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Mercy
I think for a lot of people, it is either easy to feel God’s mercy or extremely challenging. We have plenty of examples throughout the bible and from saints and people in general, of how merciful He is. However, sometimes when it comes to yourself feeling mercy from God, you may feel unworthy or that your sin(s) are just too huge for forgiveness.
My sisters, our God is truly a merciful God. He can forgive even the greatest sin imaginable, if only we repent. The angels dance when we go to confession! It is a beautiful thing. If you still feel uneasy about your sins after confession, keep praying to feel the mercy from God. I admit I have gone to confession after confessing the same sin (but only committing it once) over seven times. I struggle to feel mercy from God for that particular sin. It was committed long ago but the guilt remains. I know God has mercy, I believe He does but sometimes it takes longer to feel it, but keep praying and He will grant you mercy and peace!
St. Faustina and St. Therese the Little Flower are both wonderful saints that have a wealth of knowledge on God’s mercy. St. Therese uses her “little way” to emphasize God’s mercy towards all sinners. The book 33 Days to Merciful Love goes in depth on this as another way to consecrate yourself to Jesus through his Divine Mercy (I highly recommend it, even if you’re not sure about consecration, because it’s still a powerful tool to learn about God’s mercy as a general read) and can help those struggling with feeling God’s mercy for sins that are just “too huge”. St. Faustina is one of the pioneers in spreading the devotion of Divine Mercy! From her diary, Jesus said: “I have opened My Heart as a living fountain of mercy. Let all souls draw life from it. Let them approach this sea of mercy with great trust. Sinners will attain justification, and the just will be confirmed in good. Whoever places his trust in My mercy will be filled with My divine peace at the hour of
death” (Diary, 1520). Jesus wants us to know how merciful He is! He has said “the bigger the sinner, the bigger the right they have to my mercy”.
Let us be filled with the joy of such a merciful and loving God!
Looking to the bible, God shows His mercy from the Old Testament to the New Testament, it is never-ending. Not only is God merciful to us, but we are called to be merciful to others in turn. After all, going back to the beginning of creation in Genesis 1:27 it says: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” It is only right that we show the mercy He shows to us, to others. In the gospel of Luke 6:36-38, he writes
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” It is clear God wants us to resemble Him and treat others as we would wish to be treated. God gives us mercy, but also expects it in return.
Thank you Lord for being so merciful towards your people!
Reflect- Do you struggle with God’s mercy? Why or why not? Pray for those who struggle withfeeling the mercy of God!
Act - Go to confession and feel God’s mercy present in your heart and, if you can, read the Diary of St. Faustina or sign up for the daily emails where you get just a tidbit of information each day! You can sign up at www.thedivinemercy.org (it’s free) :) Also, consider making the consecration to the Divine Mercy with the 33 Days of Merciful Love book or just reading it for more information on God’s mercy :)
