Works of Mercy

Here is a nice piece discussing the nature of Divine Mercy by Robert Stackpole:

According to the first epistle of St. John (4:8) "God is love." He is infinite, eternal, self-giving love within His own being, among the three persons of the Blessed Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. From all eternity, therefore, within His own infinite essence, He enjoys the fullness of love given, love received, and love returned. He enjoyed that fullness of perfect love before He ever made the world — and even if He had never made any world at all, He still would have enjoyed this perfect beatitude of eternal love, for "God is love."

In that infinite, eternal love that He is, in the inner life of the Blessed Trinity, there is no need for "mercy," for there is no "want" or "misery" or "suffering" that needs to be overcome in the Infinitely Perfect Being. What then is Divine Mercy?

Saint Thomas Aquinas defined mercy in general as "the compassion in our hearts for another person's misery, a compassion which drives us to do what we can to help him." Divine Mercy, therefore, is the form that God's eternal love takes when he reaches out to us in the midst of our need and our brokenness. Whatever the name of our need or our misery might be — sin, guilt, suffering, or death — He is always ready to pour out his merciful, compassionate love for us, to help in time of need (Robert Stackpole, Jesus, Mercy incarnate, Marian Press, 2000, p. 112):

"In fact, God's love for His creatures always takes the form of merciful love. As we read in the Psalms (25:10) 'all the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth,' and again (145:9), 'His tender mercies are over all His works.'

"When He created the world 'ex nihilo,' therefore, and holds it in being at every moment, it is an act of merciful love: His merciful love overcoming the potential nothingness, the possible non-existence of all things.

"When the divine Son became incarnate and dwelt among us, that was an act of merciful love too: His merciful love in sharing our lot, showing us the way to the Father, and making the perfect offering for our sins.

"When He sends His Holy Spirit into our hearts to refresh and sanctify us, that too is His merciful love: His merciful love pouring into our hearts the power to grow in faith, hope, and love, and to serve him with joy. Psalm 136 says it best; while celebrating all the works of the Lord in creation and redemption, the psalm bears the constant refrain: 'for His mercy endures forever.'"

Labels: Divine Mercy