Tag Archive for ‘mercy’
Tuesday 7 February
Saints Paul Miki and his Companions, Martyrs Genesis 1:20-2:4; Psalm 8; Mark 7:1-13 In the image of God God saw that all things he created were good and blessed them. Among the most blessed of God’s creation is man, male and female, made in God’s own image and likeness. The reading in Genesis challenges us […]
Monday 30 January
Hebrews 11:32-40; Psalm 30:20-24; Mark 5:1-20 Welcoming Jesus One of the most striking things in today’s Gospel is that the local people, instead of being grateful for what Jesus has done in their area, beg him to leave the neighbourhood. We can be like them – keen for God to help us but frightened when […]
Lessons from St John the Baptist
Signs and instruments of mercy We have listened to a passage from the Gospel of Matthew (11:2-6). The evangelist’s intention is that of making us enter more deeply into the mystery of Jesus, in order to grasp his goodness and his mercy. The scene is as follows: John the Baptist, while he was in prison, […]
Sunday 23 October
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Ecclesiasticus 35:12-14,16-19, Ps.34, 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18, Luke 18:9-14 Being real Jesus tells a story about two men in the temple. The Pharisee believes he is important. He tries to elevate himself by despising the tax collector who prays next to him, his head bowed. But it is the Pharisee who […]
It’s one thing to talk mercy, another to live it
Pope Francis used the text of Matthew 25:31 as the beginning point for discussing acts of mercy toward others: What makes mercy come alive is its dynamism to meet the spiritual and material needs of others. Mercy has eyes to see, ears to listen, hands to help lift. Sometimes we pass by dramatic situations of […]
Tuesday 23 August
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, 14-17; Ps 96; Matthew 23:23-26 Justice, mercy, good faith “The quality of mercy is not strainedIt droppeth as the gentle rain from heavenUpon the place beneath: it is twice blessed;It blesseth him who gives and him that takes…It is an attribute of God himself,And earthly power doth then show likest God’sWhen mercy […]
Thursday 4 August
St John Mary Vianney Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ps 51; Matthew 16:13-23 Jesus, face of God’s mercy Peter’s testimony: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” John Mary Vianney’s testimony: “Our faults are grains of sand compared to the mountain of God’s mercy.” And this observation: “It is not the sinner who comes back […]
Wednesday 3 Augus
Jeremiah 31:1-7; Canticle of Jeremiah 31:10-13; Matthew 15:21-28 What comes our way The Lord has saved his people … guarding them like a shepherd guards his flock. This is because God loves us with an everlasting love. In such a context we can appreciate the healing of the daughter of the Canaanite woman. We are […]
Proper Mercy
My curiosity was awakened last year when I heard Pope Francis talk about mercy as something that most of us do not understand properly. Most of us see mercy as a minor attribute of God or a quality we need in order to be liked. Whereas Pope Francis has called for a year of mercy […]
Monday 1 August
St Alphonsus Liguori Jeremiah 28:1-17; Ps 119; Matthew 14:13-21 Fullness of Redemption “God can take our little and make of it a lot.” This could be a summary of five loaves and two fish multiplied to feed thousands of hungry people, with twelve baskets full of scraps! Indeed, teach me your ways, O Lord. St […]
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