{"id":2080,"date":"2007-11-15T11:46:00","date_gmt":"2007-11-15T11:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2007\/11\/honk-if-you-love-divine-mercy.html"},"modified":"2007-11-15T11:46:00","modified_gmt":"2007-11-15T11:46:00","slug":"honk-if-you-love-divine-mercy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/11\/honk-if-you-love-divine-mercy.html","title":{"rendered":"Honk if you love Divine Mercy!"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> A Cleveland Catholic has been promoting an unusual kind of ministry for the last several years — and it’s caught the attention of a lot of motorists. Now, it’s also caught the attention of the Catholic Moment<\/a> newspaper: <\/p>\n

Joe Cannon, 83, wants to deliver the Divine Mercy message to as many people as possible, including motorists heading toward Indianapolis on U.S. Highway 421 south and U.S. Highway 136 east.<\/p>\n

In 2002, he launched a billboard campaign in his home of Cleveland, Ohio, featuring an image of Christ as the Divine Mercy. To date, about 590 billboards have gone up in 11 states.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to bring Jesus into the streets, where he should be,\u201d Cannon said. \u201cI want people to see him. When people are driving down the street, I want them to yell, \u2018There\u2019s Jesus!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Ten billboards went up in the Indianapolis area Oct. 29, to be displayed through Nov. 25. <\/p>\n

A former traveling salesman who went on to be a Cleveland city councilman, Cannon first heard the Divine Mercy message in 1992 while listening to a speech. He was inspired to start handing out pamphlets about Divine Mercy in his parish, Our Lady of Good Counsel in Cleveland. <\/p>\n

In 1996, he commissioned a 32-foot tall, 16-foot wide banner with an image of the Divine Mercy on it and had it displayed in Cleveland\u2019s public square.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve known Joe for the last 25 years,\u201d said Father Leroy J. Moreeuw, CPPS, pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, who blessed the banner. \u201cI\u2019ve been here at the parish for the last 12 years, and Joe has been a daily communicant. He\u2019s just a good, solid Catholic man.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has really made this billboard project his apostolate,\u201d Father Moreeuw said. \u201cI think it keeps him young. He has carried his banner in more than 50 parades and at the March for Life. He is a great promoter of the Divine Mercy \u2014 Lord knows that we need it. He is always trying to get his billboards into new areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The billboards give Cannon\u2019s name and an 800-number to call. He says that when people see the image on his billboards, they want to know more. Some call to tell him their stories, while others are interested in getting billboards in their area. Everyone who calls receives literature from Cannon on the Divine Mercy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve received more than 900 phone calls in response to the billboards,\u201d Cannon said. The billboards have been in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York, Minnesota, South Dakota, California, Texas, Colorado, Kansas and, now, Indiana.<\/p>\n

The second phone call Cannon ever received was from a woman whose son had been murdered. She had seen a Divine Mercy billboard and wanted to know why he had put it up. Cannon said he was trying to get the message out, and that particular spot was available. <\/p>\n

The woman said her son had died on the spot where the billboard stood. She had been praying to Jesus Christ for a sign that her son was in heaven and she saw the billboard as her sign.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal in life is to bring Jesus out into the open where everyone can see him,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been hiding him for too long. Don\u2019t get me wrong. It\u2019s great to have the image in the churches, but we also need it out in the streets for people to see him who wouldn\u2019t normally see him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Billboards can cost from $350 up to $2,500, depending on the location and other factors. Funding comes from items sold on Cannon\u2019s Web site, an annual party and private donations. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Curious for more information? Check out Cannon’s website.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Cleveland Catholic has been promoting an unusual kind of ministry for the last several years — and it’s caught the attention of a lot of motorists. Now, it’s also caught the attention of the Catholic Moment newspaper: Joe Cannon, 83, wants to deliver the Divine Mercy message to as many people as possible, including…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration","category-this-and-that"],"yoast_head":"\nHonk if you love Divine Mercy! - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/11\/honk-if-you-love-divine-mercy.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Honk if you love Divine Mercy! - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Cleveland Catholic has been promoting an unusual kind of ministry for the last several years — and it’s caught the attention of a lot of motorists. 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