3 Steps to Becoming Merciful
by Angie Ledbetter
It’s hard to be merciful in a world that does not value actions that are meek or mild. Many people mistakenly value only aggressiveness, looking out for “number one,” and “Doing unto others before they do unto you.” So, how are we to live out the beatitude that says “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy” without looking like complete wimps?
Pop Quiz
When someone hurts you deeply for no reason, do you:
a.) Figure out how you will execute some payback?
b.) Confront them and demand that they make things right?
c.) Try to figure out why they did it, and seek to offer forgiveness?
When you’ve made a terrible mistake or bungled things badly,
do you:
a.) Ignore what happened, figuring we’re all human and make
errors?
b.) Hope that in time the whole ugly business will blow over?
c.) Seek forgiveness from God and the person who was wronged?
If you commit a grave and serious sin, what do you do?
a.) Continue on, trying not to feel guilty.
b.) Vow to never do it again.
c.) Throw yourself with trust on God’s divine mercy.
If you chose the “c” answers, you’re on the right track. If not, you're like most of us and you probably need to brush up on the finer points of the beatitude of mercy and put it into practice a bit more.
Step
1: Define your terms. What IS mercy?
The dictionary gives the meaning of mercy as “compassionate treatment of others, especially those under one’s power; a disposition to be kind and forgiving.” Sounds simple enough, but trying to live the definition is often anything but simple. But as with most virtuous and moral acts these days, we must be willing to go against the grain. Being merciful is definitely counter-culture!
What the dictionary definition of mercy doesn’t explain is that Jesus tells us even to be merciful and kind to those in our lives who we find unlovable or who seem to go out of their way to be mean and hurtful to us. To follow Christ takes more than simply being “nice” to those who “deserve” it in order to obtain the benefit of the Lord's unfathomable mercy.
The virtue of being merciful needs to be applied to every single person we come into contact with!
Step 2: Take Sr. Faustina as your model. Trust in the mercy of God!
Sister
Faustina was recently canonized a saint of our Church because of her work
in the area of God’s mercy. In her diary, “Divine Mercy in My
Soul,” she records some of her moving encounters with Christ about
just what mercy is, and how we can learn to dispense it to others in a
way which is pleasing to Him. Jesus revealed to her:
“Tell them that no soul that has called upon My mercy has been disappointed or brought to shame. I delight particularly in a soul which has placed its trust in My goodness.”
Such is the limitlessness of God’s mercy for all His creatures that no one has ever failed to obtain His generous forgiveness. In return for this gift, we are to share it with others who need our forgiveness and we are to pray that they also turn to Him for the same grace.
“Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy.”
Until we realize that we need God and His mercy, instead of thinking that humans are in control of everything, we will always be at war, and we will always be restless with worry and anxiety. But by forgiving others and acting mercifully to all, God grants us the gift of His peace.
Step 3: Pray! Ask for help to be forgiving to those
who hurt you.
Every time we pray as Jesus taught us to pray, the words of the Our Father
remind us to forgive others if we hope to be forgiven by God. We open
ourselves to the mercy of the Lord if we choose to be a bit more kind
and merciful to those here on earth. If we remember the fact that there
is a balance in eternity, it may help us to keep things in perspective.
And perhaps we can be a little counter-culture and show mercy to all those
around us!
“Where, if not in the Divine Mercy, can the world find refuge and the light of hope? Believers understand that perfectly" - Pope John Paul II
Three Questions to Ask Yourself:
1. What does it mean to be merciful?
2. How can I be more merciful to those I encounter daily?
3. Think of a time when you failed to act with mercy. How would you replay
the scene if given the chance?
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