2ND WEEK OF LENT

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 

Jesus knows well the depths of the human heart; he understands how hard it is for us to show mercy at times, despite our best efforts. Yet he also doesn’t ask us to do the impossible. So what would help us to follow Jesus’ command to be merciful as his Father is merciful (Luke 6:36)?

Just as a picture paints a thousand words, so concrete examples show us what mercy looks like in action. And we have such examples—from Jesus himself in the Gospels. In fact, as Pope St. John Paul II once said, “Jesus himself . . . is mercy” (Dives in Misericordia, 2).

For instance, look at how he treated the man with leprosy. With mercy, by healing him (Matthew 8:1-4). How did he treat the woman caught in adultery? With mercy, by forgiving her and by not allowing others to condemn her (John 8:3-11). How did he treat Zacchaeus, the tax collector, who had cheated his fellow Jews out of their hard-earned money? With mercy, by inviting himself to Zacchaeus’ house for dinner (Luke 19:1-10). How did he treat the man possessed by a demon, who fell down before him and begged him to leave? By freeing him and then sending him on his way (8:26-39).

Again and again, Jesus demonstrated what mercy looks like, acts like, and sounds like. He showed us that mercy encompasses not only forgiveness but also compassion, care, and respect for the dignity of another person.

This Lent, take some time to consider how you treat the people you encounter each day, especially those you are closest to. Is there one person whom you find especially challenging to love and relate to? What can you do to show them the mercy of God? How can you love them as Jesus loves them?

God sent Jesus to earth so that we could see mercy in the flesh. May we always keep this picture of mercy close to our hearts so that we can become witnesses to the abundant, overflowing, and never-ending mercy of our heavenly Father!

“Jesus, you are mercy itself. Help me imitate both you and my heavenly Father by bringing your mercy into my most challenging relationships.”

Daniel 9:4-10
Psalm 79:8-9, 11, 13
Luke 6:36-38