Prayer Books/ Spirituality

Jesus says, “Come to me!”

Throughout our lives we reach out for God’s compassion and mercy for ourselves and for others. Our days are inundated with expectations, schedules, parameters, and red tape when we desperately need help. Into this world, your world and mine, comes Jesus, God’s mercy Incarnate who simply invites us: “Come to me.”

Let the reflections, stories, and prayers that speak of God’s love in Scripture and throughout history speak to you. Learn more about:

God’s Mercy in the Bible•Sacred Heart•First Friday Devotions•Divine Mercy•Confession•Eucharistic Adoration•

As you read and pray, allow the Lord’s mercy and love to transform your life and bring gifts to those around you.

$5.95 U.S.

Jesus_5 5/24/10 1:42 PM Page 6

The Story of the Father’s Mercy

The Old Testament gives us many stories of theFather’s mercy. From personal stories such as thoseof Isaiah, or Hannah, or Jeremiah, to the great nar-ratives of the Israelites concerning Abraham, Moses,and the prophets, we always find God’s mercy.

The story of the Father’s mercy could be seenas having three phases that unfold from the Book ofGenesis through the Gospels: creation (God’s firstgift of love that causes us to be); covenant (whenGod claims a people as his own and promises fideli-ty to them); and incarnation (when God’s love takeson flesh and steps into our history, to do for ushimself what we couldn’t do for ourselves).

Creation: Genesis 1–2

The story begins with the dawn of creation.God takes pleasure in bringing forth an extravagantvariety of things: earth, sun, moon, plants, animals,oceans, forests. And then God creates man andwoman in his likeness. God commits himself notjust to creating, but also to maintaining his crea-

7

Jesus_5 5/24/10 1:42 PM Page 7

tures, which need the breath of his spirit everymoment, day after day, for an entire lifetime.Without God we would cease from existing.

A special Hebrew word describes this love ofthe Father: rahamim. This word denotes the deepbond that exists between mother and child, whichresults in a love that is wholly gratuitous, unearned,unable to be repaid. It is a love that can’t help butflow out of a mother’s heart. In creating us, in sus-taining us, in forgiving us, God shows us this love.

Rahamim describes God’s merciful love shown tous when we refuse God’s love again and again, fromthose first days in the Garden to this very day.Despite such love at our beginning, we are so feeblein returning that love. We are easily swayed to dis-cover “good” where God is not, and to be boredwhere God is. We forget the One who made us, anddesire the thrill of what we can get away with, whatwe can become, what we can do on our own. God’slove for us is marked by goodness and tenderness,patience and understanding that extend through thegenerations. As we live with, sustain, and forgiveothers, we learn to love as God loves us.

Covenant: Exodus 13–15, 19Another aspect of the Father’s love is denoted

by the Hebrew word hesed. This word is connected

8 Jesus: Help in Every Need

Jesus_5 5/24/10 1:42 PM Page 8

to God’s rescue of the Israelites from slavery inEgypt that they might worship him at Mount Sinai.God reached down and led the children ofAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob out of slavery in Egypt.He heard their cries and acted on their behalfthrough mighty deeds and wonders. God broughtthem to the foot of Mount Sinai, that sacredmountain where he would make a covenant withthem through his servant Moses.

In this covenant, he would be their God andthey would be his special people—not because theywere better than anyone else, but because he haddecided to pity them and take them as his own. Hemade himself responsible for their protection andwell-being and they, for their part, were to listen tohis commandments and wholeheartedly obey them.

Hesed denotes an attitude of goodness betweentwo parties, an attitude so profound that they arefaithful to each other because of a deep interiorcommitment. Their fidelity to each other becomesfidelity to themselves because they have pledgedthemselves to each other. The covenant God madewith Israel on Mount Sinai was an incredible prom-ise of fidelity on the part of God to his creatures.The covenant had a sort of juridical or legal sense.When Israel broke the covenant and strayed fromGod, which happened over and over in the long

9Mercy in the Scriptures

Jesus_5 5/24/10 1:42 PM Page 9

course of salvation history, God no longer was“legally bound” to be faithful to his part of thecovenant. But he remained faithful. It was preciselywhen the relationship was broken that hesed wasrevealed most deeply: it showed a love stronger thansin and a grace more powerful than betrayal.

Incarnation: Luke 2

The Father’s mercy responded to the deeplonging of his people by entering into creation, intothe fabric of human living, in God’s Son madeflesh. Jesus forgave sinners, healed the sick, reachedout in mercy, and spoke to us of love. He taughtthe way of poverty and simplicity, which does notboast in arrogant pride but rather has mercy evenon the unjust. Jesus’ every word and deed are directrevelations of the intentions of God, of the loveand mercy of the Father’s heart. Believing in Jesusmeans believing that love has been made present inthe world, that love is more powerful than evil. Itmeans standing beneath the cross, believing inGod’s mercy for ourselves and for the world.Committing to follow Jesus is to allow oneself tobe “remade,” to become a “new creation,” to be-come selfless, to be Christ-like love poured out forothers.

10 Jesus: Help in Every Need

Jesus_5 5/24/10 1:42 PM Page 10

Jesus Christ: Mercy Made Visible

One of the Beatitudes that Jesus proclaimed inthe Sermon on the Mount is precisely about mercy:how fortunate the merciful (cf. Mt 5:7). Those whopractice the Beatitudes imitate God. Those whohave taken on the life of mercy live, think, anddesire as does God, who is mercy itself.

Mercy is a movement that bestows life and loveon another, that bends low wherever it finds misery.It restores the one who is suffering to the imageoriginally intended for him or her by God himself.Mercy means offering life. Jesus taught us mercythrough his parables and through his actions.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan: Luke 10

Mercy means to be shaken at the plight ofanother. One of the most profound parables Jesustold about mercy is the parable of the GoodSamaritan. Christ himself is the Good Samaritan tothe human race. God’s mercy is poured withoutreserve into the heart of his Son. Christ descends toearth, to become man, to reach down and pick usup from the side of the road where we have beenleft for dead—weak, wounded, and ill. He comes,not to walk past us in arrogance or indifference, but

11Mercy in the Scriptures

Jesus_5 5/24/10 1:42 PM Page 11

to nurse us to health with divine tenderness, torestore us to the image and likeness of God inwhich we were first created. The Son of God hascast his lot with us. The Samaritan took the wound-ed man left for dead on the side of the road to thenearest hotel. He promised to pay whatever wasnecessary for the man to be made well. This reflectsthe love of Jesus, who has done and will do what-ever is necessary to save us from sin and death.

Jesus and the Woman Caught in Adultery: John 8

Mercy is a powerful aspect of love. It prevailsover sin and infidelity. A woman has been caught inthe act of adultery and dragged before a group ofmen so that justice should be served—she isshamed, humiliated, exposed. Jesus, unlike us, how-ever, is not interested in punishment as much as heis in winning over the love and fidelity of the sinner.

Jesus bends down to write in the sand. Could itbe that he does not want to humiliate the womanfurther by looking at her, so exposed and humiliat-ed? Or is he trying to get down to her level, if shewere crouching on the ground trying to make herselfinvisible, in an act of compassion and pity? In anycase, when the crowd persists in asking how thewoman should be treated, Jesus simply states: “Letanyone among you who is without sin be the first to

12 Jesus: Help in Every Need

Jesus_5 5/24/10 1:42 PM Page 12

throw a stone at her.” One by one the men leave,uneasily, aware that they also have hidden sins theydon’t want exposed to merciless public scrutiny.Only two sentences are recorded of the conversationbetween Jesus and the woman, but perhaps Jesus saidmore: words of kindness, gently but firmly invitingthe woman to change her life. Conversion blossomsunder the working of love and the presence ofmercy in our world.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son: Luke 15

Love becomes true mercy when it stretchesbeyond the norms of justice. In the parable of theProdigal Son, the father is often in the background.The son who flees his former life, taking his inher-itance, casting off the relationship and authority ofhis father for the wild life of a young rebel—thisyouth’s colorful story is what usually grabs ourattention. Perhaps we more easily identify with him,at least a little.

However, this parable on the lips of Mercyhimself may have been meant to teach us moreabout the father. How patient is this father whowaits day after long day, week after week, monthafter endless month for his child’s return. How lov-ing is this parent who, when the son returns, doesnot reciprocate the ill treatment and insult he had

13Mercy in the Scriptures

Jesus_5 5/24/10 1:42 PM Page 13

been shown by his child. How great-hearted he is tosee beyond the mistaken choices his son has madefor an illusory happiness that could not last. Thefather is patient with his son, knowing his difficultexperience would form him into a man. His sonhad made a choice. He had made a mistake. Hewould suffer for it, and, with hope, he would learnfrom it. Absolutely he would be welcomed home,no longer a naive boy but a wiser man, ready totruly enter into relationship with his father—manto man.

Jesus Asks Peter, “Do You Love Me?”: John 21

Peter, the impetuous disciple whose faults arescrawled across the pages of the Gospels, brings theParable of the Prodigal Son to life. We see Peterbetraying Jesus, running to save his own life, hidingand leaving Jesus alone with only John and thewomen beneath the cross—he who had boasted thathe would die before betraying the Lord. How couldPeter face the Master again? But on the shores of thelake, around a campfire, at a breakfast prepared bythe Risen One, Peter experienced for all of us thereality of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. It is notjust a story. The words of Jesus reveal the heart ofthe Father. “Simon . . . do you love me?” “[D]o youlove me?” “Do you love me?” Thrice the question

14 Jesus: Help in Every Need

Jesus_5 5/24/10 1:42 PM Page 14

pierces Peter’s heart. No longer does he boast of hislove. He knows his weakness, how easy it is to fallinto self-protective modes of behavior. Quietly heanswers yes, because he does indeed love the Master.Jesus does not utter one word about the betrayal, thehiding, the running away. He simply tells Peter hehas work for him to do and to follow him. This ishis judgment—a judgment made in love. Do youlove me? Then that’s enough. Come follow me. Putyour love into practice.

The Parable of the Merciless Servant: Matthew 18

Peter had finally found the central knot ofmercy. He needed mercy, and he knew it. TheParable of the Merciless Servant, however, teachesus what to do with this most personal of discover-ies. A servant owes his master a large sum of moneyand has been forgiven his debt. He is spared frombeing sold into slavery with his family to pay it off.Immediately after this he meets someone who oweshim a small amount of money. Showing no mercy,he has him imprisoned until he pays back what heowes. The beatitude that tells us we are fortunateand blessed if we show mercy is the key to unlock-ing this parable. What we need the most, we mustgive to others. We depend on the merciful love ofGod. We have no other recourse, for we owe a debt

15Mercy in the Scriptures

Jesus_5 5/24/10 1:42 PM Page 15

that we could never pay. God doesn’t tell us to workextra hard to pay it. He forgives it. But because wehave received mercy, we need to show others themercy we have most needed ourselves.

Jesus Begs for Our Mercy: Matthew 18

In the Parable of the Merciless Servant wecould focus on the judge who has the power todecide whom to forgive and whom to condemn.But Jesus, perhaps, wants us to focus on the thirdand most hidden person in the parable—the personwho begs for mercy and who is refused mercy byhis fellow servant. This last person represents Jesus,who is always a beggar, asking for our mercy. Wehave been forgiven. Mercy has been shown us. Buthow often we neglect to show mercy toward Jesusand to remain in solidarity with he who sufferedand died to save us. He rescues us, as it were, froma burning building and transfers us safely to thekingdom of light and love. “Listen! I am standingat the door, knocking. . .” (Rev 3:20). It is up to usto let him in. It is up to us to show him mercy. “Asyou did it to one of the least of these . . . you did itto me.” The human heart is capable of this mostwondrous attribute of God: mercy. It is our great-est dignity to practice a love for others that over-

16 Jesus: Help in Every Need

Jesus_5 5/24/10 1:42 PM Page 16

reaches justice and becomes mercy, thus showingmercy to the Lord.

Saint Paul: “God Has Shown Me Mercy”: Acts 22, 1 Timothy 1, Ephesians 2

Outside of the Gospels, only one person in theNew Testament narrates his autobiographicalreflections on what God has accomplished in him:Saint Paul. That story revolves entirely around themerciful way Paul has been treated, the love he hasbeen shown in being purchased for God, and thefire of devotion that burns in his heart for Jesus.

In the Acts of the Apostles, Paul’s encounterwith Jesus on the road to Damascus is recountedthree times. In several passages of his letters, Paulreflects on its meaning. Jesus had to get in Paul’sway and stop him, because Paul’s whole life wasintent on one thing: getting rid of those Israeliteswho believed in Jesus as the Messiah. Paul believedthat these people were jeopardizing the identity ofthe Israelite people. He was on his way toDamascus to continue his zealous efforts whenGod revealed his Son to him, as he recounts:

While I was on my way and approachingDamascus, about noon a great light from heav-en suddenly shone about me. I fell to the ground

17Mercy in the Scriptures

Jesus_5 5/24/10 1:42 PM Page 17

and heard a voice saying to me, “Saul, Saul, whyare you persecuting me?” I answered, “Who areyou, Lord?” Then he said to me, “I am Jesus ofNazareth whom you are persecuting.” . . . Iasked, “What am I to do, Lord?”The Lord saidto me, “Get up and go to Damascus; there youwill be told everything that has been assigned toyou to do.” (Acts 22:6–8, 10)

Paul refers to this meeting with the Lord Jesusin terms of mercy:

. . . I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor,and a man of violence. But I received mercybecause I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, andthe grace of our Lord overflowed for me withthe faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Thesaying is sure and worthy of full acceptance,that Christ Jesus came into the world to savesinners—of whom I am the foremost. But forthat very reason I received mercy, so that in me,as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display theutmost patience, making me an example tothose who would come to believe in him foreternal life. (1 Tim 1:13–16)

From that moment on, Paul became part of thecommunity of those who believed in Jesus,crucified and risen, the promised Messiah. Thosewhom he had formerly persecuted he now collabo-

18 Jesus: Help in Every Need

Jesus_5 5/24/10 1:42 PM Page 18

rated with, seeking to spread near and far the storyof God’s mercy to us in Christ, because he hadexperienced it firsthand.

Paul made it clear, again and again, to thosewho followed him that they were also called andblessed out of mercy. It was a gift. Not becausethey were better than others, nor because they weresmarter, but because God decided to call them.

But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the greatlove with which he loved us even when we weredead through our trespasses, made us alivetogether with Christ—by grace you have beensaved—and raised us up with him and seatedus with him in the heavenly places in ChristJesus, so that in the ages to come he mightshow the immeasurable riches of his grace inkindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For bygrace you have been saved through faith, andthis is not the result of your own doing; it isthe gift of God—not the result of works, sothat no one may boast. For we are what he hasmade us, created in Christ Jesus for goodworks, which God prepared beforehand to beour way of life. (Eph 2:4–10)

Paul understood that because he had beencalled he was now sent as an ambassador of recon-ciliation to proclaim the message of mercy.

19Mercy in the Scriptures

Jesus_5 5/24/10 1:42 PM Page 19