mercy

When we are willing to die to our selfishness, we will love as God loves us.

“I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete” (John 15:11).

What is this referring too? “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”

And what is his commandment? “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.”

Even when life appears pretty dark and division and suffering seem to be waiting around every corner, we need not give up or fall into despair. God wants us to experience fulfillment, meaning, and joy despite our experiences and not through being lemmings or slaves but as Jesus said, his “friends”. The friends of Jesus are those who hear the word he has received and shared from his Father which are his commandments, the greatest of these is the commandment to love as Jesus and the Father have loved us.

If we truly want to be happy, fulfilled, and have meaning in our lives, Jesus invites us to align our wills with the will of God who is Love. St. Irenaeus taught that the joy of God is the human being fully alive. For us to be fully alive, we need to allow ourselves to be loved by and then love as God loves us. God knows what will fulfill us. Many of us do not experience the fullness of this joy because we are distracted and diverted by apparent goods, instead of striving for what actually is good. Time and discernment with the guidance of the Holy Spirit can help us to distinguish the difference.

Neither will we experience fulfillment and joy through denying, covering over, or being so busy that we don’t face the sufferings in our or other’s lives. We ease suffering by entering into it and receiving God’s loving embrace. He will heal us when we are willing to experience our pain. When we experience our pain with him, we receive his mercy and love, and experience healing at the root. As we heal, as we experience God’s love, we can then help to alleviate some of the sufferings of those around us.

“To love as God does, we must be constantly dying to our own sinfulness and selfishness and living for God. And we live for God by obeying the Father’s will and loving one another” (Martin and Wright, 260). Each day we are invited to choose to curl up in our shell of selfish concern or allow ourselves to be loved and to love in return, to come out of our shell, to risk, and become agents of healing and love. As agents of God’s love and mercy we can help to make our corner of the world a little better.

Photo: With JoAnn, who taught me how to come out of my shell, to live, and to love.

Martin, Francis and Wright IV, William M. The Gospel of John. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2015.

Mass readings for Wednesday, May 14, 2025

“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

In today’s Gospel account from John, many people gathered around Jesus in the temple area and were sitting and listening to him, when a horrific display of human wickedness breaks in as, “the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle” (Jn 8:3).

This act of depravity is worse if we spend any time thinking about this verse. This was a calculated plan hatched by the scribes and Pharisees. They had been watching this woman for the opportune time to break in and catch her, using their own words of accusation, in “the very act of committing adultery” (Jn 8:4). If this group was this calculated and malicious, they would not have probably even given her the opportunity to put her clothes on, but grabbed her and brought her to the temple area.

The shame that this woman must have had to endure as she was dragged openly and publicly through the streets was made worse because this crowd brought her to the temple area. The temple was where people came to give sacrifice to atone for their sins and to worship God. What was worse was that the dehumanization of this woman most likely had nothing to do with bringing her to repentance, but had all to do with demeaning her for their own twisted ends to trap Jesus.

The Pharisees and scribes hatched this plot just to trap Jesus in what they believed was a fool proof way to bring charges against him. If Jesus did not follow the law of Moses and condemn her to be stoned, he could be charged for speaking out against the Mosaic law. If he did condemn her, he then could be charged by Roman law. Only the Roman authorities could institute the death of a person.

Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger (Jn 8:6). With this action, Jesus could have been buying some time to think over his response. He could have just been showing an attitude of indifference toward the charges presented. The truth is, we also do not know what Jesus wrote in the dirt that day. St. Jerome proposed that he was writing the sins of those gathered around him as they were waiting for his judgment. Another interesting speculation is that Jesus was again showing his foundation in the prophetic tradition.

Jesus could have been quoting the prophet Jeremiah: “O LORD… all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water” (Jeremiah 17:13, RSV). Jesus had just shared a few verses earlier that anyone who believed in him : “Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37, RSV). Those who came to trap Jesus could have found themselves getting caught in the trap instead and receiving God’s judgement for their forsaking God present before them in His Son (Pitre).

Whatever Jesus wrote had an effect unless the pregnant pause before Jesus spoke: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (Jn 8:7) and when he returned to writing allowing for another pregnant pause allowed for his words to sink in. One by one, starting with the elders, the accusers, and even those who had gathered to listen to Jesus that morning, all walked away.

Jesus stood a second time only to find the woman standing before him. This is the first time he addressed her: “Has no one condemned you?” She replied with three simple words, “No one, sir.” And Jesus replied, “Neither do I condemn you.” Jesus did not seek to inflict any more shame on this woman and forgave her. Nor did he dismiss the sin. In Jewish law, there needed to be two witnesses to condemn someone of a capital crime. There was no witness left to do so. Jesus chose not to condemn her but also stated clearly, “Go, and from now on do not sin any more” (Jn 8:8-11)

Jesus and the woman looked eye to eye in the temple area, a stone’s throw away from the Mercy Seat of God. Jesus met this woman surrounded in her sin, shame, and anguish with mercy and forgiveness. He cleansed the temple precincts of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes who had darkened the area that day and his forgiveness purified her from the stain of her sin. This was no cheap grace. Jesus did convict the woman of her sin, but did so in a way that respected her dignity, unlike those who hauled her out publicly to humiliate her for their own malicious purposes. Jesus convicted her in private, once everyone had gone.

In forgiving her with love and mercy, I can imagine, that she, who had been dragged through the streets, not only experiencing the humiliation, but fearing that her death was imminent, then walked away from her encounter with Jesus crying not just with tears of relief, but with tears of joy. Could the words of Isaiah have come to her mind then, “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see I am doing something new” (Isaiah 43: 18-19). This woman having drunk from the “stream of living water” walked away born again, a new creature, transformed by the purifying love of God.

This account embodies the gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. We bring our sins, contrition, fears, and are to be met with the loving mercy and forgiveness of Jesus in the priest. Not so that we can then just go out to do whatever we want to again, but to go and sin no more. To not only be forgiven, but to also receive the grace to help us to resist temptation, to heal, and through participating in the life in Jesus, walk with him along the way to restore the glory we lost.

————————————————————–

Painting: May we experience and share the same mercy and forgiveness.

Dr. Brant Pitre, Catholic Productions

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, April 6, 2025

Tired of division and polarization, how about we practice forgiveness and mercy?

Polarization, division, and finger-pointing continue to seem to be the order of the day on the national level. Unfortunately, it is taking a firmer hold at the community and familial level and within the Church as well. Instead of looking for someone to blame for the cause of this situation, we need to look in the mirror and honestly assess how we are contributing to division instead of seeking to uphold the motto of the United States of America – E Pluribus Unum – Out of Many One; or instead of upholding a motto of our faith – “That they may all be one” (John 17:21).

It is important to take a step back, take a breath or two or three, and examine our conscience and honestly acknowledge how we are contributing to the divisiveness and polarization through our own thoughts, words, and actions. Then we will be in a better position to act instead of react. We can disagree and offer different points of view and seek different approaches to solve problems respectfully when we are willing to engage in dialogue and collaboration instead of forcing or seeking to prove our own point.

A beginning place for us this Lent can be to understand and put into practice what Jesus said in the opening of today’s Gospel:

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36)

Mercy, from the Hebrew word chesed, meaning to show tender compassion, can help us to turn the momentum away from disunity and polarization toward respecting the gift of our diversity while at the same time embracing our unity.  Fr. James Keenan, S.J. defines mercy as the willingness to enter into the chaos of another. Instead of imposing our point of view, mercy is the willingness to draw close instead of keep someone at a distance, to come to know instead of prove wrong, and to make a concerted effort to understand instead of prejdudge.

When we aspire to be merciful we seek to hear first and assess thoughtfully what has been said, even when the message conveyed is heated, derogatory, and inflammatory. There may be some truth in the maelstrom of what has been spewed. Jesus also encourages us to stop judging and condemning. We are limited by our own finite natures as it is. We are not God and are not capable of fully reading another person.

In most cases, we do not know another’s struggles, anxieties, fears, traumas, and experiences. When encountering one another we need to resist the knee-jerk reaction to judge, and instead, listen first, allow someone to vent without taking offense, and without seeking a way to “fix” them or a problem.

Jesus also reminds us to forgive. As God forgives us we are also invited to forgive others, to let go of grudges. Not to do so means allowing the poison injected into us to spread instead of seeking the healing antidote of forgiveness. The one who has wounded us has walked away and if we are not willing to forgive we continue to do harm to ourselves as we allow that wound to fester.

It is much easier to stay in our shell or bubble. We feel protected and safe so no one can hurt us, but that is not the posture Jesus would have us assume, for in doing so we remain focused on our self. Staying in our bubble suffocates us, stunts our growth, and limits our potential as human beings created in the image and likeness of God. Jesus calls us, not to cave in upon ourselves, but to go out from ourselves, to be agents of love and mercy.

Each day we have a choice. We can withdraw and remain indifferent seeking to protect ourselves, we can choose to dig in our heals to prove we are right and contribute to disunity and polarization, or we can seek to be merciful and build relationships. We can hear and put into practice Jesus’ teachings to resist the temptation to judge and condemn, and instead seek to understand, listen, and forgive. In our willingness to forgive, we can promote healing and invite others to forgive. Let us choose today to allow the Holy Spirit to expand our hearts and minds that we may become more understanding, forgiving, and merciful just as our heavenly Father is merciful.

——————————————————————————

Image: Blessed to receive a touch of God’s forgiveness and mercy many times while at prayer in St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary Chapel.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, March 17, 2025

Let us reflect the light of the mercy of Jesus as the moon reflects the light of the sun.

I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.” (Mt 12:6-8).

Jesus continues to rock established regulations and practices. Here he is challenging the understanding of the Sabbath itself when justifying the accusations leveled toward his disciples who were picking and eating grain on the Sabbath, and he does so in a profound way by saying that,“something greater than the temple is here.” Present in the heart of the temple, the area called the Holy of Holies, was the ark of the covenant. Atop the ark was the lid called the mercy seat of God. Jews believed that this was where God sat and when the blood of atonement was offered from sacrifices, God’s mercy was offered to the people. In the temple then, was the mercy seat, the very presence of God.

Jesus’ claim that he is greater than the temple is putting him on the same level as God. A blasphemous statement to say the least, unless of course, he is God. Jesus even doubles down by claiming that he is the Lord of the sabbath; Jesus used this latest challenge by those Pharisees seeking to trap him to help to reveal to them, his disciples, and us today that Jesus is God!

In quoting Hosea 6:6: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”, Jesus is not only saying that he is the something greater, but that his Way is something greater. One of the foundational points of the Way of Jesus is mercy. Through the incarnation, the Son of God dwelt among us, became one with us in our humanity. He restored our dignity in the midst of our brokenness and sin. What Jesus said, in defending his disciples eating from the grains of wheat on the Sabbath, he is saying to us today: “What is owed to every human being on the basis of his or her human dignity is personal respect, personal acceptance, and personal care” (Kasper 2014, 202).

We grow closer to God and one another when we put Jesus’ teachings into practice. This is especially true when we bestow acts of mercy on our neighbor. “The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his [or her] spiritual and bodily necessities. Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church).

Jesus came among us not to condemn us, but to forgive, instruct, and advise, to comfort, console, and provide care and accompany us in our needs. He extends mercy as his starting point, as his invitation. Jesus was and continues to be willing to join us in the midst our chaos. He does not wait for us to be perfect or worthy. He only asks if we are willing to allow him to love and heal us and then are we willing to enter the chaos of others and allow him to work through us to provide the same. Reviewing and examining our consciences with the spiritual and corporal works of is a good place to start. Praying about and deciding which one(s) to put into practice is a good next step. 

—————————————

Photo: Rosary walk, view from the midpoint of the Merrill P Barber Bridge, Vero Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, July 19, 2024

Kasper, Walter. Mercy: The Essence of the Gospel and the Key to Christian Life. NY: Paulist Press, 2004.

Catholic Church. Catechism of the Catholic Church: Revised in Accordance with the Official Latin Text Promulgated by Pope John Paul II. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997.

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

My wife, JoAnn, asked me on a couple of occasions what were the favorite clothes of mine that she wore that I would like her to pack for our trip. I said the ones that you feel most comfortable in. She also shared with me what clothes she liked on me, including a pair of black, skinny jeans.

The reason we were having this conversation was because we were moving to Los Angeles. JoAnn had been diagnosed with Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer and we were moving to LA, for her final months this side of heaven.

With all packed, JoAnn flew ahead to Los Angeles with Jack. I would follow two weeks later after I finished out the school year. When I arrived and we were unpacking, JoAnn said, “You didn’t pack your black, skinny jeans.” The look on her face pierced my heart. We didn’t talk about it again.

About four months later and a few days after JoAnn died. The image of the look on her face came back to me again, and with some time to think, I realized that JoAnn was focusing on the clothes because these would be our last weeks together and why not dress in clothes that we both liked on each other. I was devastated that I missed it. The feeling also brought up times throughout our marriage where I did not make the time to listen to JoAnn, where I was impatient, and even treated her with contempt.

In that moment I experienced a deep sense of contrition at how I must have hurt JoAnn in those times. I cried as I walked to the cathedral in downtown LA which was about a half mile away. I got myself together and then fell apart again as I confessed to the priest. When I finished, he said that JoAnn forgave me, and that God forgave me.

Mercy, in Hebrew – Chesed – tender compassion.

God’s mercy, his tender compassion, is what I felt in that moment.

This is what Jesus is calling us to receive and be in our Gospel today. We are to be merciful, just as our Father is merciful with us.

Lent is a time to experience the mercy, forgiveness, and love of God. We do so when we are willing to be humble enough to allow Jesus to show us our sin, where we have fallen short of loving him, ourselves, and one another as he has created us to be. When we see our sin, Jesus does not condemn, berate, or demean us. If we experience any of that, know it is the devil seeking to isolate and separate us from the mercy, forgiveness, and love God wants to embrace us with.

All God asks of us is to be ourselves, to be who he has created us to be and that is his beloved daughter or son. All the other things we think we need to be, we can let go of. We can let go of all the anxiety, stress, and confusion about who we think we ought to be and just breathe deeply, receive, rest, and abide in the love our Father wants to share with us. When we live from this experience of God’s love, we will be in a better place. And when we mess up, we just need to be contrite, confess, be forgiven, do penance, and begin again.

As I shared my experience above, I encourage you to think of a time when you have experienced God’s mercy, chesed – his tender compassion. Rest in that moment and return to it again and again today and this week. When we return to and experience these anchor moments of God’s mercy for us, we will remember who and whose we are, and we will better be able to share God’s mercy, forgiveness, and love with others.

Photo: Treasure each moment you have with those you hold close to your heart. Even in the best of circumstances, time goes too quickly and the unexpected can happen. Let those you love, know you love them, with your thoughts, words, faces, and actions.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, February 26, 2024