BLESSED EMBRACE
“Every day we must begin our spiritual progress. Thinking well about this, we will not be surprised to find miseries within us. There is nothing that is already done: we must begin again and with a good heart.” (St Francis de Sales),
THE MERCY OF GOD
“Mercy is the first attribute of God. It is the name of God. There are no situations from which we cannot get out. We are not condemned to sink in quicksand.”
This is how Pope Francis addressed every man and woman on the planet on the occasion of the proclamation of the Year of Mercy. Jesus spoke of the Father’s mercy in the parables, especially that of the merciful Father (Lk 15:11-32). Above all, He lived mercy simply because He is the Father’s mercy in word and deed. Mary is the door of mercy, because through her, God’s mercy entered the world. It is in the Person of Jesus that the merciful love of the Father has been revealed so that it reaches each person in their sins, wounds and weaknesses. God’s mercy is fully gratuitous. It is a superabundant source of tenderness, magnanimity and unconditional love. We do not need to buy it nor do we need to deserve it: it is freely and gratuitously given to us.
In the Latin language, the term ‘misericordia’ is made up of two words: ‘misereri’ and ‘cor’. It is the heart of God that comes to meet every human misery. The wounds of sin, the evil that dwells within us and feeds on our sadness and despondency: all these wounds are visited by God’s mercy which takes the form of an embrace, that of the merciful Father.
Rembrandt in his famous painting dwells precisely on this embrace.
he father is portrayed as a half-blind old man with a moustache and beard, wearing a long tunic embroidered in gold and a dark red cloak. He is united to the son and the son is united to him. They cannot be separated: the son leans on the father and the father supports the son. With his closed eyes, he throws light on all the characters. With his outstretched arms and embracing hands, he conquers all with his love. With his advanced life, he breathes new life into those who are dying of hardship. Everything starts from him and everything converges on him. The light of his face illuminates the faces of the other characters. This light becomes alive and shining especially in his hands, the source of light and warmth. The whole body of the kneeling son, especially his chest, the seat of his heart, are invaded and penetrated by the light. They are hands of fire that burn away all evil and infuse new life. They are hands that touch and heal, giving hope, trust, comfort.
The left hand is strong and muscular. It is a clenching and supporting hand. It has the typical features of a male hand. The right hand is delicate, gentle and very tender. It rests gently on the shoulder. It does not tread but rather caresses, protects, consoles, calms. It is a mother’s hand. Two different hands for one love: it is both paternal and maternal love. Everything in the father speaks of love: the absorbed face, the clothes that protect, the body that welcomes, the hands that embrace and bless. His body becomes a welcoming womb and his hands hold, squeeze and caress his fond son. His love is welcome, forgiveness, weeping, tenderness, gift, sharing, blessing, wish, joy, celebration, life, inheritance.
THE ‘CONDITIONS’ FOR ACCESS TO GOD’S MERCY
If it is true that mercy is free, it is also true that in order to receive it, it is necessary, like the prodigal son, to return to the Father’s house. We can summarise the four conditions that open us up to His blessing and merciful embrace: 1) Trust 2) Humility 3) Gratitude 4) Forgiveness of brothers and sisters
1) Trust
We have stated that God’s mercy is the greatest mystery and the most beautiful treasure that our faith delivers to us. It is not always easy for us to accept: we see it in the Gospel and in our own lives. Sometimes, we find it difficult to receive God’s mercy because we have very little trust in the Lord’s forgiveness and do not always fully accept it. God forgives us but we fail to forgive ourselves. St. Teresa of the Child Jesus said that what hurts God’s heart most is not our sins, but our lack of trust in his love. The greater our trust, the greater the mercy we will be given and the more we will be pleasing to God.
2) Humility and poverty of spirit
Sometimes the reason why it is difficult for us to fully accept mercy is pride: I do not accept that I am a person who has fallen. I would have liked to be the perfect and infallible person. Instead, I have made mistakes but I cannot accept that I am at fault. We would like, after all, to be the ones saved, to be rich on the basis of our good deeds and qualities. We find it difficult to accept that we are poor at heart.
Sometimes we find it difficult to accept God’s mercy for ourselves and others. This is the attitude of the elder brother (“Behold I have served you for many years and have never disobeyed your command and you have not given me a kid”) and it is the attitude of the Pharisees for whom Jesus tells the parable. They satisfy their sense of justice and are content with their own works. They think they are entitled to God’s blessing and, when this blessing descends on a sinner, they see it as injustice.
This is the presumption of human pride, to insist on one’s own rights. We cannot accept the fact that God is so generous to the poor and sinners. But it is right and just for us to accept it because there is always a time in our lives when we are poor and sinners.
3) Being Grateful
There is a third important condition: gratitude. Jesus said in the gospel: “To him who has, it will be given, and he will have an abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away” (Mt 13:11). We can understand the sentence this way: he who knows that he has received gifts from God and gives thanks, will receive more.
There is a little secret in spiritual life: the more the heart gives thanks, the more God gives, even when life is not perfect and we do not have everything we need. The more we thank God, the more our heart is open and willing to receive his mercy.
4) Forgiveness
The fourth condition for receiving God’s mercy is very clear in the gospel: if we do not forgive, God cannot forgive us. Sometimes what prevents us from receiving God’s mercy is lack of mercy, hardness of heart and lack of goodness towards others. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall find mercy” (Mt 5:7). The more merciful I am to my brothers and sisters, the more merciful God will be to me.
When we realise that it is too difficult for us to say “I forgive you”, we must turn to the Father, because only God can truly forgive. To forgive, we must go through the heart of the Father. This is the source of forgiveness. It is not in me: it is the heart of God, and that is where I must go to seek forgiveness.
THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION AND THE REPETITION OF THE SAME SINS
In Christian life, there is a suffering that comes neither from external situations nor from heaven: the realisation that evil comes from within us and distances us from God. Despite our best efforts and intentions, we always fall back on certain sins; it almost seems like a kind of specialisation to always commit one or two in particular.
Certainly, several sins that we once confessed are no longer done or return at well-located periods of life. Others are likely to always remain, despite age and situations; they are sins that are part of us and immediately come to mind when we look inside ourselves; we will call it ‘my’ sin or my ‘original sin’. Each of us has his or her own ‘original sin’ that always says ‘deep down you don’t love God’, making us suffer more than any other. Of many sins, we tell ourselves sincerely, we do not even feel pain, ‘ours’ on the other hand discourages us, as if our entire relationship with God is tied to him for good (when we do not commit it) or for evil (when we fall into it). My sin is an appeal to contemplate the patience of Jesus who has much patience with us.
Knowing and giving a precise name to one’s sin is a sign of Christian maturity; those who live a rose-water faith do not understand what it means to suffer for the sins committed, which are simply weaknesses that everyone commits because we are human. When we speak of sorrow for sin, we are referring to the state of mind of a conscious Christian, not burdened by guilt but able to measure in the light of God’s word. But the moment I rely only on grace and not make an effort to be good, I begin to suffer.
We can state a simple truth. My sin (which can turn into a vice over time) will probably stay with me all my life. Fighting it head-on means time. This statement may shock, perhaps even scandalise, but we all know that this is so; and we know this because a thousand times we have tried to correct ourselves and a thousand times we have fallen back into it with ease!
What is to be done then? Transform sin into that ‘weakness’ that exalts God’s mercy and power (cf. 2 Cor 12:9). Here are some ways.
1) First of all, it is necessary to accept one’s sin by confessing it with simplicity and without shame, educating oneself in prayer to ask the Lord to get rid of it, if He so wishes.
2) Next, it is good to unmask the illusion that hides behind sin, asking oneself: what do I really seek? By committing this sin, what do I hope or think I will achieve?
3) And again: it is healthy to persuade oneself from time to time that error teaches one to be more humble and to forgive others as God forgives us.
4) Again: the devil does not offer us opportunities for evil because he wants evil in himself. His real purpose is to shame us before God by distancing us from His presence. The devil is the Accuser who stops at the door of the temple to say: “How? You who do this have the courage to go before the Lord? Are you not ashamed?” Here, then, is another caution in the face of sin: the evil that lurks within me can never take away my ability to turn to God. I may be a sinner, but never one to be overcome by shame. That is why, as good sons and daughters of Don Bosco, we approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation with such confidence and frequency and never tire of humbly begging God’s forgiveness and enjoying His infinite Mercy.
FOR PERSONAL REFLECTION
1) In which of the four ‘conditions’ (trust, humility, gratitude, forgiveness) for accepting God’s mercy do I feel weakest? Why? What can I do to grow?
2) Is there a sin that ‘distinguishes me’ and that I must confess frequently? What do I actually seek by committing that sin? What does it say about me?
3) On what occasions do I feel like the younger son in the parable of Prodigal son? And on which ones, the elder son?
Monthly commitment
Every day I commit myself to give thanks for 3 good things during the day.
