“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
Mt. 5: 7
The readings for today, as well as the recently celebrated saints (St. John Paul II, wahoo!) all point to the mercy of God. The antiphon for Morning Prayer says, “Lord, show us the radiance of your mercy”; and in the Office of Readings we are told that “The Father is merciful in all he does and full of generosity … In goodness and gentleness he gives his graces to those who approach him with undivided hearts.” So what is mercy? We all need it, we all have access to it; but what is it?
Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical, Rich in Mercy, speaks of God’s mercy in this way: “love is transformed into mercy when it is necessary to go beyond the precise norm of justice.” When translated into laymen’s terms, in justice, we as creatures have not done anything to deserve the love of God. And yet in Scripture we hear, “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jer 31: 3). This love that the Father longs to lavish on us is actually mercy, because in loving us, He goes beyond what is just; in other words, God loves us even though we don’t deserve His love. So the simplest definition of mercy is love that is undeserved. Therefore, every act of love shown to us by God is, in fact, mercy, because none of us deserve God’s love.
Some of us may think, well why are we so undeserving? This is an easy attitude to fall into. After all, many of us go to Mass as often as possible, we tithe 10% of our income, we volunteer at our local soup kitchens, etc. These are all good things, but they are not enough. The one thing we mustn’t forget is that we are all sinners in need of God’s mercy. No matter how many good deeds we do, we still sin. Every single day. And on our own we are not capable of anything – only the will of God holds us in existence. We don’t even breathe without God willing us to take the next breath! The Catechism tells us:
“God created us without us, but He did not will to save us without us.” To receive his mercy, we must admit our faults. “If we say we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
That’s pretty strong language. So, if in our pride and hardness of heart, we don’t admit our faults, we cannot receive any mercy from God. This is not because He doesn’t want to give it to us; He has plenty to spare. We prevent ourselves from accepting God’s mercy! This brings up two rather important questions: do we want mercy? And if we don’t, why?
There are usually only two reasons why we don’t want God’s mercy. One reason is that maybe we are over scrupulous and, focusing too much on our sin, we fall into despair, thinking ourselves unworthy of mercy. Guess what? We are! The problem here is self-focus and pride. In the painful awareness of our own imperfection, it becomes a huge temptation to dwell in our failures, forgetting what we should really be focusing on: God loves us anyway! Yes, we are miserable sinners, but we are also made in the image and likeness of the living God, who desires to restore His image and likeness in us through His merciful love. And when this God has decided to love us in spite of our sinfulness, who are we to say, “No, no, you can’t love me because I just don’t feel worthy enough”?
Another reason we might not desire God’s mercy could be on the opposite extreme. We might think, “Well, I’m not perfect, but it’s not as if I’ve murdered anyone or committed adultery … I don’t really need mercy because, well, I’m a good person.” Again, this is pride and self-focus, however subtle it might seem. We may as well be saying with the Pharisee, “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity —greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector.” Anyone who does not believe themselves in need of mercy should try going to confession on a regular basis or doing a daily examination of conscience.
Pope John Paul II addressed both these reasons beautifully, calling all of us to re-focus on the Lord:
“Who can say that he is free from sin and does not need God’s mercy? As people of this restless time of ours, wavering between the emptiness of self-exaltation and the humiliation of despair, we have a greater need than ever for a regenerating experience of mercy.”
“A regenerating experience of mercy.” Where do we find that? In the confessional. Confession brings us face to face with Jesus, the living image of the Father, who is Mercy itself. It is so important that we cultivate a deepening awareness of just how much we need this intimate experience! And each time we go to confession, the forgiveness and healing we receive is a part of that merciful regeneration.
Pope Francis says that confession “is an encounter with Jesus … who waits for us just as we are.” Whatever our reasons for putting off this personal meeting with the Lord, the Holy Father encourages us to never grow weary of asking the Lord for mercy:
“Now is the time to say to Jesus: ‘Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace.’ How good it feels to come back to him whenever we are lost! Let me say this once more: God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy.”
Jesus told St. Faustina, “I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart.” Once we begin to understand this incredible mercy, we will also start to realize all the little ways we fail to reflect this mercy to others. Our awakening to true knowledge of ourselves — that we deserve nothing — should lead us to praise of God for showing us mercy instead of condemnation.
Praise is the only appropriate response to God’s mercy. Today one of the antiphons for the Office of Readings echoes this: “Blessed be the Lord, for he has poured out his mercy upon me” and we pray in Morning Prayer “may every action of our lives praise you.”
As we begin another week together, striving for sanctity, let’s remember three things:
1. To pray for the grace to truly long for His mercy
2. To try to come to a deep recognition of our need for His mercy
3. To ask Him for that mercy.
Here are some practical ways to do that:
– Spend some time reflecting on your own sinfulness and try to make it to confession.
– For those who are all too aware of their failings: don’t give in to scrupulosity; instead focus on the Lord and praise Him for His mercy.
– For those who struggle with the idea that, even though they may be “good people,” they are still sinners in need of God’s mercy: beg for the grace to know your sins and to run to the confessional.
– Ask for His mercy each day, and trust that He wants to pour it out upon your life and all your intentions.
– Pray for the intercession of our great mercy Pope, St. John Paul II and the apostle of Divine Mercy, St. Faustina. They will help show you why and where you need God’s mercy most.
There is nothing more man needs than Divine Mercy –
that love which is benevolent, which is compassionate,
which raises man above his weakness
to the infinite heights to the holiness of God.
St. John Paul II
[1] Office of Readings, from a letter to the Corinthians by Saint Clement, Pope, p.
[2] Dives in Misericordia, pp. 5
[3] CCC, 1847
[4] Luke 18: 11
[5] Regina Caeli message, April 10, 1994
[6] Homily, April 29th, 2014.
[7] Evangelii Gaudium, pp. 3
[8] Diary, 1588.
[9] Shrine of Divine Mercy in Cracow, Poland, June 7, 1997
