Forever Grateful for
MERCY
Mercy is totally unmerited but must lead
to repentance and change of life.
Dr. Ralph Martin
W
e certainly have been hearing a
lot about mercy in recent years.
It began with a grassroots movement of
people all over the world who have been
inspired by the revelations Jesus made to
And, of course, this grassroots movement was given a powerful impetus when
St. John Paul II canonized St. Faustina
and instituted a major liturgical feast on
the first Sunday after Easter, now called
Divine Mercy Sunday.
When Pope Francis was elected, another great impetus was given to the emphasis
on mercy. Pope Francis often talks about
mercy, exhorting us to always “lead with
mercy” in all our actions. He declared the
time between the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in 2015 and the Feast of
Christ the King just before Advent of 2016
as a Jubilee Year of Mercy.
What Does Scripture Say?
On the popular level, though, there
is seldom a clear understanding of what
mercy really is and what kind of response
to mercy is necessary for it to be effective
in our lives. For example, when the word
mercy is spoken, many associations can
come to mind: second chances, overlooking sins, not being legalistic, the list could
go on. While all of these could be seen
the Polish mystic St. Faustina Kowalska
about the greatness of God’s mercy. It
is hard to find a church these days that
doesn’t have an image of the Divine Mercy
displayed somewhere.
as related to a proper understanding of
mercy, greater clarity would be helpful
if we are really to benefit from this emphasis—and not be deceived about what
mercy really is.
So, where do we get our best understanding of mercy? God reveals it to us in
Sacred Scripture.
There is a striking passage in the first
letter of John that tells us from where we
get our understanding of love. As we shall
see, mercy is really a dimension of love:
“In this way the love of God was revealed
to us: God sent his only Son into the
world so that we might have life through
him. In this is love: not that we have loved
God, but that he loved us and sent his
Son as expiation for our sins” (9-10).
It is from contemplating his love for
us that we come to understand what true
love and true mercy are.
Another scripture passage that Pope
Francis and St. John Paul II have used to
introduce their most important writings
on mercy is Ephesians 2:1-10. There are
amazing things here.
You were dead because of your sins
and offenses, as you gave allegiance to
the present age and to the prince of
the air, that spirit who is even now at
work among the rebellious. All of us
were once of their company; we lived
at the level of the flesh, following every whim and fancy, and so by nature
deserved God’s wrath like the rest. But
God is rich in mercy; because of his
great love for us he brought us to life
with Christ when we were dead in sin.
By this favor you were saved. . . . This
is not your own doing, it is God’s gift;
neither is it a reward for anything you
have accomplished, so let no one pride
himself on it.
This passage gets us to the very heart of
the Gospel. Here is where we discover the
essential characteristic of mercy: It is totally unmerited! It is not given as a reward for
anything. It is not given because we have
become worthy of it. It is not given because we have earned it—just the opposite.
It is given just because God has decided
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