Believe it or not, we are still within the Year of Mercy that Pope Francis began on December 8 of 2015 (Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception).  Many parishes and diocese started strong proclaiming the message of mercy; however, now that we are seven months into the year, many programs and the enthusiasm have dropped.  This week I am at a Youth Ministry conference at the University of Notre Dame called ND Vision and the whole conference is focused on Mercy.  This has been a great reminder to myself of God’s mercy and the importance of Pope Francis calling for mercy to be the global focus of the Church this year.  With that short introduction, I will now offer some very simple reflections on mercy.

    I think it’s important to start in the beginning and understand that before mercy there was love.  “God is Love,” (1 John 4:8) and it was from an outpouring of His love that he created the world.  Everything we see around us in the physical world does not need to exist and yet it does.  Why?  Because God wanted to share His love.  Humanity (you and me) were created so that we could love God back…that’s all we were meant to do!  All our first parents had to do was love God as he loves us.  Well, we all know how that story ends and so now we rely on God’s mercy.  But before God offered His mercy, he showered us and created us out of Himself, because he is Love.  It’s important we start with Love because you will never be able to receive or give mercy without first receiving and giving love.  Mercy comes from Love (who is God).  

    Now, once we are able to receive love from God and to share that love with those we encounter, then we are able to receive mercy from God and offer mercy to those we encounter as well.  Now, there are seven very specific places where we receive both God’s mercy and love at the same time: the seven Sacraments of the Church.  All of the Sacraments were given to us by Christ (who is God) as a means of sharing God’s love reconciling us to God through his Divine Mercy.  From Baptism to Anointing of the Sick the Sacraments offer us God’s love and mercy.  It’s the Sacraments that bring us back into His love and allow us to share His love and mercy.  Two of the Sacraments do this in a very special way: Eucharist and Reconciliation.

    The Holy Sacrifice of the Mss is God’s greatest act of love because He offers His only begotten Son for our salvation.  When we participate in Christ’s sacrifice in the Mass, we are fully and actively participating and experience God’s love and mercy in a very real way.  During the intimate conversation between God and us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we again experience God’s love and mercy in an even more personal and intimate way than we do during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  In many ways, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is more powerful because we hear from the mouth of Jesus (using the Priest as His instrument of grace) that we are forgiven and loved.  It’s powerful, personal, and the closest encounter we have with our loving Father.  Obviously, seeing Jesus Himself in the Most Blessed Sacrament is also an intimate, personal, and powerful encounter; however, when we feel most wounded and broken, we need to hear expressly from Jesus (through His priest) that we are loved and forgiven. 

    I understand this wasn’t the most thought out and well written blog post; but, I just wanted to offer some reflection on mercy in hopes that it will help someone (and myself) remember God’s abundant love and mercy for each of us.  So often we forget that we are God’s beloved sons and daughters undeserving of His love and mercy.  Well, we may not deserve it but He offers us His love and mercy anyway, unconditionally, and freely every singe day.  It’s up to us to receive it and share it with the world.