The Holy Spirit really does listen to us

The young man's first reading assignment.
This book will interest him because
James Delingpole is politically astute
as well as humorous.

Recently I went to Confession and my penance was, "Do an act of mercy." I suppose this is what Bergoglio recommends these days but without the age-old instructions on how to amend my life and assigning so many Our Fathers and Hail Marys, I was at a complete loss as to what I needed to do for my penance...plus I was inwardly whining, But that's soooo much wooork!

Father kindly suggested calling someone in a nursing home however, not knowing anyone in a nursing home, that wasn't an option. He then suggested that I do any act of mercy. ??? I suggested that perhaps I should make up with a close relative who had decided to stop speaking to me but knew that wouldn't work because they had, well, stopped speaking to me. I can't force them to speak to me. So what was I to do? On the way home I asked God for help, then forgot about it. 

The next day a situation presented itself as a definite solution. An 18 year-old young man where I work needed help navigating the computer there to access the paycheck screen and other information. That was not the act of mercy.