Day 4 of the Novena
A Mercy to Offer
“Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful.” (Luke 6: 36
This year past, Pope Francis has provided us the opportunity to experience a Year of Mercy. He led us to discover that the name of God is Mercy. He reminded us that “…from the depths of the mystery of God, the great river of mercy wells up and overflows unceasingly.” (Misericordiae Vultus, no. 25) And so, this call to expressions and acts of pardon is no small thing. Mercy has as its source the face of our God, whose witnesses we want to be
Mercy is felt in the gut, the way a mother or father copes with their suffering child. Brother André was a remarkable exemplar of this sort of active mercy. He encountered thousands of people during his lifetime and he was able to get in touch with their misfortune and give it his full attention. He was able to be moved by them and to move himself to offer comfort by a word of approval, a gesture, a gaze.
To approve is to be moved and to move.
We are called to do the same thing ourselves. Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal has been and remains the special place for transmitting this mercy which reconciles and heals.
