Fathoming God’s mercy

POPE Francis has been talking, almost ad nauseam, about

mercy and compassion. That seems to be the distinctive thrust of his

pontificate, and it is taking the world by storm.

            That’s because people today appear to be tired of hearing

what is right and wrong, and more so when they are told off with

condemnations and anathemas. They prefer to hear consoling words of

mercy and compassion, and the Pope is giving these to them in

abundance and with a flair for drama.

            I remember an Arab acquaintance who is not Catholic but is

married to one. He told me that he liked Pope Francis a lot because

the Pope is succeeding in relating himself well with the ordinary

people in the rawness of their actual conditions.

            This Pope, he said, talks to the heart of the people. He

does not scare them with highfalutin ideas, my Arab acquaintance

continued. He seems to have a likeable heart without detracting, of

course, from the brain, the Arab opined.

            I must say that I felt a bit uncomfortable with these

observations, because in the first place I don’t like to compare

Popes. I strongly believe that each has his own charism, given by God

for the good of all, and has been chosen to address a particular need

in some period of the life of the Church.

            I believe that the differences among the Popes are not

supposed to lead us to make judgments as to whether who is better than

the other, etc. I consider such exercise idle and dangerous.

            Of course, I agree that Pope Francis has managed to move

many hearts once frozen into indifference if not unbelief and

hostility. But we also have to listen to some sectors that have

certain reservations about this style of Pope Francis. Some of these

reservations are even expressed by highly placed ecclesiastics who are

equally concerned about what is truly good for the Church.

            There are those who say that this emphasis on mercy and

compassion tends to undermine truth and justice, that is, the very

teaching of Christ himself. That delicate issue, for example, of

allowing the divorced and remarried to receive communion—an issue that

was taken up in the recently concluded synod—is a case in point.

            To this fear expressed by some, the Pope has reassured us

that nothing of the sort is happening or is going to happen. He will

stick to what the previous Magisterium has already taught and

explained. He will be faithful, but at the same time open to new

things, as the Spirit prompts.

            This is what I think the Holy Father is trying to

accomplish. He is asking us to fathom some more the scope and range of

God’s mercy and compassion that obviously will involve a lot of

mystery that we need to unravel little by little. We have to be ready

for the God of surprises also.

            This, of course, is not going to be an easy task. It will

demand a lot of sacrifice, and prayer, and study and discussion and

consultation, etc. That’s why the Pope called for a synod, for one,

and has been asking everyone involved to open up with what he called

as parrhesia, that is, with candor.

            This is what is needed these days. We cannot be complacent

with what we, as of now, know is right and is clearly part of the will

of God for us. Let’s remember that what we know, even if we consider

it already to be very significant, is nothing compared with what we

still do not know, and much less, live. We should never be

self-satisfied.

            Let’s put complete trust in the thrust of Pope Francis. He

wants us to be bold and most prompt to discern the biddings of the

Holy Spirit who obviously can lead us to new horizons, new frontiers

and to still uncharted waters.

            Obviously, this exercise has to be done with utmost care

and caution, and out of prudence, should somehow be restricted and

limited first to those who truly are competent to handle it.

            It’s not for everyone to take active part, as of now.

Perhaps what everyone else can do to help is to pray and offer a lot

of sacrifices, and of course to do some study also so we can be more

enlightened about the issues involved.

            Perhaps, this is where I can put my two-cents—that Pope

Francis also would be more circumspect in making pronouncements so as

to avoid unnecessarily stirring the fears of some sectors that are not

yet ready to embark in this divine adventure.