What does the word, ‘mercy’ mean to each of us?
Is it just another word, or is it a meaningful and very significant word?
It means a great deal to Mother Church, because the very first Sunday after the joy and hope generated in our hearts by Jesus being raised from the dead by the Father in the Spirit, this Sunday as you know is known as Mercy Sunday.
There’s a very significant message to be found in the word, ‘mercy.’
And it is this: The word, ‘mercy’ explains the why all three persons of the divine Trinity, each in their own way, the rescue of all of us from our sins.
The definition of mercy is this: compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one’s power to punish.
God had the power to punish us for our sins, but chose not to, out of compassion and forgiveness for our sins. God himself, in Jesus, endured our punishment out of his mercy towards us all.
We say ‘Lord, have mercy’ at the beginning of Mass at what is known as the Penitential Act to recognize the true fact we are all sinners.
May we also seek his mercy in the Sacrament of Healing, Forgiveness, Penance, Confession or Reconciliation. Jesus is ever waiting for us to give us his mercy and forgiveness there. Pray for the grace to receive the grace of the Sacrament to live life to the full beyond the Sacrament in the joy and hope of an adopted child of God, for that is who we truly are in and through and by our Baptism.
Take care
Fr. Patrick