Mercy / Compassion.

1. Some notions and connotations in connection with mercy and compassion.

Mercy is an important, even a central and essential notion and reality in our life of faith and in our social life. Other important notions and realities are closely connected with mercy, such as: compassion, pity, forgiveness, love, loving-kindness, healing, and grace.

2. God shows mercy / compassion.

In the Old Testament we can see how God shows his mercy and compassion to the people of Israel and its individual members. Again and again people go astray and walk their own path. But when they repent and are willing to be better their lives, God is eager to show his mercy. As Psalm 145 say: “The Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love. How good is the Lord to all, compassionate to all his creatures.”

God not only react mercifully, but He is always looking at his people in a merciful way and acts compassionately if they are in trouble and distress. In Exodus 3 it is said: “Then the Lord said: ’I have seen how cruelly my people are being treating in Egypt; I have heard them cry out o be rescued from their slave-drivers. I know all about their suffering, and so I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of Egypt to a spacious land, one which is rich and fertile.’”

God also shows his mercy to us, to me. When we reflect our life history, we remember the moments and periods that God was merciful and compassionate to us.

3. Jesus shows mercy / compassion.

In the Gospels we can see how Jesus shows his mercy and compassion to his own Jewish people and its individuals members. His merciful love reached out to the poor, the sick, the handicapped, and so on. As we can read in Matthew 9, 35-36: “Jesus went round visiting all the towns and villages. He taught in the synagogues, preached the Good News about the Kingdom, and healed people with every kind of disease and sickness. As he saw the crowds, his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were worried and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Jesus also shows mercy to us, to me. When we reflect our life history, we remember the moments and periods of Jesus’ merciful love to us.

4. We – on our part – must show mercy / compassion.

We must show mercy to our fellow beings: our fellow-brothers, the people we work with and those we meet in our everyday life. The Gospel and our Constitutions tell us that our merciful love must be specially directed to the poor and destitute, to the underprivileged and to all the people in need. We must also show mercy to ourselves, for we all are “broken”, limited, incomplete and impaired people in need of mercy and compassion. Nobody can really live without mercy and compassion. Jesus says that we shall be merciful like the Father.

Personal reflection:

1. Take your Bible and look for meaningful texts on mercy / compassion, and…reflect on them: What do they tell you?

2. How have you experienced mercy / compassion in your life?

(By Frans School on the occasion of Emmaus Community “Reflection day”)