The meaning of mercy

By KATHLEEN M. GALLAGHER- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

FROM A READING FOR FEB. 5, FIFTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
'Share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house...Then your light shall break forth like the dawn...' -- Isaiah 58:7-8

If our Holy Father, Pope Francis, will be remembered for anything, I believe it will be his tremendous emphasis on mercy.

When we try to conceive what mercy means, we might want to think of it this way: It all starts with God, who is love. Who God is, in essence, is love. The concrete way that God shows us who He is mercy. The correct application of that concrete manifestation of the love that is God is justice.

Love, mercy and justice go hand-in-hand in the Christian life. We are reminded of this in our first reading from the prophet Isaiah (Is 58:7-10). Isaiah gives us a practical formula for letting the "light rise for you in the darkness." What is commanded are practical applications of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us: "The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his 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."

Through God's eyes
Mercy is the ability to see all with the eyes of Christ. It is recognizing that all of us are creatures in the loving hand of the Creator. It is recognizing the need in every one of us for the loving embrace of God.

When we show mercy to others, we participate in the life of God. Seeing with the eyes of mercy means to give practical assistance to all those in need.

How are we practically becoming the "salt of the earth," as this week's Gospel (Matthew 5:13-16) states? How are we practically allowing the true light that has entered into the world shine in our hearts and illuminate the world?

Be practical
How are we practicing the spiritual works of mercy in our daily lives? When was the last time that we offered words of consolation to someone in despair, even just by writing a note or an email? When was the last time we practiced one of the corporal works of mercy, even something as simple as holding a door open for someone or letting someone in when we are caught in traffic?

Venerable Catherine McAuley, foundress of the Religious Sisters of Mercy, wrote: "The simplest and most practical lesson I know...is to resolve to be good today, but better tomorrow. Let us take one day only in hands, at a time, merely making a resolve for tomorrow; thus we may hope to get on taking short, careful steps, not great strides."

Continue to take those short, careful steps, practically seeing Christ and then being Christ to one another. This is the way of mercy. This is the way of the Lord Jesus.

(Other readings for this Sunday include 1 Cor 2:1-5.)[[In-content Ad]]