“Jesus Christ taught that man not only receives and experiences the mercy of God, but that he is also called “to practice mercy” towards others: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” … Man attains to the merciful love of God, His mercy, to the extent that he himself is interiorly transformed in the spirit of that love towards his neighbor. This authentically evangelical process is not just a spiritual transformation realized once and for all: it is a whole lifestyle, an essential and continuous characteristic of the Christian vocation“ (Dives in misericordia, 14).
Each of us needs God’s mercy. It can be said that we all long for it (more or less consciously). Is there anyone who, in the depths of his heart, does not want to be loved as he is, with the whole truth about himself – with that which is beautiful and good, but above all with what we are ashamed of and failing in? Pope John Paul II. He teaches us that in order to experience God’s merciful love more and more, it is necessary to express this love to our neighbors. And it is not just a matter of one-time acts of mercy, but also of making the attitude of mercy our way of life.
Do I realize that I need God’s mercy? Am I missing this experience?
Am I willing to see in those I live with (especially those who are difficult in nature) that they too need and want to experience mercy in the depths of their hearts? Is mercy really my lifestyle, or is it just charity, selflessness that I sometimes show?
“I desire to be transformed completely into Your mercy and be a living reflection of You, O Lord; may God’s greatest attribute, His unfathomed mercy, pass through my heart and soul onto my neighbours“ (D. 163).
“O my Jesus, You know how much effort has to be put in to manage to be sincere and straightforward with those whom our nature shuns, or with those who have, either deliberately or inadvertently, made us suffer – it’s simply impossible in the ordinary, human way. At such times, I try to do more than I would otherwise to discover Jesus in that person, and it’s for the sake of Jesus that I do everything for such people“ (D. 766).
