Association Of Catholic Bloggers

We live in a “what’s in it for me?” society. We are very quick to receive goodness and gifts from God. At the same time, we are slow to give the same to others. What makes us think that we corner the market on any specific gift from God, like mercy? We welcome God’s mercy on our own souls, but we fail to give mercy to others. Mercy and forgiveness go hand in hand. We must express mercy to forgive others, as we receive God’s mercy to forgive our own sins. Jesus taught us how to give mercy and forgive sins when He taught us the Our Father: Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive others who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. Amen. Based upon what is stated in the Our Father, mercy and forgiveness will be granted to us to the extent that we grant it to others! Think o

Many of us are quick to seek mercy. But how about giving mercy? I doubt we are as quick to give mercy as we are to seek mercy. That’s human nature at work. We run to Our Lord and ask for His mercy every time we sin. In His graciousness, He is quick to grant our request.  So, why don’t we run to grant mercy when someone hurts our feelings? Unlike God, who knows everything, we need time to assess the situation, determine the extent of the offense, and evaluate the depth of hurt. Only then can we mete out the necessary amount of mercy warranted. I recently had an exchange with someone on Facebook Messenger for which I took offense. My immediate reaction was one of indignation. I was not in the mood to grant mercy. However, after assessing the situation, I was able to put things in perspective. I was able to determine the amount of hurt this person caused me by her snarky comments. Taking into consideration where this person was coming from, and not knowing her true intentions (a