This beatitude is one of the special blessings recounted by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew.
We are all in need of the healing and comfort of Jesus right now. We can share the mercy and love of Jesus in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic by coming together, even virtually, to ask Him to feel His mercy and to let Him know we trust in Him. Always remember that the love and mercy of Jesus is flowing from his heart to ours, bringing us comfort and hope.
We become merciful by letting God’s mercy into our lives.
Mercy is kindness in the face of unkindness.
Mercy is letting go of being “right” for the sake of a friendship.
Mercy is remembering that the person who upset you is deeply loved by God.
Make a mental list of the ways in which God has been merciful to you, forgiving your wrongs and showing you kindness. Think of at least one practical way you can be more merciful this week.
The first thing God gives us when we start to desire being right with Him is mercy. We get mercy when we are humble before God and when we want to be forgiven of our sins. We can’t earn God’s mercy, though. It isn’t something we can buy by being good or going to church or saying the right things. Mercy is a gift from God.
Let’s look at it this way. If you are outside playing on a hot summer day, you will probably get pretty thirsty. Your mum or dad will know that you are thirsty, but they aren’t going to chase you down, and force you to drink water. They will offer you a drink, but they will not make you drink the water, even though they know it’s what you really need. They also aren’t going to make you beg for water or do one hundred jumping jacks before giving you a drink. All you have to do is ask, and your mum or dad will give you the water you need. Only what you need though! If you ask for remote control cars when what you really need is food, you won’t get anything. God’s mercy is like that. He knows we really need His mercy to live healthy, happy and full lives, but he will never force his mercy on us. He also does not make us beg or work for mercy. All we have to do is ask for it.
We ask for mercy after we realise we need it. We become humble, and we don’t fight back when people wrong us, and we starve for a right life with God. Basically, we see all the Beatitudes fall into place in our lives. That’s when we become merciful.
We would encourage families to go through this thought-provoking resource shared by our wonderful diocese and engage in the topics of discussion: Blessed are the merciful_
ST FAUSTINA
Saint Faustina is one saint that can teach us God’s message. Her entire life, in imitation of Christ’s, was to be a sacrifice – a life lived for others. On February 22, 1931, Faustina was visited by Jesus. Despite being barely able to write Faustina was encouraged to write a diary. Find out more about Saint Faustina here: Saint Faustina
We hope this resource will be useful to you and your families.
God bless you all,
Mrs Avdiu
