Jesus said to his disciples:“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Every Sunday noon in St. Peter’s Square in Rome, the Holy Father leads the thousands of folks who gather from all over the world in the traditional prayer of the Angelus. Prior to the prayer, he offers a few brief reflections, often on the scriptures of the day.
Last year, in speaking of the Prodigal son, Pope Francis, said that ‘mercy is the very face of God!” I found that such a powerful image living in the midst of a world that often seeks to extract revenge and recrimination and where ‘mercy’ is for wimps.
How true Isaiah prophesied when he said, “God’s ways are not our ways…” The vulnerable human heart often thinks that protecting ourselves through insulating ourselves by being a bully in life is the only path to success.
The Good Lord, however, invites us to walk another path in life – the very one that His own son walked in showing unfailing mercy, especially for the losers and the wimps in life.
Forgiving our enemies and showing mercy are the paradoxical keys to the kingdom for those are willing to turn from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.