Writers' Forum January 2016 - MERCY

WRITERS’ FORUM WRITERS’ FORUM It’s a Karnataka Jesuit Scholastic’s VentureIt’s a Karnataka Jesuit Scholastic’s Venture

www.jesuitwriters.com January 2016

‘Let church always be a place of mercy and hope,

where everyone is welcomed, loved and forgiven’

Pope Francis

‘Let church always be a place of mercy and hope,

where everyone is welcomed, loved and forgiven’

Pope Francis

JANUARY 2016JANUARY 2016 Writers’ ForumWriters’ Forum0202

EDITORIALEDITORIALPraveen Martis SJPraveen Martis SJ

ll of us are constantly in need of

understanding and mercy. The great Areligions of the world teach the value of

mercy. The very first verse of the Holy Quran opens

with the words, “In the name of Allah, the Most

Gracious, the Most Merciful”. The Buddhists for

example, believe that Lord Buddha declined to enter

nirupadhi – sesa – nirvana or total liberation from

Samsara out of compassion for all sentient beings so

that he could work for the salvation of all.

The idea of mercy cannot be limited to a

single and ready-to-use concept. It cannot be

reduced to some actions or deeds of mercy. It refers

to the human attitude which involves forgiveness,

kindness, charity, selfless love, pity, compassion,

etc. It is a godly attribute. In the recent history of the

Society of Jesus, Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ, the former

general of the Jesuits stands tall as a model of the

genuine attitude of mercy. He was the driving force

behind the creation of the Jesuit Refugee Service

(JRS), which is involved in the mission of

accompanying and empowering the refugees around

the world.

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus

explains 'mercy' while answering the question,

“Who is my neighbour?” Jesus teaches that love and

mercy go together on the path of eternal life.

Emmanuel Levinas, the philosopher par excellence

in the field of ethics speaks of every person's

responsibility or the “ought” dimension to the

“Other”. Levinas philosophically states that the

“face” of the “Other” impels one to act, and to be

human is to respond to this call. Carol Gilligan is

another voice that appeals for the need of “caring”

and empathy in the face of difficult moral problems.

In the same direction are the words of St Augustine

for whom mercy is “the heartfelt sympathy for

another's distress impelling us to succor him if we

can”.

Many thinkers down the line have critically

looked at altruism. The ethical egoists, for example,

emphasized the need for self-interest and self-

promotion. Max Stirner, one of the champions of

ethical egoism said that altruistic thinkers in the

name of humanity are killing the human spirit of

individualism. Ayn Rand, another prominent ethical

egoist criticized altruism because it makes people

dependent, less creative and less hardworking.

Although these are extreme opinions, they are of

help in correcting our misguided understanding of

altruism.

Any discussion on the topic of mercy will be

incomplete, especially during this liturgical year, if

we do not refer to Pope Francis. While inaugurating

the Jubilee Year of Mercy on December 8, he invited

every believer to be “artisans of mercy” and to live

mercy. The Pope reminded that God's being is mercy

and Jesus is “mercy made flesh”. Pope Francis in a

very simple language taught that “Forgiving his

children pleases God the most, so that they may in

turn forgive their brothers and sisters, shining as a

flame of God's mercy in the world”. The Pope

cautions against the dangers of individualism by

saying that self love is at the root of obliviation of

mercy.

This issue of Writers Forum brings to you

many different reflections on the topic of 'Mercy'. It

is our attempt to reflect with Pope Francis on this

very important human quality which holds the key

for reconciliation and peace in the world and within

oneself. We wish you a pleasant reading.

MISERICORDIAE VULTUS

THE FACE OF MERCY

MISERICORDIAE VULTUS

THE FACE OF MERCYGeorge Pinto SJGeorge Pinto SJ

mission revealed the mystery of divine compassion.

He was a true and faithful witness of His Merciful

Father. Because of this commitment he had to

undergo pain, suffering and even death on the cross.

He became the embodiment of God's love and

mercy. It is the very life of Jesus that continuously

invites and challenges us to become the Face of

Mercy in this world. Are we ready and willing to

take up this task upon us?

There are no boundaries and restrictions to

the mercy of God. It flows like a perennial river. The

Catholic Church must become the channel that

spreads this mercy to all people. The present

situation demands an energetic and determined

leadership from all of us to be the living witness of

God's Incarnate Mercy. In this regard, the study of

philosophy and theology must not allow us to

remain at the conceptual level alone which makes us

static and mute spectators to the burning issues of

the present world. Instead it should lead us to the

critical evaluation of the existing problems and if

possible to come out with the creative responses to

these problems. As Christians we cannot but live

without being affected and challenged by this world.

The year of mercy is an opportunity to all of

us to come closer to God and to be the living witness

of the Gospel values in and through our lifestyle.

This year also demands us to take up the spiritual

and corporal acts of mercy in our lives. Let this year

lead us to become a little more humane in being

sensitive to the needs of the poor and the

marginalized of our society. Let us hope that, it is

through our merciful acts, the other may encounter

Jesus, the incarnate love of the Father in his/her life.

0303 Writers’ ForumWriters’ Forum

he world of today is very much in need of

Mercy. It longs for a heart that would listen Tto its cries attentively in the midst of

brokenness and frailty, where one is condemned and

judged instantly. It is obvious that no one is

interested in getting into the chaos of the other

person, because it certainly demands a great deal of

time and self sacrifice. In today's world most people

live in impersonal relationships. And in this context

our Holy Father Pope Francis who is a beacon of

mercy has declared The Extraordinary Jubilee Year

of Mercy throughout church with Bull of Indiction

'Misericordiae Vultus' (The face of Mercy- Merciful

like the Father), which began on the feast of thImmaculate Conception (8 Dec 2015) and will

thcontinue till the feast of Christ the King (20 Nov

2016). The Year of Mercy calls each one of us to be

the visible face of mercy of an invisible Merciful and

Gracious (Ps 103.8) God.

Mercy is the very foundation of Christian

life. It is not a static verb which is used only in the

pious conversations, but it implies a self- empting

act which results in a deep joy and consolation

between two or more persons. Pope Francis even

coined a new word Misercodiando which in English

means 'Mercy-ing'. Mercy is not an inborn quality

but an attitude to be cultivated. Normal human

beings as we are, always try to avenge the wrong

done to us. But it is the readiness to forgive and

forget that brings harmony within and around us. 'A

little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and

more just.' says Pope Francis.

Mercy is the very heart of the Gospel. The

life of Jesus can be beautifully summarized in two

words namely love and mercy. He made an option

for the anawim of God. He loved what He did. His

JANUARY 2016JANUARY 2016


he bull Misericordiae vultus (Merciful like

the Father) proclaiming the Holy Year of TMercy calls us to rediscover our

'Christianness' or Christian ethos by first having the

experience of God's mercy so as to be 'Missionaries

of Mercy' (witnesses) in the world which often

recognizes us Christians for service (educational,

healthcare and social action) alone.

The significant symbolism

of this year namely the opening of

the Holy door reminds me of Pope's

words in Evangelii gaudium – open

the doors and windows of the

church and take the church into the

streets. It is a year of grace for all

those who have broken their bond

with the Church because of the

lack of merciful accompaniment

and also for us to acknowledge our

lapses and to grow in mercy. It

implies and challenges us with its

deeper meaning – that we ust open

our hearts and be enriched by God's

abundant mercy so as to be able to

generously open our hearts to be

merciful to others. It is a time to

gaze attentively on the mercy of God the Father so

that we become more effective signs of His action in

our lives.

It is also a time to listen to the cry of innocent

people who are deprived of their property, their

dignity, their feelings, and even their very lives

(refugees and the persecuted in Syria, Iraq, Nepal,

etc) so as to be to them what God who wish us to do.

Acts of mercy and charity are guidelines to help us in

this regard.

Thus we are invited to make our witnessing,

effective and stronger through our experience of His

mercy so as to realize our role to accept other

religions and ways of worship and work for global

peace in this world. In a word, in order to work for

peace one must draw the strength from of God's

merciful heart.

This year is an opportunity to

allow our hearts to be touched

so that there is a globalization

of the heart and a renewal of

mission. Our mission must

i nc lude mercy. To be

transformed as missionaries

of mercy we need to allow

God to surprise us. God

wishes to show his mercy to

His people through us. We are

his instruments to others. He

desires the well-being,

happiness and joy and peace

for a l l , especial ly the

neglected and the despised.

God Almighty never tires of

reaching out to his children.

He never tires of throwing open the doors of His

heart and of repeating that He loves us and wants to

share his love with us. Let us respond to the call to be

tireless witnesses of mercy in this world broken and

pained but terrorism, fundamentalism and violence.

Thus let our mission be, 'mercifulness' and our

'mercifulness' become a 'witness' to God's love for

all humankind. In sum, in line with Pauline thought

now, Mission, Witness and Mercy abide; these

three, and the greatest of these is mercy.

A CALL TO BE MERCIFUL

IN OUR MISSION OF LIFE

A CALL TO BE MERCIFUL

IN OUR MISSION OF LIFELancy Fernandes SJLancy Fernandes SJ



n the Hindi film 'Jai Ho', the hero Salman Khan

(Jai) starts a new network system in which Iwhoever helps others instead of accepting a

'Thank you' from them, should ask them in their turn

to help three more people and so on, whenever they

get an opportunity.

In our salvation history the living and visible

image of God's incarnate mercy and our eternal

hero, Jesus, through his life, death and resurrection

opened the door of mercy of his life to the whole of

humanity. So whoever enters through it may not

perish but have eternal life in the divine presence of

our Father. Each and

every one of us is

gifted with the door

of mercy as Jesus

was, because we are

created in his image

and likeness. Since

Jesus opened the door

of mercy of his life to

us, he desires us,

e s p e c i a l l y t h e

baptized, to open the

door of mercy of our

lives, not only for

three more people but

to the whole of creation.

In the Old Testament, the image of God was

that of an angry and punishing God. So Jesus came

into this world as the New Testament says, to reveal

God's unfailing and merciful love. In his Bull of

Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of

Mercy, 'Misericordiae Vultus' Pope Francis states,

that Jesus of Nazareth, by his words, his actions and

his entire person reveals the mercy of the Father.

His mercy is like having a hundred sheep. If he loses

one of them, he leaves the ninety nine in the

wilderness, and goes after that which is lost, until he

finds it (Luke 15:4). Whenever he saw sick and the

suffering his heart was moved with mercy and

compassion. The merciful nature of Jesus made him

perform numerous miracles, especially that of

feeding the five thousand with five loaves and two

fish, curing the sick and raising Lazarus from the

dead. Though he allowed everyone to enter the door

of mercy of his life only some entered it, like sinners

and tax collectors.

Jesus never

forces anyone to

enter the door of

mercy of his life. In

the episode of the

prodigal son, even

though the elder

son was with his

father obeying all

h i s

commandments,

he failed to enter

the door of mercy

of his father. Hence

he did not want his

father to show

mercy on his younger brother. Likewise, the

Pharisees and the elders of the synagogue never

entered the door of mercy of Jesus. They closed their

door of mercy of their lives and wanted others to do

the same to the sinners. It was even hard for the

disciples of Jesus to enter through it. But after

entering in they went into the world by opening the

door of mercy of their lives to the countless people

of this world.

AN INTERIOR DOOR OF

MERCY

AN INTERIOR DOOR OF

MERCYAmith SJAmith SJ


The story captured the attention of broadcast

and print media in the United States and around the

world. By Tuesday morning, around fifty television

crews had clogged the small village of Nickel

Mines, staying for five days until the killer and the

killed were buried. The blood was barely dry on the

schoolhouse floor when Amish parents brought

words of forgiveness to the family of the one who

had slain their children. Fresh

from the funerals where they

had buried their own children,

grieving Amish families

attended the killer's burial.

Roberts' widow was deeply

moved by their presence as

Amish families greeted her

and her three children. The

forgiveness went beyond talk

and graveside presence: the Amish also supported a

fund for the shooter's family. More than the tragedy

forgiveness became the most spoken word.

THE YEAR OF MERCYTHE YEAR OF MERCYJosephvaz Monteiro SJJosephvaz Monteiro SJ


few years ago I was searching for a story

on the theme of forgiveness in the internet Afor my sermon and this is what captured

my spirits then. On Monday morning, October 2,

2006, a gunman entered a one room Amish school in

Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. In front of twenty five

horrified pupils, thirty two year old Charles Roberts

ordered the boys and the teacher to leave. After tying

the legs of the ten remaining

girls, Roberts prepared to shoot

them with an automatic rifle and

f o u r h u n d r e d r o u n d s o f

ammunition that he brought for

the task. The oldest hostage, a

thirteen year old, begged Roberts

to shoot her first and let the little

ones go. Refusing her offer, he

opened fire on all of them, killing five and leaving

the others critically wounded. He then shot himself

as police stormed the building. His motivation? “I'm

angry at God for taking my little daughter,” he told

the children before the massacre.

In today's world of hatred, injury and violence, we

are called to play the role of the disciples of Jesus.

But because of our selfish nature, pride and

disordered attachments we have locked the door of

mercy of our lives. Hence we live in the darkness of

isolation, depression and meaninglessness. It is a

challenge for us, as followers of Jesus, to open it and

to be a reflection of his mercy and compassion to

others through our corporal and spiritual works of

mercy. But how can we do this, if we ourselves are in

need of God's mercy?

So we need to first enter the door of mercy of Jesus

and then it will be easy to open the mercy of our lives

to others.

As we are in the Jubilee year of mercy, the

opening of the door of mercy of our lives is much

more important than that in a Basilica or in a

Diocese. Let us all, sons and daughters of the

merciful father, open the door of mercy of our lives

so that whoever enters through it may encounter the

mercy of Jesus and the Father and give glory to

them.

AN INTERIOR DOOR OF MERCYAN INTERIOR DOOR OF MERCYAmith SJAmith SJContd. from pg. 05Contd. from pg. 05


countries and elsewhere for their faith, the plight of

the refugees of Syria, the ISIS and terrorism, the

consumerist individualistic life style, trafficking of

women and children, modern slavery, growing

intolerance, destruction of the environment and eco-

systems give us alarming signal that we have messed

up in our loving relationship with God with our

neighbours and with nature. So we all are in need of

mercy.

Amidst all this, the Church is giving us the

new hope to come back, to start afresh and return

again into the all embracing arms of the father. As

Pope Francis says, “The Church must be a place of

mercy freely given, where everyone can feel

welcomed, loved, forgiven and encouraged to live

the good life of the Gospel” (The Joy of the Gospel,

114), Let us take pride to be such a church which

made the Amish families forgive so quickly and set

an example to the world of what it means to be a

Christian.


The outside world was incredulous that such

forgiveness could be offered so quickly for such a

heinous crime. Within a week of the murders, Amish

forgiveness was a central theme in more than 2,400

news stories around the world. Three weeks after the

shooting, “Amish forgiveness” had appeared in

2,900 news stories worldwide and on 534,000 web

sites. Everyone who heard this story had only one

question to ask, How could the Amish do this? And

from where they got such a heart to forgive?

The call of Pope Francis on the theme of

'mercy' is not something new to us Christians. We

have been following this ever since mercy flowed on

us from Jesus' wounded side. Having received so

much, can we not show mercy to others and the

whole of creation? I am very happy that Pope chose

very appropriate and apt theme for this year which is

very much needed in our broken world today. When

we look at the killing of Christians in near east

THE YEAR OF MERCYTHE YEAR OF MERCYJosephvaz MonteiroJosephvaz MonteiroContd. from pg. 06Contd. from pg. 06


Bala Kiran Kumar SJBala Kiran Kumar SJ

Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no

compassion for the child of her womb? Even if these

may forget, yet I will not forget you.” (Is49:15). This

merciful God is also Just God. He expects people to

be faithful to the covenant relationship with the

Lord; which means being faithful to one another and

treat each other as brothers and sisters. “Cease to do

evil. Learn to do good; seek justice, rescued the

oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”

(Is1:16-17) “Let justice roll down like waters, and

righteousness like ever-flowing streams.” (Am

5:24) Mercy is the

measure of Man's

relationship to

G o d , f e l l o w

human beings and

nature.

I n t h e N e w

Tes tament the

mercy of God is

manifests in the

u n c o n d i t i o n a l

love. The visible

sign of this unconditional love is Jesus. “For God so

loved the world that he gave his only son.” (Jn3:16)

God continues to love us through Jesus

unconditionally regardless of our faithfulness.

When the realisation dawns upon us we would really

experience Mercy of God.

What does it mean concretely? It means to love God

is to love neighbour. We can't love god, whom we

have not seen if we can't love our neighbour, who are

inseparably connected to us. The road to heaven

always passes through the doorstep of the

neighbour. We are able to show mercy and love our

neighbour only to the extent we have experienced

god's love and mercy.


“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and

faithfulness” (Ex 34:6).

“Be merciful as the Heavenly Father is merciful”

(Lk6:36)

Pope Francis has declared this year as the

year of mercy. By this he intends to invite all the

faithful to experience the merciful God and in turn

become merciful towards one another. What does it

mean to be merciful? What is the theological

foundation of Mercy? What is it to be merciful in our

context?

In the Bible

mercy is one of the

important attributes of

God. In Hebrew the

word for mercy is

hesed which means

l o v i n g k i n d n e s s ,

l o y a l t y , a n d

faithfulness. When the

Lord passed before

Moses on Mount Sinai,

the Lord declared, “The Lord, the Lord, a God

merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding

in steadfast love and faithfulness.” (Ex 34:6) By this

the Lord says he is ever faithful to the covenant

relationship with His people. This merciful God is

also just and righteous. In God justice and mercy do

not contradict.

God shows his mercy by remaining faithful

to the obligation of His covenant with his people

throughout the salvation history; to liberate and

protect the people as their true king. “I am the Lord

your God, I have redeemed you, you are precious in

my sight, and honoured and I love you” (Is 43:3-4)

TRUE MERCY DEMANDS

JUSTICE

TRUE MERCY DEMANDS

JUSTICE


AN INVITATION TO BE

MERCIFUL

AN INVITATION TO BE

MERCIFULAlwyn D’Souza SJAlwyn D’Souza SJ

Why this Holy Year of Mercy? It is to experience

strongly in us the joy of having been found by Jesus,

as the Good Shepherd who picked us because we

were lost. A year to perceive the warmth of his love

when he charges us on his shoulders to bring us to

His Father's house. It is a year

to be touched by the Lord

Jesus and transformed by His

mercy so that we also

become witnesses of mercy

in this world of hatred and

violence.

Therefore, it is a favorable

time to heal wounds, not

tiring to meet all those who

are waiting to see and touch

the signs of the nearness of

God and to offer to all the

path of forgiveness and

reconci l ia t ion. Having

received this gift of mercy that heals and transforms

our own lives, we are invited to extend it with a

loving heart and through concrete actions, to all

those friends, families, colleagues, acquaintances

and neighbors around us.


n our life of faith it is through the sacrament of

reconciliation in particular and largely through Iprayer and Eucharistic celebration that we

receive God's mercy. The forgiveness of God fills us

with joy and gladness, gives us peace. But that is not

all. God shows us His mercy also

through people and concrete events to

which we need to be open in our lives.

Prophet Isaiah says that even though

our sins were scarlet red, God's love

will make them white as snow.

Moved by love for the world and

humanity, God has shown us his

tenderness, helped us concretely in

our lives, shown us his mercy and has

forgiven our shortcomings and

weaknesses by sending us His only

Son. In the New Testament, Jesus

invites us to do the same to our

brothers and sisters: "Be merciful just

as your Father is merciful (Lk 6:36) ".

On December 8, 2015, Pope Francis

inaugurated "The Holy Year of Mercy" by

symbolically opening the Holy Door of St. Peter's

Basilica in Rome.

What is true mercy in our context? It is not

sympathy; it is not charity; it is not even compassion.

Mercy is Just. I need to be just in my dealing with the

other regardless of the other's race, colour, gender,

caste, and creed. I give the dignity the other deserves

even if the other is beggar. I need to be just towards

the Mother Nature; I do not in any way contribute to

the exploitation of nature.

I need to defend and fight for the rights of the poor

who have been exploited and left out of development

trajectory. True mercy should disturb me looking at

the social reality. True mercy should make me

conscious of unjust social structures. True mercy

should impel me to act.

TRUE MERCY DEMANDS JUSTICETRUE MERCY DEMANDS JUSTICEBala Kiran Kumar SJBala Kiran Kumar SJContd. from pg. 08Contd. from pg. 08


seven, to go in search of the one lost sheep and to

accept sinners just as we read in the parable of the

Prodigal Son. Thus Jesus, first and foremost was a

merciful human being. His abundance of mercy

flowed to sinners, the sick, crippled, the lepers, the

poor and the weak. He feels compassion for the

crowd which is like sheep without shepherd (Mt

9:36), he shares few loaves and some fish with the

hungry crowd (Mt 15:37), he raises to life the

widow's son

from Nain

(Lk 7:15), He

forgives the

w o m a n

c a u g h t i n

adultery (Jn

8 : 1 0 - 1 1 ) .

T h u s h e

reflects his

M e r c i f u l

Father.

To d a

y P o p e

Francis by

calling this

year as the jubilee year of Mercy asks us to be Good

Shepherds, who can go in search of the lost one. To

be like the father of Prodigal Son, to accept in

compassion the estranged members of our

community, family and the church. To open the

doors of our hearts to those who hurt us. Pope wants

to see, 'a compassionate and merciful church, not

just preaching church but practicing church, not just

talking church but also acting church' and finally

'truly a merciful church'. Hope his vision for the

church may come to fulfillment through our life and

actions.

BE MERCIFULBE MERCIFULVishwas Misquith SJVishwas Misquith SJ


he call of a Christian is to be merciful just

as “our father is merciful”. It is a religion Tcalled to show mercy and compassion not

just towards those who do good to us but even to

those who hurt us. This is a call to be the change in

the world, to be instruments of mercy where revenge

is disturbing our peace.

From the advent of Christianity 'mercy' has

been the priority.

It is the basic and

foundation of

Christianity. Just

as our 'Lord, is

compassionate

and gracious,

slow to anger,

abounding in

l o v e a n d

fai thfulness ,”

calls us to be

merciful l ike

him. His mercy

i s r i c h ,

unconditional,

a b u n d a n t ,

beyond measure. We are called to follow the

example of the father, to forgive without measure.

As we read in the Old Testament, he sent numerous

prophets to bring back his estranged people back to

the fold. Finally sent his only son in order that none

chosen by him may be lost.

Jesus in the New Testament is the reflection of

mercy in his word and deed. He calls us to love our

enemies, to forgive endlessly i.e. seventy time


This may be a small incident, but it tells us how we

fail to walk the talk. Most of the religious are good at

preaching but poor in practicing. Our faith teaches

us that the core of the incarnation of Jesus was to

reveal the love and mercy of God the Father to

humankind. We have read and reflected many a

times over the acts of mercy of Jesus. Jesus

understood that people are not

wicked, but their weakness

and psychic wounds leads

them to commit sins. He

realized the difficulties of

fragile human beings, so he

forgave and loved them. Those

people who were known as

w i c k e d a n d o u t c a s t e

experienced deeply merciful

love of Jesus. The merciful

acts of Jesus prompted all

those were condemned in the

society to follow His example.

The Holy Father has

announced this year as a year

of mercy. He has opened the

“door of mercy”. It's a call for

us to open our hearts and eyes to the reality of the

world and to be merciful and to understand that we

are all created in the image and likeness of God. The

greatest model of all is Jesus, who showed his mercy

to the poor as well as the rich without any

discrimination. It is because He loved all equally. St

Augustine say that, God loves each of us as if there

were only one of us. Let not this year of mercy become just a lip service. Let us be merciful. Let us come out of our harshness and strictness in judging others; and let our primary rule be to love our neighbor. Let us say with the English writer, D.H.Lawrence, “I shall a l w a y s b e a p r i e s t o f l o v e ” .

MERCIFUL

LIKE THE FATHER

MERCIFUL

LIKE THE FATHERPrajwal Apose SJPrajwal Apose SJ


priest in a prestigious parish, during the

Sunday mass , preached to the Acongregation about mercy. He told the

people how they needed to be merciful and loving

towards each other. After the mass the priest was

sitting in the presbytery. A poor woman came to him

asking for some financial help. As soon as he saw her

he abused her and sent her away

without offering anything. That

lady did not curse the priest

because she believed that he was

chosen by God. Was there any

need to abuse her? If he was not

willing to help her, he would have

sent her away politely. This priest

had closed his eyes to the reality

of the world. The prestigious

parish had only made him lead a

comfortable life.

This may be a small

incident, but it tells us how we

fail to walk the talk. Most of the

religious are good at preaching

but poor in practicing. Our faith

teaches us that the core of the incarnation of Jesus

was to reveal the love and mercy of God the Father to

humankind. We have read and reflected many a

times over the acts of mercy of Jesus. Jesus

understood that people are not wicked, but their

weakness and psychic wounds leads them to commit

sins. He realized the difficulties of fragile human

beings, so he forgave and loved them. Those people

who were known as wicked and outcaste

experienced deeply merciful love of Jesus. The

merciful acts of Jesus prompted all those were

condemned in the society to follow His example.


PRIESTS - THE CHANNELS OF

GOD'S LOVE AND MERCY


GOD'S LOVE AND MERCYLarren Menezes SJLarren Menezes SJ

At this she was convinced and she cried

bitterly. The priest helped her to unburdened her

sorrow and experience the merciful of God.

This is only a short story but it tells us about

how people misunderstand God's love and mercy, by

getting stuck to some negative experiences. It is the

duty of the priests to educate the faithful about God's

love, mercy and forgiveness which are core values

of Christianity. These are the values taught and

preached by Jesus himself. Though Jesus lived 2000

years ago when there was no science and

technology, his values are held high. Today people

have changed a lot. Science and technology decides

the future. Yesterday's research and findings are

ou tda t ed t oday. The

c u l t u r e , t r a d i t i o n s ,

practices and even religion

are under the influence of

science and technology. It

even dictates what a person

should eat, dress up and

how he or she should

behave. And in the scenario

a question arises whether the teachings of Jesus are

still relevant?

I feel in these times of crisis the teachings of

Jesus are still relevant. The world today is wounded.

It is in need of healing. With the development of

technology and science, human life is devalued.

Violence, religious intolerance, exploitation of

women and children, besides the destruction of

nature are the external signs of woundedness deep

within. They show emptiness and dryness in the

human heart. And in order to be happy people have

tried everything possible on this earth except

following the teachings of Jesus.


et me begin with a short narration. In a

parish there was a parishioner who used to Lgo to the Church only once a month, due to

various reasons. And on a particular day which she

attended the Church, the priest was preaching on

“love for enemies”(Lk.6 :27- 36).

While preaching he said, “Our God is

loving, kind, forgiving and merciful. He loves us

and listens to our plea.....”

As he said this, the parishioner stood up and

said, “Father, please stop flattering. My husband is

an innocent man. He is arrested for no fault of his. I

tried my best to get him released. I even prayed to

your “merciful God”, but

He did not answer my plea,

and my husband is still in

jail. And my only son, John,

who was everything to me,

died of a fatal accident.

What wrong have I done?

Who will care for me? And

where is your merciful,

loving and kind God?”

The priest was dumbfounded and remained

silent for a while. But after a short pause, he said,

“Yes, God has put your husband in the jail, He took

away your son not because you were faithful

towards in Him. Just look at Jesus, God's own Son.

Did the father take away the cup from Jesus when He

prayed to Him in the garden of Gethsemane? Was

the father not kind and unmerciful towards Jesus?

And if the father were to relieve Jesus from all the

sufferings, we would still be under the slavery of sin.

In spite of all this foolish love and sacrifice, our God

is not unmerciful.”


On the other hand, in the past few decades

even the Church has gone back to the Old Testament

spirituality. The shepherds have given negative

examples by leading a luxurious life, without paying

heed to the cry of simple people. They have even

condemned their flock.

We hear every day the misbehaviour of one

or the other priest is coming to light. This has been

scandalous. This has left the people in a dilemma.

They are not able to experience the love, forgiveness

and mercy of the Lord. As a result the Churches all

over the world (especially in the west) which once

were over crowed, are empty now. More and more

Christians in search of love, peace, understanding,

mercy and compassion are embracing other faith.

In spite of all this the arrival of Pope Francis,

to the Holy See has brought about great hope among

the people. Under his leadership the Church, which

was stuck to its dogmatic stands is able to breathe the

fresh air of love, compassion, forgiveness and

mercy. Many, especially the youth, are coming back

to the Church, hearing his teachings and looking at

his actions. It is clear that he is echoing the voice of

Jesus who came into this world 2000 years ago. At

the appropriate time the pope has announced “the

extraordinary year of mercy”. He is asking us to be

merciful like the Father. He is reminding priests and

religious to be merciful and forgiving, as they

become the hands and feet of Jesus by continuing

His mission. So, let us be more kind, loving,

understanding and merciful to the people we serve.

Let us be instruments of Mercy in this wounded

world.



GOD'S LOVE AND MERCY


GOD'S LOVE AND MERCYLarren Menezes SJLarren Menezes SJContd. from pg. 12Contd. from pg. 12


Congratulations

Dear Fathers

Congratulations

Dear Fathers

“Mercy is the force that reawakens us to new life and instills in us the courage

to look to the future with hope”

“Mercy is the force that reawakens us to new life and instills in us the courage

to look to the future with hope”

Pope FrancisPope Francis

PEARLSPEARLS

1515 Writers’ ForumWriters’ ForumJANUARY 2016JANUARY 2016

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Spiritual

Writers' Forum January 2016 - MERCY