SAINT JUSTIN, MARTYR (MEMORIAL)

Wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

What is this “mercy” that Jude tells us to wait for? For Jude, it’s the mercy that will appear “in the last time,” when Jesus comes back to judge the living and the dead (18). It’s the mercy that pardons, heals, and restores creation to its earlier glory—and that does the same for all who believe in him. And while we await the coming of that mercy, Jude urges us to be as merciful toward “those who waver” as the Lord has been to us (22).

Jude’s exhortation can move us to examine our own hearts: How do I react when I hear disappointing news about someone I care about? Maybe you’ve learned that a loved one has stopped going to Mass. Or maybe they have been dismissive or hurtful to someone else close to you. Or perhaps they have begun to travel down a path that will only lead to more and more sin. Do you get angry? Frustrated? Anxious? Maybe a mixture of these emotions and a few more?

These are all natural reactions, but the Lord is asking us to go beyond our natural inclinations and exercise the supernatural gift of God’s mercy. This doesn’t mean ignoring sin or making light of it. It means exercising the kind of mercy that intercedes, that evangelizes, and that reaches out in love. It means letting that mercy propel us into the world with the goal of “snatching . . . out of the fire” as many people as we can (Jude 23).

Waiting for the mercy of the Lord is not a passive standing-on-the sidelines thing. In fact, the more we show mercy, the more we pave the way for God’s mercy to arrive. So be sure to sow mercy everywhere you go. Mercy, plain and simple. Mercy, powerful but vigilant. Mercy, tenderhearted and unwavering. This is how you will “keep [yourself] in the love of God” (Jude 21). And it’s how you will bring that love to the people around you.

“Jesus, teach me how to reflect your mercy in this world!”

Jude 17, 20-25
Psalm 63:2-6
Mark 11:27-33