visits in group sessions on Saturdays 2-3 times each month.  

Kamila (Riverview):
Kamila’s father lost more than 25 family members in the war at the Gaza Strip in 2024, and many other members were displaced and left homeless as they lost everything. She has been praying for peace, understanding, mercy, and healing for all who have suffered these types of losses.

Raelynn’s family (San Antonio):
The family of St. Anthony Catholic School prayed together using the Lenten prayer box their kindergartener brought home from their retreat.

Notre Dame Catholic School (Spring Hill):
Students and their families collected books for a boy's juvenile detention center.

Blessed Sacrament Catholic School (Seminole): 
15 sixth graders volunteered at Daystar in St. Petersburg. During the two-hour visit, they made bags of meats, produce, and USDA foods. The students also made PB&J sandwiches and spent time restocking shelves, breaking down boxes, and making snack bags for residents of St. Petersburg to pick up. These items will provide a meal to feed the hungry.

Nativity Parish (Brandon):
The parish is organizing an event for April 13 where volunteers are asked to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for the souls buried at Hillsborough Memorial Gardens (2323 West Brandon Blvd, Brandon) and place palms and flowers on places of rest.

The 1,000,000 Acts of Mercy Challenge continues through December 15, 2025. All are encouraged to participate, whether individually, as a family, small group, ministry, parish or school. Visit Mercy2025.org to share your Acts of Mercy today.