Trust In God's Mercy - Just Don't Take It For Granted

Do you know how fortunate you are? Do you have any idea how fortunate all of us are – that God chooses to have mercy on us?

I believe we often take mercy for granted – more often than we should. Like you, I suspect, this whole concept doesn’t stay at the front of my mind; or, at least, it hadn’t until I was praying one morning and finally connected some dots.

I confess; I sometimes recite prayers without thinking much about what I’m praying. I also do that too often.

One of those prayers is in the Prayer app from DivineOffice.org that I have on my phone and tablet. It’s a prayer to St. Michael the Archangel for spiritual protection. Near the end, that prayer asks St. Michael for his intercession, for the chance to join him and the holy angels to “praise the clemency of God who, having refused mercy to the rebellious angels after their fall, has granted repentance and forgiveness to fallen man.”

Whoa.

Have you ever thought about that?

God has, to this day, withheld His mercy from the fallen angels. But He envelopes any of us in His divine mercy who ask for – and trust in – that mercy.

Earlier this year, I obtained a digital edition of the diary of St. Faustina of the Divine Mercy. This truly holy woman offers a treasure trove of mercy in a book all of us should read at some point.

In paragraph 420 of that diary is this simple statement that she attributes to Jesus: “Every soul believing and trusting in My mercy will obtain it.”

Believing in God’s mercy and trusting in it should never include taking it for granted. None of us should ever think, “Well, I know God will have mercy on me because He has said that He would – time after time in many different ways.” The knowledge that He wants to immerse us in His mercy is very comforting, but that mercy requires us to make some commitments.

First and, from here, most important is our commitment to show mercy to others. We cannot expect to receive anything we aren’t willing to give; and give freely. We have guides in the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. Do you know what they are? You should.

Well-known Franciscan Friar and author Fr. Andrew Apostoli, a founding member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, offers an amazing guide in his recent book, “What To Do When Jesus is Hungry.”

“The works of mercy provide us with the opportunity to let every person know he is a child of God and a brother in Christ,” he writes. “From the works of mercy will emerge a community of love and peace centered on Christ.”

I’m guilty – daily – of not being as merciful as I should. Aren’t we all?!

And what happens every time we go to Mass? After greeting the priest celebrating that particular Mass, we contemplate our sinfulness and ask God to forgive us.

Do you remember what the priest says? “May Almighty God have mercy on us….”

Any time we like, we can ask for that mercy. We’ll receive it, as St. Faustina reported in her diary, if we believe and trust in it. God knows whether we’re truly sincere in that belief and trust; but I suspect we all have chances, early and often, to grow in them.

How? By practicing mercy in our everyday lives:

By not sinking into road rage when someone cuts us off on the drive home from work –  instead, asking God to protect them and get them home safely.

By not coming unglued when something doesn’t go the way we believe it has to – instead,  thanking God for His mercy, and for the opportunity to learn and grow from whatever it is that didn’t go “our way.”

As you read this, we’re coming to the end of Respect Life Month’s first week. What’s that have to do with any of this, you wonder?

Isn’t the ability to respect all life a sign of mercy?

Here’s your assignment until we meet again:

1 – Say the following at least three times daily: “Oh blood and water, which gushed forth from the heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in you.”

2 – Think about what you’re saying; grow deeper in your belief in its truth.

3 – Show that belief every chance you get through merciful thoughts and actions.

Stay faithful, my friends.