Worth Revisiting - Mercy and Justice Go Hand in Hand

We thank Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Reardon for hosting Worth Revisiting each week and encourage you to visit them regularly at Reconciled to You and Theology is a Verb, respectively.

I wish to share this post with you:

Mercy and Justice Go Hand in Hand 

(Originally published on February 15, 2016) 

There is not now, never has been, and never will be any human being [save for our Most Blessed Mother Mary], who is not a sinner. 

We are all in need of God’s mercy – an undeserved and unlimited mercy so long as we have breath in our lungs, acknowledge and repent of our sins and humble ourselves to ask for it!.

The sad reality of our time, however, is that so few of us see any sin in our lives that would warrant requesting God’s mercy.  So foolishly we neither seek nor ask for it.  If that is the condition of our souls at the time of our bodily death, only Justice can await us – eternal separation from He Who loved and created us to be with Him eternally.

So during this Year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis, let us ask our Lord that we might see our souls as they really are and for the grace to seek His mercy, not only for ourselves, but for our friends, loved ones, and the least among us. 

May we not forget our obligation to extend mercy to all those with whom we have contact.

Yes, our God is merciful. We too must be merciful. But we must remember He is also a God of Justice.

Recall St. Bernard’s sound advice: “When I thought of God’s judgment too long, I grew fearful, and if I thought too long of God’s mercy, I grew lax. And this experience has taught me to sing not alone the mercies of the Lord, and not alone in His judgment, but judgment and mercy united in one embrace.”

St. Thomas Aquinas warned: “Now is the time of mercy; then, there will be only the time of justice. This is why we have to live in the present moment and transform it into the moment of God. “

Sin matters. It caused our Lord to suffer and die for us and continues to pierce and pain His Most Sacred Heart. 

Yet, He will not force Himself on anyone. Each of us must make the personal choice to conform our lives to His will. None of us can presume upon His mercy. We must humble ourselves and ask for it.

Given God's willingness to forgive us our sins, how senseless and foolish it would be for any one to lose their soul by failing to do so. 

Please Lord let none of us squander this time of Mercy!