Waves of Mercy, Waves of Grace: Learning to Be “Merciful Like the Father”

As our college campuses begin to stir with the flurry of activity that signals the end of the semester, the Church will ring in the Jubilee Year of Mercy, calling us to give and receive the abundant blessings of God’s merciful love. According to newadvent.org, mercy is “a virtue influencing one's will to have compassion for, and, if possible, to alleviate another's misfortune.” How can we bring this kind of mercy to the friends and classmates we encounter every day? This semester especially, I’ve found that it takes two key things: humility and selflessness.

In the midst of our busy, non-stop lives, it’s so easy to lose track of God and get caught up in our problems, our events, our hopes and dreams – and guess what? It’s exhausting. This year, I’ve begun to see how, with so many classes, clubs, and commitments, my own focus has a tendency to turn far more inward than I would like. Because of this, I’m constantly worried about what I have to do, what I have to turn in, what I have yet to accomplish, or what I wish I could be doing. But then, where does that leave me? Where does that leave any of us?

This is where it’s so crucial to turn to God and surrender to him the plans that we often fight to keep. It doesn’t mean that we are giving up, or that we’re going to lose everything we’ve worked so hard to achieve. Rather, it’s the simplest – but often most difficult – act of humility that reminds us that God is so much greater than all of that. He wants us to do marvelous, amazing things, to be sure, but we have to let Him work through us. We can only do that through His mercy.

I’m sure each of us can attest to those moments in our lives when, time and time again, we stumble and fall, and yet God is always there to heal us and pick us back up, no matter how bruised or broken we are. This is God’s amazing mercy: the unfailing love that takes us in and makes us whole. He forgives us even when we don’t feel worthy of being forgiven. He strengthens us when feel too weak even to pray. And He loves us beyond anything we can imagine, delighting in our joy and happiness.

Once we receive this gift, then, it becomes our responsibility to share it with our brothers and sisters – but we have to go outside of ourselves first. As tempting as it is to get lost in our daily struggles, we have to push past them to see the world and the people around us with Christ’s compassionate eyes. When we start to focus our energies and passions on alleviating the misfortunes of others, we begin to take on the Christ-like qualities that allow the Holy Spirit to truly renew the hearts of the faithful. In practice, this isn’t easy, but the more we dedicate ourselves to bringing the corporal and spiritual works of mercy to life, the more graces God will give us to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth, no matter where we are.

There is so much good we can do, as individuals and as a Church, in becoming merciful servant-leaders. In his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis reminds us that "The Church must be a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel." This might sound like a place beyond our reach, but in reality it isn’t – it’s right outside our front door. We are the Church, so wherever we are, we bring the Church with us. As we continue strengthen and build relationships in this coming Year of Mercy, may we remember to look beyond ourselves to the mercy and love God so freely gives us, so that we can practice that same abundance with everyone we meet.

Valeria Garza, Campus Ministry Volunteer, St. Mary’s University