Beautiful Mercy is Ours

Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy. Mercy has become living and visible in Christ.

Mercy is;   

1. The wellspring of joy, serenity, and peace; salvation depends on it
2. The word reveals the very mystery of the Most Holy Trinity.
3. The ultimate and supreme act by which God comes to greet us.
4. The fundamental law that dwells in the heart of every person who looks sincerely into the eyes of brothers and sisters on the path of life.
5. The bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forever despite our sinfulness.

Pope Francis declared on December 8, 2015, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception 2016 to be the Year of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.  One of my favorite proclamations.

When faced with the gravity of sin, God responds with the fullness of His mercy.  Mercy will always be greater than any sin and no one can place limits on the love of God who is ever ready to forgive.  Pope Francis said, “ I will have the joy of opening the Holy Door on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. On that day, the Holy Door will become a Holy Door of Mercy through which anyone who enters will experience the love of God who consoles, pardons and instills hope. “

Eyes fixed on Jesus and his merciful gaze, we experience the love of the Most Holy Trinity.  Jesus’ mission was that of revealing the mystery of divine love in its fullness. “God is Love”       (1 John 8:7,16) John affirms this for the first and only time in the scriptures. Jesus’ life was based on love.  The signs he works, especially in the favor of sinners, the poor and the marginalized, the sick and the suffering are all meant to teach mercy.  Everything in Him speaks of mercy. Nothing of Him is devoid of compassion.

Matthew tells us in 9:36 that Jesus, seeing the crowd of people who followed him, realized that they were tired and exhausted, lost and without a guide, and He felt deep compassion for them.  On the basis of this compassionate love, he healed the sick who were presented to Him. (Matthew 15:37) and with just a few loaves of bread fed the enormous crowd. What moved Jesus in these situations was nothing more than mercy, which He read the hearts of those He encountered and responded to their deepest need.  

The calling of the Apostle Matthew is one of many examples presented within the context of mercy.  As Jesus passed by the tax collector’ booth He looked intently at Matthew. It was a look of mercy that forgave the sins of that man, a sinner, and a tax collector, whom Jesus chose-against the hesitation of the disciples to not become one of the twelve.

Saint Bede the Venerable writes that Jesus looked upon Matthew with merciful love and chose him;  miserando atque eligendo.  Pope Francis was so impressed by this writing that he chose it for his episcopal motto.

Pope Francis tells us that In the parables devoted to mercy, Jesus reveals the nature of God as of that of a Father who never gives up until He has forgiven the wrong and overcome rejection with compassion and mercy.  Giving examples of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the Prodigal Son. In these parables, God is always presented as full of joy, especially when He pardons. In them we find the core of the gospel and of our faith because mercy is presented as a force that overcomes everything, filling the heart with love and bringing consultation through pardon.

In the parable where Peter asks Jesus how many times we are to forgive (Matthew 18:22)  Jesus alludes to the fact of the need to forgive 7 x 70. Always forgive. The ruthless servant also portrays the same theme.  (Matthew 18:33-35) this is a profound teaching for all us as Jesus affirms that mercy is not only an action of the Father, it becomes a criterion for ascertaining who his true children are.  In short, we are called to show mercy because mercy has been shown to us. Pardoning offenses thus become the clearest expression of merciful love, and for us Christians, it is imperative that we display the same kind of mercy.  How hard it is to let go of anger, wrath, violence, jealousy, and revenge that we harbor in our hearts. Let us listen to the words of Jesus who made mercy a way of life and a criterion for the credibility of our faith.

As Matthew tells us (5:7) “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy”. Pope Francis decreed that “mercy is the keyword that indicated God’s action towards us.  He does not limit himself merely to affirm his love but makes it visible and tangible. By its very nature, it indicates intentions, attitudes, and behaviors that are shown in daily living.  The mercy of God is his loving concern for each one and every one of us. As our Father, he was to see us happy, full of joy and peace. This is the path which the merciful love of Christians must also travel.  As the Father loves, so do His children, Just as he is merciful, so we are called to love each other as God loves us and to be merciful to each other.” (Pope Francis, Misericordiae Vultus, Papal Bull on Jubilee of Mercy, April 11)