Men's Rosary

How merciful are we? Mercy is not just giving someone a pass on judgement or punishment, but an act of the will.  There is much evil in the world and it affects all of us.  Some more than others insomuch as they succumb to it. This evil can and does excite our pity for the distress of others.  Sometimes the distress is from an evil by choice, voluntary; a fault deserving of punishment and at other times it can be  from an evil connected to something against the sinners will; a fault deserving mercy. While it is true  that all deserve mercy, Aristotle proposes that we pity most the distress of one who suffers undeservedly. We see fault in others due to the fault within ourselves. So when we see this fault we should have sympathy for the distress of others, for we suffer the distress in ourselves and are aware of what they are going through and the possibility of our going through it as well. So we are all united in our suffering and called to be merciful and forgiving.  “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.  Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:36-37)

While we are not to judge we are still to discern. Understanding of right and wrong and justice is important. Our forgiveness, void of justice would only propagate wrong. “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8) In our humility we can have mercy on others even when they do things against us, when they cause us pain and suffering. Mercy coming from an elective habit, a choice to be merciful, assumes the character of moral virtue. We need to be moral men, defending the tenants of our Faith and giving example of living a life in Christ. Mercy helps us in that charge. “The moral man is not he who is namby-pamby, or who has drained his emotion of the sterner stuff of justice; rather he is one whose gentleness and mercy are part of a larger organism, whose eyes can flash with righteous indignation, and whose muscles can become as steel in defense, like Michael, of the justice and Rights of God.” (Venerable Fulton J. Sheen)

We are indeed all united and what unites us is love, the love that unites us inwardly with God – charity. It comes down to how we love and to what degree we love. Love must be our garment, it must be our armor in the midst of the evil in the world and the source of our unity. “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (Colossians 3:14)  Since we are to imitate Christ we must love as he loved and be merciful as he is merciful.  Love is the source and foundation of Divine Mercy.

Consecrating our day to God, to invite him into all that we do and say will keep us abiding in him and his love.  From this place we will be more able to share his love with others and in turn be merciful. “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (1John 4:16) We can be more patient so that we act rather than react, we can make an effort to understand someone and their situation when assessing the actions and behavior. We can also look inward to better recognize our faults and failings and serve others more fully through seeing our connectedness in suffering. Through it all, we can aspire to love as God loves and be merciful as he is merciful.

“Charity likens us to God by uniting us to him in the bond of love: wherefore it surpasses mercy, which likens us to God as regards similarity of works.” (St. Thomas Aquinas)