As a pilgrim preparing for the Easter event, I was prompted to ask during my reflections, “How are we to intentionally live mercy during Lent?” For sure, Pope Francis’ document, The Face of Mercy is a guide to help us along that journey, but what more are we called to do to show love, compassion, and mercy in our daily actions? In the section on parables, Francis indicates how far God went to forgive in the story of the father with two sons (Luke 15: 11-31). The prodigal son returned after squandering away all that he had and losing himself to ask for his father's mercy and forgiveness. His second son, who had remained at home anf followed his father's wil, became upset at the open embrace and immediate forgiveness shown to his brother who had done so much wrong. How did the father leave the door of mercy open for both of his sons? While the father welcomed back his wayward son, the door remained open for the older son who resented the Father’s welcome-back attitude. For sure, God’s mercy is “tailor made” for us all just as it was for each son in their own situation.
While we don’t know the full outcome of the older son’s bitter attitude, our Lenten journey is a time for us to complete the story of the father and the two sons by looking into our own bitter tendencies. Being bitter creates a stumbling block to receive and bestow God’s mercy. Although we might have good reason to resent those who have wronged us, mercy invites us to temper our bitterness so that we can be freed up to sow mercy and reap the benefits of love.
John of the Cross voices the greatest motive for opening our hearts to mercy is that Mercy is the bridge that connects God and man, the grace that draws us near Him. At the end of this life, when we meet God face to face, there is one question that we will all have to answer, “Did you open the window of your heart to love?" Love was the motive for Jesus Crucified, because as it is written in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son." Let us remember during this Lenten season and everyday beyond that we're called to ask for and show God’s mercy, in order to open for each of us, the redemptive door of love.
