Stumbling into Grace
How We Meet God in Tiny Works of Mercy
by Mary Pezzulo
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Pub Date Apr 23 2021 | Archive Date Aug 19 2022
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Description
Mary Pezzulo intended to learn all about God through graduate studies in philosophy and Christian ethics, but serious illness ruined those plans and landed her young family in desperate straits. Despite chronic illness, deep poverty, blatant discrimination, and the cruelty she encountered, Pezzulo began tripping over God in the tiny works of mercy she offered to others and received herself. With striking candor and gritty faith she shows us how we also can meet God in the smallest acts of love.
When Pezzulo began her blog Steel Magnificat in 2016, she never imagined she would be writing so much about poverty, discrimination, abuse, or the loneliness of chronic illness. Nor did she realize that the corporal and spiritual works of mercy would bring stark clarity and unflinching hope to her life. She had moved to Steubenville, Ohio, to study philosophy and ethics so that she could teach people about Jesus and make the world a better place. She expected to find God in beautiful churches, inspiring books, and the spoken words of brilliant scholars. But when her life and professional ambitions crumbled around her, she entered a terrible darkness and floundered in desperate poverty, illness, and the lingering trauma of abuse.
In that dark time, Pezzulo began to know mercy, finding God in countless tiny acts. In Stumbling into Grace she shows how the works of mercy have become her anchor in turbulence and calm, piercing sorrow and ridiculous joy, overcoming despair and bringing enduring hope. Now she shares with you how to live the works of mercy in your own life.
· When Feeding the Hungry, keep in mind that the more needy the person you’re feeding is the more care you should take—these are the people who are most in need of hope and visible acts of love.
· Instructing the Ignorant begins withhelping people and forming good relationships because people are worth it.
· Giving Drink to the Thirsty can mean advocacy and charitable giving that support access to clean water for those throughout the world just as much as it means offering drinks to anyone who enters your home.
· Counseling the Doubtful starts with acknowledging that faith is bigger than all of us and that it’s not wrong to have questions, doubts, or to look at another faith to see if its beliefs and practices are closer to your spiritual longings.
· Clothing the Naked means restoring a sense of dignity to every part of a person by providing appropriate, comfortable, and good-looking clothing, and by protecting people from gossip and prejudice.
A Note From the Publisher
Pezzulo earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Otterbein University and studied philosophy at Franciscan University of Steubenville. She is the author of Meditations on the Way of the Cross.
Advance Praise
“A deeply personal, raw encounter with the Works of Mercy.”
Fr. Casey Cole, O.F.M.
Author of Called: What Happens after Saying Yes to God
“In a world that seems filled with new normals, strange challenges, and more people than ever carrying the heavy weights of illness, poverty, loneliness, displacement, and disillusionment, we may all find ourselves stumbling into grace and feeling ill-equipped as we do. This book is the helpful guide we need to stay focused on Christ, live, and serve within a world that is very different from the one most of us were born into.”
Elizabeth Scalia
Editor-at-large
Word on Fire Catholic Ministries
Author of Strange Gods
“This is an excellent resource for both committed and searching Catholics who want to live out their faith through the incarnate mercy of Jesus Christ. Mary Pezzulo is a provocative and trustworthy guide for just such an adventure.”
Timothy P. O'Malley
Director of McGrath Theology Online
McGrath Institute for Church Life
University of Notre Dame
“We need more work like Mary Pezzulo’s, rooted not just in the ideals of our faith tradition but in the lived experience of Catholic women, to accompany us on the spiritual adventure of being human. This book itself is a work of mercy.”
Jessica Mesman
Associate editor of The Christian Century
Author of Love and Salt
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781646800636 |
| PRICE | $15.95 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Angela T, Reviewer
Mary Pezzulo is a Catholic woman, with a young family. She lives in Steubenville, Ohio, where she had, at one time, hoped to study for a master’s degree in philosophy. She has a degree in English, but felt she wanted to learn more about faith, holiness, and God. Her plans came to very little when she became chronically ill with fibromyalgia. She, her husband, and little girl were living in poverty and it was during this time that her awareness of the goodness and grace of God increased enormously, leading to her desire to share her thoughts and belief with others.
I have to say that I am not a Catholic, but a member of the Church of England, so many of the things that the author wrote about were new to me. I was not aware of the Works of Mercy, but as a Christian, the actuality of them is completely familiar.
The author spent time on each of the Works of Mercy – Feed the Hungry, Instruct the Ignorant, Give Drink to the Thirsty, through to the fourteenth, Pray for the Living and the Dead. I think she dealt with each topic very well, using day to day examples from her life to illustrate how one can try to fulfil each Work of Mercy and in this way, “stumble into grace”. Each section showed how the author and her family had been the subject of the works of mercy in their lives. She then went on to give examples of how we, as Christians can fulfil God’s work. Each section ends with a prayer.
At the end of the book, there are addresses and websites that may be useful, and also details of the author’s blog. Obviously, the book is more relevant for American readers, but there is plenty here for anyone who wishes to think more about the Christian life, wherever they may live.
Maria G, Reviewer
Stumbling Into Grace: How We Meet God in Tiny Works of Mercy is a gem of a book. Author Mary Pezzulo offers a fount of wisdom for nurturing souls and nourishing bodies with her recommendations for spreading grace.
Pezzulo offers a first-hand account of the pain of poverty and how kind souls can help alleviate it. She does not shy away from tough issues such as spiritual abuse, but addresses them head-on in a refreshingly forthright manner.
Pezzulo's personal stories, such as those dealing with the threat of having one's water supply cut off, touch the heart and prick the conscience. She offers loving advice for addressing the needs of the most vulnerable among us.
This gifted author challenges us to do more--whether in the realm of corporal works of mercy such as feeding the hungry, or spiritual works of mercy such as comforting the afflicted. With Pezzulo as our guide, we can become more loving and more understanding of our neighbor.
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