Divine Mercy is–Generous. Hopeful. Powerful. Compassionate. Glorious. I am. A pilgrim of mercy.
There are words we use every day, all the time. There are words we hear all the time. And yet we aren't always clear about what their meaning is. What is mercy? The world's definition of mercy is compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm. The mercy of God is much more than an act of pardon or the cancellation of punishment. It's more dynamic than the passivity of looking the other way. It's an intimate and deeply personal thing. And so we ask again, what is mercy? Mercy is love reaching out to misery. Love reaching out to misery. When we need God's mercy, we are miserable.
The two go hand in hand. We may be aware of our misery, or we may be oblivious to it. Sometimes it is misery that we have caused ourselves. Sometimes we are the victims of misery someone else has caused. And sometimes our misery is caused by the seemingly random, inexplicable accidents, disasters, and tragedies of life. Just know this, the next time you are miserable, God is reaching out to you. And that reaching out is mercy. Love, reaching out to misery. And just as God reaches out to us with His love in the midst of our misery, we are called to lovingly reach out to others in their misery. We are called to become pilgrims of mercy.
I have witnessed people extending extraordinary mercy to others in the most ordinary ways. A touch, a smile, a helping hand. I have also seen human beings bestow astounding mercy on other human beings. How is that possible? Well, made in the image of God, we are capable of mercy. It is a divine attribute and a human capability. Spend one minute meditating on Jesus' suffering on the cross, and then imagine how vast God's mercy must be. Imagine yourself immersed in His mercy. Ask Him to bathe you in His mercy. God's mercy is greater than any mistake you can make.
God's mercy will liberate you from the worst moments in your past, and His mercy is the key to the best moments in your future. Saint Augustine observed, "God's mercy is so great that you may sooner drain the sea of its water or deprive the sun of its light than diminish the great mercy of God." Our need for God's mercy is vast, but His mercy is boundless. He is always reaching out to us mercifully as a loving Father, hoping to save us from the next misery we are creating for ourselves. Mercy is love reaching out to misery. What misery do you need God to reach out to or soothe today? Trust, surrender, believe, receive.
50 million American Catholics have stopped going to mass over the past 30 years. If you think that is sad and tragic, I'm right there with you. If you think they have no idea what they are missing out on, I'm right there with you. And if you wish, we could change that for future generations, our children and our grandchildren, I'm right there with you. Dynamic Catholic is incredibly excited to announce that we're creating a game-changing program that will transform the way Catholics, young and old, experience the Mass forever. Nobody who experiences this program will ever say mass is boring ever again. Help us eradicate Mass "is boring" from the Catholic vernacular.
Click the button below, choose your welcome gift, and become a dynamic Catholic ambassador today. Have a great day, and remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic. [music]
Eternal God.
In whom mercy is endless. And the treasury of compassion inexhaustible.
Look kindly upon us.
And increase your mercy in us. That in difficult moments we might not despair. Nor become despondent.
But with great confidence.
Submit ourselves to your holy will.
Which is love and mercy itself.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
See you tomorrow.
Thank you, Ambassadors.
You are changing the world. Have a great day. Have a great day.
Have a great day. [applause]
Hey, Isabel. One of the best ways to be a pilgrim of mercy is to collaborate with God to create Holy Moments. So I figured, while we have a couple of minutes, you could inspire the audience to create some Holy Moments. So what is today's Holy Moment Challenge?
Today's Holy Moments Challenge is catch someone doing something right and praise them for it.
