Greetings on this the Monday of the Second Week in Lent
Readings: Daniel 9:4b-10; Psalm 79:8, 9, 11 and 13; Luke 6:36-38
Summary
Jesus said to his disciples: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful (LK 6:36).
What then is mercy?
Contours of Mercy (WHAT)
- Non judgmental – excessively critical point of view.
- Non condemning – public shaming, punishment as objective and final end.
- Measure generously – Weigh the acts of others in charity.
- Forgive – let not the weight of sin be the horizon of our life or theirs.
- Give as if a gift – give to those in need as like a gift to a loved one.
Actual Works of Mercy (HOW)
- Corporal Works of Mercy: These focus on physical needs: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick, ransoming the captive, and burying the dead.
- Spiritual Works of Mercy: These focus on spiritual needs: instructing the ignorant, advising the doubtful, comforting the sorrowful, bearing wrongs patiently, forgiving offenses, consoling the afflicted, and praying for the living and the dead.
Psalmists Mercy Account
- Non-judgmental: Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins (PS 103:10a).
- Non-condemning: Deliver us and pardon our sins for your name’s sake (PS 79:9).
- Forgiveness: Remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may your compassion quickly come to us, for we are brought very low (PS 79:8).
- Measure generously: Help us, O God our savior, because of [in the power of] the glory of your name (PS 79:9).
- Give as a gift: Let the prisoners’ sighing come before you; with your great power free those doomed to death (PS 79:11).
Personal Reflection
I always remind myself that mercy is an attribute not a person. Mercy and acts of mercy are external effects of the interior state of being. In Lent I/we/us strive to make mercy our attribute from the interior change we wish to occur. May my person be radically altered as like in the Transfiguration that the attributes of mercy are its outflow. I will choose to BE changed that my acts may change.
Sacred Readings full text: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031725.cfm
Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry