being merciful...as God is merciful...

 


Much of my adult life has been spent learning the history of the saints of the church. "I believe in the communion of saints...." is what we recite during the apostle's creed.

One of the saints that I have been learning about is Saint Maria Faustina. She is credited with the Divine Mercy message. This message teaches us all about the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. You know how I have been admonishing all of you to always look after another. No strings attached. So often we may whine and ask, "but why? It just is not a convenient time for me right now..." or, "but, you don't understand...he is an alcoholic...drug addict...homeless, pain in the ass..." whatever excuse you use to avoid using the talents that God gave you to reach out to someone in need. 

 Did Jesus display this attitude? No, not even when He himself was tired...He always reached out, He gave of Himself, right to the very end...on the cross. We should do NO LESS!

Be Merciful as Your Father is Merciful

We are not only to receive the mercy of God, but to use it by being merciful to others through our actions, our words, and our prayers; in other words, we are to practice the Corporal and Spiritual Works (Acts) of Mercy.
The Lord wants us to do these works of mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no use without works.

What are the Works of Mercy?

Corporal Works Feed the hungry Give drink to the thirsty Clothe the naked Shelter the homeless Comfort the prisoners Visit the sick Bury the dead

Spiritual Works Teach the ignorant Pray for the living & dead Correct sinners Counsel those in doubt Console the sorrowful Bear wrongs patiently Forgive wrongs willingly

Jesus' Call to Mercy

"I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.
I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor:
the first — by deed, the second — by word, the third — by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy.
Many souls ... are often worried because they do not have the material means with which to carry out an act of mercy. Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permissions nor storehouses, is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul.
If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment with their mercy" (1317).