Thursday, November 19, 2015

Dominicans Entering the Jubilee Year of Mercy


Mercy, Mercy, Mercy…


We are women and men of the Word. We do not just imitate Jesus, the Incarnate Word in our flesh. No, we identify with the Incarnate Word. So how are we to enter this Jubilee Year of Mercy? We find a clue in Francis’ letter opening the Jubilee year, a celebration which is corresponding with the 800th Anniversary Celebration of the Dominican Order. In Misericordiae Vultus (The Face of Mercy), Francis opens his letter with “Jesus is the face of Mercy.” This means more than meets the eye. Mercy is compassion when it goes out to one who in no way deserves it. So, if Jesus is the face of mercy, this means he is the most accurate revelation of the true nature of God. Jesus is the revelation of the Father. Now each of us has our own images of God from childhood. The God keeping black marks…the judging God… But then we look at Jesus and we see a God bouncing children on his lap, a God hanging on a tree with arms outstretched to welcome us home when we have put him there. Perhaps our first resolve in this new year of Mercy can be to sit down and check on our long-held image of God. Perhaps we need to climb into the lap of God and rest against his heart. Then comes the hard work: How do we become a people of mercy?

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