Merciful God

We know we need and want peace. We sometimes talk about grace, especially in the Christian dialogue. But do we, publicly, ever hear mentioned the concept of mercy? Outside of church, that is.

The world that listens to Pope Benedict when they think he says something that just might be radical…..ought to be listening to him today.

On this “Divine Mercy Sunday” — the annual feast instituted by John Paul II to honor the visions of the Polish mystic Sr Faustina Kowaklska, who the late pontiff canonized — Benedict XVI paid tribute to his predecessor and the devotion at today’s Angelus:

“Mercy,’ said Benedict XVI, ‘is in reality the core of the Evangelical message; it is the name of God itself, the face with which He revealed Himself in the Ancient Covenant and fully in Jesus Christ, incarnation of Creative and Redemptive Love. This love of mercy illuminates the face of the Church as well, and manifests itself via the Sacraments, in particular that of the Reconciliation, and charity, community and individual works. All that the Church says and does is a manifestation of God’s mercy for man…

From Divine Mercy, which pacifies the hearts, comes true peace in the world, peace among different peoples, cultures and religions.”