Sunday 16 October 2011

Memory and Identity: the Mystery of Mercy.



In this chapter of Bl JP II's book, he reflects upon the last and most important dimension of human freedom, a dimension that is largely overlooked today - that man's freedom exists only in relationship with God's love.

First, the Holy Father gives an exposition of Psalm 50, the psalm which speaks of the truth about man's moral fragility and the infinite Mercy of God. But how do we know about God's mercy? Our experience of God comes from God's self-revelation, ultimately in the death and resurrection of His Son.

Thus, the limit placed upon evil, of which man is both perpetrator and victim, is Divine Mercy. We might naturally presume to think that the limit placed upon evil would be Divine Justice. No, there is something greater than Divine Justice; Divine Mercy. For in mercy God draws good out of evil. The Paschal Mystery, which we celebrate in the Mass every day, confirms that good is ultimately victorious.

(The above photo was taken in 2007 as I celebrated Mass in my parish in Huddersfield.)

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