New Years Resolution
In the light of the mercy that Christ has shown us, we can do the New Year's purpose that every Catholic Christian should do.
With the previous convocation of Pope Francis, having had a Special Jubilee Year of Mercy "Catholics throughout the world are being called to demonstrate the meaning of this very high Christian virtue: Mercy. And this, we must include it in the purpose of new Year
And if you, like most of us, are willing to adopt a New Year's purpose that shamefully is often quickly abandoned, then this is the perfect New Year's purpose for you: to have mercy.
To say that Christians should be known for their mercy is, I suppose, most obvious. Mercy, according to Pope Francis, is the beating heart of the Gospel because it is written everywhere in it.
The same goes for the Epistles, the letters of the apostles, and even, it appears to some extent in the Old Testament, rooted among scandalously vindictive acts, of course.
According to the above, it could be said that Christians are really known for our mercy, but subtly, it is an extreme exaggeration. It sounds somewhat forced. It sounds something like the end of a bad joke told with pleasure.
Show mercy
That is like saying that the Russians are known for their national abstinence towards alcohol! Do you get what I mean?
Imagine that Christians like you or I are merciful people may require a great effort, which makes us reflect in this Special Year of Mercy, about what it really means to be merciful.
In his declaration of the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis pronounced some moving phrases like this,
May the balm of mercy reach all, the believers and the distant ones, as a sign that the Kingdom of God is already present in our midst! "
And, quoting Saint Thomas Aquinas:
It is God's own to exercise mercy and manifest his omnipotence particularly in this way. "
And, on another occasion, he said:
The mercy of God is the loving surrender for each of us. He feels responsible; that is, that He desires our well-being and wants to see us happy, full of joy and peace. This is the path of merciful love that Christians must also travel. Just as the Father loves, so do his children. In the same way that he is merciful, so we are called to be merciful to each other. "
Just as God is merciful, says Pope Francis, we must be the same. We are here on earth to be a sign of God's mercy. A miserable and tangible sign of his omnipotence.
This seems difficult.
It is hard to live our Christian life in a more tangible way; It is easier to pay the weekly fee to visit the Word every Sunday.
But God demands more, we know this, and the Holy Father intends to bring us responsible Catholics together. As Vicar of Christ, he plays an important role where he reminds us that we must always advance along the path that leads us to greatness. Great, right?
So we are called to show mercy. But we do not. Not even in the little things.
We are called to show mercy to our neighbors whose sidewalks just crossed my way with the baby in the stroller, or when I take the dog for a walk, but it didn't help him remove the garbage that the wind brought two days ago.
We are called to show mercy to the great gentleman ahead of me in line, although my baby and I have been trained for half an hour to pay for Christmas Eve dinner provisions.
We are called to show mercy to the cashier whose skill in capturing the codes leaves something to be desired, also towards the waitress who spills, not only one but the two hot drinks that I ordered, and even with the priest who sings very disinterested during the celebration.
And, perhaps the most difficult of all, we are called to show mercy towards ourselves and this should be included in the New Year's purpose, every year
"by the beam in our own eye, and then the splinter in our neighbors"
As Christians it should be evident that we are marked by mercy, but it is not so. We are not, unfortunately, the people with mercy that we have been talking about.
Unfortunately, we are not practicing the unreserved mercy that we are called to have. The truth is that we are not even close. But we can start moving in that direction.
On New Year's Eve, in the light of the mercy that Christ has shown us, and in the spirit of the Jubilee, we can make the New Year's purpose that every Catholic Christian should do: Have mercy
And yes, like the diet that has started every year for a decade, it may not last. But perhaps, in an attempt and with prayer, this year we could achieve it.
Perhaps, if we all work together, we can gather a tangible manifestation of mercy. Maybe we can start changing our reputation as Christians. It's worth to try...
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