Sunday, April 18, 2004
Feast of Mercy
Today was the Feast of Divine Mercy.
Mercy is core to the Christian belief. The Father gave us Jesus because of his mercy. Jesus died on the cross because of his mercy. His teachings are filled with it. The Good Samaritan, who had mercy on a stranger who belonged to an enemy people.The merciful father, who welcomed his prodigal son home and told his irritated other son to chill out; the man who was merciful and paid full days wages for those who only worked an hour.
Mercy is not meant just to be from God to us...we do are to reflect his mercy around us. Look at the parable of the servant who was forgiven much, but chose not to forgive his fellow servant. We are encouraged to do good to those who dislike us, who are not our friends, because even the tax collectors (that group who was a byword for exploitive behavior) love their friends - and we are called to a much higher standard.
We are called to always act mercifully, reflecting our Lord, who, according to St. Faustina, has an ocean of mercy to pour on the world. Today would be a good day to think of ways to be a channel for that mercy, by our actions, deeds, prayers, lifestyle.
There are so many ways to do this, from small everyday matters (smiling at the frazzled, tired sales clerk, surprising your teen when they expect you to yell) to major things (donations to major causes, volunteer work, political campaigning.)
Mostly I suspect, it's based on a lifestyle of choices...a pattern of decisions based on following Jesus...and that's always a good route to follow.
But who knows what ripples the choices you make will have...every time we act with mercy, we give God the glory. Mother Teresa picked up a dying man, and look what that led to...St. Therese decided to be nice as possble to the most irritating and hard to please of her convent sisters, and her little way has effected the lives of untold numbers. St. Maximillian Kolbe had mercy on a poor and frightened man, and his martyrdom became a major example of how to live like Christ. But for most of us, our acts of mercy will never be written up, but their effects will echo far further than we dare dream, because this is the work of the Lord.
Today was the Feast of Divine Mercy.
Mercy is core to the Christian belief. The Father gave us Jesus because of his mercy. Jesus died on the cross because of his mercy. His teachings are filled with it. The Good Samaritan, who had mercy on a stranger who belonged to an enemy people.The merciful father, who welcomed his prodigal son home and told his irritated other son to chill out; the man who was merciful and paid full days wages for those who only worked an hour.
Mercy is not meant just to be from God to us...we do are to reflect his mercy around us. Look at the parable of the servant who was forgiven much, but chose not to forgive his fellow servant. We are encouraged to do good to those who dislike us, who are not our friends, because even the tax collectors (that group who was a byword for exploitive behavior) love their friends - and we are called to a much higher standard.
We are called to always act mercifully, reflecting our Lord, who, according to St. Faustina, has an ocean of mercy to pour on the world. Today would be a good day to think of ways to be a channel for that mercy, by our actions, deeds, prayers, lifestyle.
There are so many ways to do this, from small everyday matters (smiling at the frazzled, tired sales clerk, surprising your teen when they expect you to yell) to major things (donations to major causes, volunteer work, political campaigning.)
Mostly I suspect, it's based on a lifestyle of choices...a pattern of decisions based on following Jesus...and that's always a good route to follow.
But who knows what ripples the choices you make will have...every time we act with mercy, we give God the glory. Mother Teresa picked up a dying man, and look what that led to...St. Therese decided to be nice as possble to the most irritating and hard to please of her convent sisters, and her little way has effected the lives of untold numbers. St. Maximillian Kolbe had mercy on a poor and frightened man, and his martyrdom became a major example of how to live like Christ. But for most of us, our acts of mercy will never be written up, but their effects will echo far further than we dare dream, because this is the work of the Lord.
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