Examining the Mercy of Jesus

MADISON  For the rest of this Year of Mercy and beyond, why not learn about how to share the Lord’s boundless love and mercy from the master of mercy: Jesus himself?

Allan Wright, academic dean of St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard here guides readers through many instances of Christ’s mercy — in word and action — found in Scripture in his new, “A Month’s Journey with the Merciful Jesus.” The Catholic Book Publishing Corporation, Totowa, recently released the pocket-sized volume, which examines his mercy from the perspective of each Gospel writer: Matthew, Luke, John and Mark. For each day of the month, the book presents a short Bible passage, a down-to-Earth reflection — sometimes drawn from real life events — and a prayer on a specific aspect of Jesus’ mercy.

“Concrete actions of loving kindness to those in need constitute the mercy desired by God. We see this quality of mercy displayed on the pages of the Gospels, both by Jesus and a few persons whose merciful actions Jesus affirms,” Wright writes in the introduction to “Merciful Jesus.” “Pope Francis speaks about mercy often…He has stated ‘Jesus’ attitude is striking: we do not hear the words of scorn, we don’t not hear words of condemnation, but only words of love, of mercy, which are an invitation to conversion. “Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin gain’…God’s face is the face of a merciful father, who is always patient. He understands us, he waits for us, he does not tire of forgiving us if we are able to return to him with a contrite hearts,’ ” he writes.

“Merciful Jesus” takes the reader on “a journey of mercy through the life of Jesus as found in the four Gospels. Each passage of Sacred Scripture, each short reflection and prayer is designed to experience more fully the mercy of God and in turn be an active participant in sharing that mercy with others,” Wright writes.

The 64-page book devotes its first week of Scripture, reflections and prayers on the Gospel of Matthew, where readers see Jesus actively reaching out to sinners and the wayward. He also makes his mission our own as he gives the Church the Great Commission” — “go and make disciples of all nations, baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” and to teach them to obey everything he has commanded, Wright said.

“At the heart of Jesus’ teaching is mercy, the mercy which comes from the heart of God the Father and the mercy that the Holy Spirit continues to stir in all who believe in Jesus,” writes Wright, who noted that we follow Jesus’ way of love “every time we sacrifice our time for another, when we forgive generously, when we pray for each other and when, like Jesus, we give our lives to God.”

For the second week, Wright examines the Gospel of Mark, which portrays Jesus as fearless in revealing his mercy in the face of an angry crowd and making time for people on the margins: the poor and unwanted.

“The simple healing touch of Simon’s mother in law without saying a word, the forgiveness and healing freely offered to a paralyzed man and the cure of a leprous man are but a few acts of mercy we encounter in Mark’s Jesus,” Wright writes. “The challenge for many believers today of course is to be merciful as Jesus is merciful and to do it courageously. We need the assistance of the Holy Spirit to speak boldly and the encouragement from the Church that this is the way of Christ,” he writes.

For the ninth day of the section on Mark, “Radical Mercy,” Wright examines Mark 2:5: “On perceiving their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ ” Then, the author tells the story of New York City Police Officer Steven McDonald, who forgave the teen-age boy who shot and paralyzed him in 1986.

“He [McDonald] refused to hold a grudge and was set free from a vengeful and callous heart by a deliberate act of forgiveness. Likewise, Jesus deals with the bigger problem in the paralyzed man’ life, which is sin, for Jesus forgives him first. What follows this act of mercy is healing…Forgiveness first, then healing can begin,” Wright writes.

Then Wright offers in a prayer to God, “If it is your will, relieve me from my physical ailments, but only after I have forgiven others and in all humanity asked to be forgiven for my own faults.”

For the third week, Wright looks at Luke, which emphasizes the sacrificial aspect of Jesus’ crucifixion and death for our sins at the end of his Gospel.

“We must respond to the love [of Jesus on the Cross] with love. There will be opportunities in our own lives to sacrifice ourselves for the lives of others” that might involve other ways besides martyrdom, he writes.

For the fourth week, Wright examines the Gospel of John, which enables readers to see “the mercy of God poured out in Christ who is in control in every situation.”

“It is the mercy from Christ who goes to those on the margins; mercy from Christ who changes water into wine; mercy from Christ who washes his disciples’ feet. It is the mercy from Christ that transforms the bread and wine into the very Body and Blood,” Wright writes. “May the mercy we encounter and experience in Christ so overwhelming us that we allow his mercy to be poured out through us as well.”

[“A Month’s Journey with the Merciful Jesus” costs $3.50.

To order, go to: catholicbookpublishing.com

or call (877) 228-2665.]