NIAMH-MARIE BATSTONE
STAFF WRITER
Seven Corporal Works of Mercy, one weekend. This is the challenge that Project Mercy invites all students to engage in.
Project Mercy, led by the Warriors of the Word household for the second year in a row, will be performing the seven Corporal Works of Mercy in a series of events beginning Sept. 30.
Emily McMahon, one of the project’s coordinators, said, “It’s a crazy thing to go to downtown Steubenville and to just interact with people one-on-one, and see what their situation is, and where they’re coming from, and just see how the hand of mercy itself plays in everybody’s lives.”
The weekend will be starting with clothing the naked at the Samaritan House from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 30.
“It’s a ministry that the TOR Sisters on campus run in downtown Steubenville … Part of (Project Mercy) is … just raising awareness around campus about the different ministries … and getting students involved, and excited, and participating,” said McMahon.
From there, students will be heading to the homeless shelter in town from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., for the “Shelter the Homeless” event. “I think my favorite (event) last year was… the night that we spent at the homeless shelter,” said McMahon. “We were just talking with them and playing Uno, and then somebody brought their guitar, and there was singing… and we had A LOT of fun.”
The next day, Oct. 1, will be the “Comfort the Imprisoned” event from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
“(W)e write letters for people in prison and then they get sent off,” said McMahon. The letters will be anonymously assigned.
After that, students are heading to Urban Mission for the combined “Feed the Hungry” and “Give Drink to the Thirsty” event from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Students will be making a meal for local patrons.
“I think that it’s honestly a really practical guide… this is how you can live a Christian life. This is what it’s supposed to look like, this is what you’re supposed to do…if you’re ever sitting there like ‘Wow, what can I do to be a better person?’ this is a great way to go,” said McMahon.
The third and final day of Project Mercy is Sunday, Oct. 2. For the “Bury the Dead” event that kicks off the last day, students are going down to the local cemetery from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
McMahon explained: “We’re going to pray the rosary there, and then last year we had flowers, and on a little piece of paper they had written on them ‘Franciscan University students prayed for your loved ones today’ and we left them on some of the grave sites there.”
From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., students will be visiting one of the nursing homes in downtown Steuben-ville for the “Care for the Sick” event.
Finally, at 4 p.m., there will be a Divine Mercy Chaplet back on campus to wrap up the weekend’s events.
“I think the goal is just that every person who comes, whether it’s five people or 25 people… that everybody’s able to just participate and get something out of it,” said McMahon. “That would be the ultimate goal; everybody learning, and growing, and challenging themselves.”
Max Crean and Caroline Durand are co-coordinating the event.