We frequently speak of mercy in our churches and in Catholic Media. But what is mercy?
Mercy is, as St. Thomas Aquinas put it, "the compassion in our hearts for another person's misery, a compassion which drives us to do what we can to help him."
Jesus told St. Faustina*,
I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor: the first–by deed, the second–by word, the third–by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for me (Diary 742).
Mercy by deed can be practiced by completing the Spiritual and Corporal works of mercy. These are:
Corporal Works of Mercy:
To feed the hungry.
To give water to the thirsty.
To clothe the naked.
To shelter the homeless.
To visit the sick.
To visit the imprisoned, or ransom the captive.
To bury the dead.
Spiritual Works of Mercy:
To instruct the ignorant.
To counsel the doubtful.
To admonish the sinners.
To bear patiently those who wrong us.
To forgive offenses.
To comfort the afflicted.
To pray for the living and the dead.
(Some of the spiritual works of mercy are accomplished by word and prayer as well!)
We can practice mercy by word by forgiving and comforting others in their time of need, by affirming their goodness by what we say, by not gossiping or lying, and by being gentle and loving in our speech.
We practice mercy by prayer by praying for others. This is the broadest and most effective type of mercy because we can ask God can use other people to go places where we can't and show mercy to those who we will never even meet! We can even pray for mercy for the entire world. One of the best ways to do this is through the Divine Mercy Chaplet, in which we pray to God the Father to have mercy on us and on the whole world. (Learn how to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet)
Our Lord said that when we show mercy by word, deed, or prayer, we show "unquestionable proof of love for (him)." Our Lord is so unloved by so many people. When He revealed His Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, He said, "Behold the heart which loves so much and yet is so little loved." When we show mercy to others, we console His wounded heart.
He told St. Faustina,
My daughter, do not tire of proclaiming My mercy. In this way you will refresh this Heart of Mine, which burns with a flame of pity for sinners.... The loss of each soul plunges Me into mortal sadness. You always console Me when you pray for sinners (Diary, 1521 and 1397).
Those of you who are taking part in the Catholic Teen Life Lenten Journey are showing mercy every day during this Lenten season! By completing an act of service by either prayer, word, or deed, by praying, fasting, and giving alms, you are showing mercy to others and consoling Jesus!! That is absolutely amazing to think about.
We are showing Jesus the "unquestionable proof" of our love for Him by showing mercy. In doing this throughout our Lenten journey (and hopefully continuing it afterward, too!) we will have mercy on our Lord's wounded heart, and on the entire world. And, to make it even better, Our Lord tells us we, too, if we are merciful, will be shown mercy!! (Matthew 5:7)
We lose nothing and gain everything by being merciful. ❤
*Haven't heard of St. Faustina or the message of mercy? Read more about it here! It is private revelation, so we don't HAVE to believe it (like we do public revelation, which ended after the death of the last apostle) but it has been approved by the Church as worthy of belief. Some of the people who promote it can be a bit over the top with end times theories and prophecies, but the Divine Mercy message itself is amazing. I love it SO MUCH and can't recommend it enough.
This post is a part of the Catholic Teen Life Lenten Journey.
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