One of the greatest and most beautiful gifts of our God is his mercy. Our Holy Father Francis tells us that mercy is another name for “love.” The love of God for all human beings, his creatures.

The Heavenly Father is compassionate of the human being that was created by him in his image and likeness and in harmony with all of creation, with himself and with his Creator. The Father’s creatures were happy, immensely happy, but their belief in the Tempter and their disobedience of their owner and master lost the friendship they had with him and brought for them and all of their descendants the heredity of sin.

Those poor human beings, Adam and Eve, expelled from paradise and left in a sad and sorrowful state of unhappiness. But the mercy of God came forward before they left Eden. The God of love promised them that there was going to be a coming of a mysterious being: the Messiah–a savior–who would free them from the slavery of sin and would return them to the friendship of their God.

In the long history of humanity, there has been an ever ending chain of sins, of crimes, of incredibly evil, crazy actions. And what has our God done in front of that sad and terrible spectacle? His answer has been patience, patience, patience; forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness; mercy, mercy, mercy. A constant disposition to forgive. When there is sincere repentance of our faults and the recognition that only in him do we have peace, joy and salvation, then he gives us the light of his Spirit to make us worthy of his forgiveness. 

In the time determined by the Father, he sent his Son–equal to him–through the Holy Spirit, the third person of God, to a young and beautiful girl he had chosen to be the mother of his son. God made her free of all original sin and all sins, by the merits of the Messiah-Redeemer. 

Also in awareness of the merits of Jesus Christ, even several centuries before his coming, our merciful God inspired some human beings with his grace, and with faith and generosity corresponded to his love. Thus we mention Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, minor and major prophets who fulfilled the mission that the Lord gave them. Even when announcing God’s message, many of them lost their lives.

It is proper also to mention some brave women that loved their Creator and were faithful to his friendship: Esther, Ruth, Judith, Anna, the Prophet Samuel’s mother, Elizabeth and St. John the Baptist’s mother.

In the New Testament, the coming of Christ to this world marked a time of grace and a time of mercy for all. Jesus performed several miracles with great love and compassion for many human beings who needed his mercy. The healing of the Centurion’s servant (Lk 7, 1-10); the Resurrection of the widow of Nain’s son (Lk 7, 11-17); the resurrection of Jairus’s daughter (Lk 8, 40-50). Also the healing of the daughter of a Syrophoenician lady (Mk 7, 24-30); the healing of a man blind from birth (Jn 9, 1-41); the pardon of the sinful woman (Lk 7, 36-50). And the Good Samaritan (Lk 10, 29-37) and the prodigal son (Lk 15, 11-32).  

All of these passages from the Bible, the evangelists tell us of the merciful heart of Jesus who–in the same way as his heavenly Father–feels compassion from looking into the misery of human beings.

All of us in one form or another have felt in our lives, the goodness and compassion of our God, who listens to us, and who answers our prayers and needs, and who wipes away our tears and who also comforts us, and tells us that he is at our side. Let us pray to him, for him to help us grow in faith and love for him every day.  

Sister Celia Campoy is a sister with the Missionary Daughters of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, MDPVM at St. Martin’s Convent in Kingsville.