love instead of getting us stuck in horror and anger, and
sinking us
in hatred or self-pity. Obviously, evil is evil and
should be avoided,
unloved and atoned for. But we should never fail to make
it draw us to
the dynamics of love whose supreme act is mercy.
This is how God
has dealt with us who are all sinners. He
sent his Son to us out of mercy. The Son became man and
fully revealed
the true nature and love of God for us. Out of this great
love and
mercy of God for us, he finally offered his life on the
cross to set
us free from sin.
This should
also how we have to deal with our own
individual selves when we sin, and with one another when
others sin.
We have to train ourselves in this regard. Instead of
running away
from God in fear or shame when we sin, let’s rush to him
who will
always be forgiving. Instead of wasting time lamenting
over our
sinfulness and that of others, let’s be quick to give the
mercy of God
to ourselves and to others.
As Pope Francis
said in his document, Misericordiae vultus
(The face of mercy), mercy is who God is, who we are and
what brings
us together.
“Mercy: the
word reveals the very mystery of the Most Holy
Trinity. Mercy: the ultimate and supreme act by which God
comes to
meet us. Mercy: the fundamental law that dwells in the
heart of every
person who looks sincerely into the eyes of his brothers
and sisters
on the path of life. Mercy: the bridge that connects God
and man,
opening our hearts to a hope of being loved forever
despite our
sinfulness.”
In so many words,
the Pope is telling us that mercy is the
be-all and end-all of our existence. Mercy, of course, is
a great
mystery that can somehow be fathomed to the extent that
we identify
ourselves more closely with God in whose image and
likeness we have
been created.
We need to
develop it and grow in it, taking advantage of
the daily events and circumstances of our life. For
certain, we have
to prepare ourselves for the pain and suffering that will
be involved
in this endeavor.
In pursuit of
mercy, we cannot help but to deny ourselves.
Our pursuit for mercy cannot be separated from our effort
to identify
ourselves with Christ. And Christ told us to that follow
him, we have
to deny ourselves and carry the cross.
The cross can
be the pain and suffering involved in going
beyond our human limitations and weaknesses so we can
conform
ourselves to the supernatural life of God that is meant
for us. It can
also be the pain and suffering in tackling our sinfulness
and its
effects and consequences in us.
All this pain
and suffering that we have to go through
have already been taken up by Christ himself in his
passion and death.
This ultimate manifestation of his love and mercy for us
has taken
away the sting of our sin and death and converted it into
the way of
our salvation, if we also suffer and die with him.
We need to
appreciate more deeply the wisdom of this
divine logic and way of dealing with our sinfulness. By
suffering and
dying with Christ, there is no evil and sin that cannot
be forgiven.
We can also say
that by suffering and dying with Christ,
we will be creating a general atmosphere of love and
mercy that will
be the best antidote for all the sins of men and their
ugly
consequences—conflicts and division, envy, greed, pride,
vanity, etc.
There will be
greater harmony and understanding for one
another in spite of our unavoidable differences and
mistakes. Wounds,
personal or social, will be healed or at least, their
deterioration
arrested.
The world today
is in great need of mercy. Our differences
and conflicts are escalating precisely because people are
drifting
away from God. They are pursuing their own ideas of
truth, goodness
and justice, when all of these come from God and can be
known and
lived only in God.
We are getting
away from the ultimate fact that all truth,
goodness and justice are summarized in the mercy of God
that is shown
to us in Christ, and now taught and dispensed by the
Church.
It really would
be nice if in the face of all our problems
and sinfulness, we would be quick to ask for God’s mercy
and to give
it to one another.
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