Thursday, December 17, 2015

The Year of Mercy and Our Maimed Hearts

From Aleteia:
Pope Francis writes that mercy is “a wellspring of joy, serenity and peace.” Sometimes in our world, merciful hearts are mocked. A merciful heart is seen as a weak heart. Rather, it is righteous anger that seems to be the preferred expression of courage. We trust righteous anger; we do not trust merciful hearts. For many of us, the first recourse before, during and after conflict is not to humbly seek the forgiveness of God and to forgive others. Rather, it is to blow our tops, to rage and rant, and to demand justice without a drop of mercy (which, as Aquinas would tell us, is not true justice). Why is this? Because mercy is much more difficult. Mercy is the path of the truly courageous. It is not a virtue that makes us a doormat, a weakling or a pansy. It is the virtue that heals our wounded hearts so that we can respond to others like Christ—with assertiveness, love, objectivity, and peace. Pope Francis writes: “In [the Gospel], mercy is presented as a force that overcomes everything, filling the heart with love and bringing consolation through pardon” (emphasis mine). Through forgiveness, mercy is the force that overcomes everything. (Read  more.)
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