"Father of Mercy..." revealed by Jesus and Mary

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

If you read the thread entitled “Mother of Mercy (installment 2)”, I hope you read the reply by hazmat who quoted from the encyclical by Pope St. John Paul II, “Dives in Misericordia” written in 1980 on the Mercy of God. As I told hazmat, I had read it a long time ago but the paragraphs # 95 through #102 which hazmat quoted about Mary were such a blessing, I wanted to read this encyclical again.

It is an appropriate time to begin reading (or re-reading) the saint’s words on Mercy, since this month of November specifically dedicated by the Church to the remembrance of the poor souls in Purgatory ought to call forth mercy from our hearts. Also next month on December 8, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, we begin the “Year of Mercy”. It is good for us to ponder Mercy as we see it in Mary, and Jesus and in the Father of Mercy. The copy I am using has a different numeration than the one hazmat used. It numbers major sections. In section 1 “The Revelation of Mercy”, St. John Paul II wrote:

…Today I wish to say that openness to Christ, who as the Redeemer of the world fully reveals man himself," can only be achieved through an ever more mature reference to the Father and His love…

I was struck by this sentence because it occurred to me, how our Mother of Mercy has gently led me-- as she was led, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to Jesus and through Jesus to the Father.

Further on, in Section 2. “The Incarnation of Mercy”, our saint wrote:

…revelation and faith teach us not only to meditate in the abstract upon the mystery of God as “Father of mercies,” but also to have recourse to that mercy in the name of Christ and in union with Him. Did not Christ say that our Father, who “sees in secret,” is always waiting for us to have recourse to Him in every need and always waiting for us to study His mystery: the mystery of the Father and His love?

I therefore wish these considerations to bring this mystery closer to everyone. At the same time I wish them to be a heartfelt appeal by the Church to mercy, which humanity and the modern world need so much. And they need mercy even though they often do not realize it.

Let me stop here and encourage all to read this encyclical, a little at a time, pondering the words of our new saint, St. John Paul II. He isn’t always “easy” to read because he is a philosopher as well as a theologian and he uses many words often to convey his thoughts. However, what God has given him to say is well worth our time. I underlined the words in the last quote because it seems to me the Church herself needs to renew her relationship with Mary for she was the first to open her heart so completely to God’s Mercy. Mary was the first human person to hold Incarnate Mercy within. Mary will always lead us to Jesus who assures us as He assured the disciple Philip: “…He who has seen me has seen the Father…” (John 14: 8:11)

Mary, Mother of Mercy, show us Jesus more clearly that we may “See” the Father by faith as you did on this earth.