Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Deacon Robert Banet
God is not merciful.
What do you mean, God is not merciful! Don’t you know this the Year of Mercy?
Hold on, Steve, I know about the Year of Mercy. I just said that to get your attention.
Well, you’ve got it.
What I meant was that mercy is not of God’s essence.
Go on.
Imagine God before the creation. Just the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. What was their activity? What were they doing?
Well. I guess there was love.
Right. There was only love, no need for mercy. It was only the appearance of sin that made mercy possible.
How do you figure that?
Man sinned and separated himself from God. It was then that the Father, in His love for us, sent His Son to die for us. The blood of Jesus is God’s mercy.
Oh, I get it.
When we repent, we open ourselves to God’ mercy.
Right. You could say that mercy is an aspect of God’ love.
Ah, when we say Kyrie Eleison, we open ourselves to His mercy.
Yes. And sometimes in Latin: miserere nobis.
God is good. Amen to that.