Writers' Forum January 2016 - MERCY

WRITERS’ FORUMWRITERS’ FORUM
It’s a Karnataka Jesuit Scholastic’s VentureIt’s a Karnataka Jesuit Scholastic’s Venture
www.jesuitwriters.com January 2016
‘Let church always be a place of mercy and hope,
where everyone is welcomed, loved and forgiven’
Pope Francis
‘Let church always be a place of mercy and hope,
where everyone is welcomed, loved and forgiven’
Pope Francis

JANUARY 2016JANUARY 2016 Writers’ ForumWriters’ Forum0202
EDITORIALEDITORIAL
Praveen Martis SJPraveen Martis SJ
ll of us are constantly in need of
understanding and mercy. The great
Areligions of the world teach the value of
mercy. The very first verse of the Holy Quran opens
with the words, “In the name of Allah, the Most
Gracious, the Most Merciful”. The Buddhists for
example, believe that Lord Buddha declined to enter
nirupadhi – sesa – nirvana or total liberation from
Samsara out of compassion for all sentient beings so
thathecouldwork for thesalvationofall.
The idea of mercy cannot be limited to a
single and ready-to-use concept. It cannot be
reduced to some actions or deeds of mercy. It refers
to the human attitude which involves forgiveness,
kindness, charity, selfless love, pity, compassion,
etc. It is a godly attribute. In the recent history of the
Society of Jesus, Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ, the former
general of the Jesuits stands tall as a model of the
genuine attitude of mercy. He was the driving force
behind the creation of the Jesuit Refugee Service
(JRS), which is involved in the mission of
accompanying and empowering the refugees around
theworld.
In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus
explains 'mercy' while answering the question,
“Who is my neighbour?” Jesus teaches that love and
mercy go together on the path of eternal life.
Emmanuel Levinas, the philosopher par excellence
in the field of ethics speaks of every person's
responsibility or the “ought” dimension to the
“Other”. Levinas philosophically states that the
“face” of the “Other” impels one to act, and to be
human is to respond to this call. Carol Gilligan is
another voice that appeals for the need of “caring”
and empathy in the face of difficult moral problems.
In the same direction are the words of St Augustine
for whom mercy is “the heartfelt sympathy for
another's distress impelling us to succor him if we
can”.
Many thinkers down the line have critically
looked at altruism. The ethical egoists, for example,
emphasized the need for self-interest and self-
promotion. Max Stirner, one of the champions of
ethical egoism said that altruistic thinkers in the
name of humanity are killing the human spirit of
individualism.Ayn Rand, another prominent ethical
egoist criticized altruism because it makes people
dependent, less creative and less hardworking.
Although these are extreme opinions, they are of
help in correcting our misguided understanding of
altruism.
Any discussion on the topic of mercy will be
incomplete, especially during this liturgical year, if
we do not refer to Pope Francis. While inaugurating
the JubileeYear of Mercy on December 8, he invited
every believer to be “artisans of mercy” and to live
mercy.The Pope reminded that God's being is mercy
and Jesus is “mercy made flesh”. Pope Francis in a
very simple language taught that “Forgiving his
children pleases God the most, so that they may in
turn forgive their brothers and sisters, shining as a
flame of God's mercy in the world”. The Pope
cautions against the dangers of individualism by
saying that self love is at the root of obliviation of
mercy.
This issue of Writers Forum brings to you
many different reflections on the topic of 'Mercy'. It
is our attempt to reflect with Pope Francis on this
very important human quality which holds the key
for reconciliation and peace in the world and within
oneself.Wewish you apleasantreading.

MISERICORDIAE VULTUS
THE FACE OF MERCY
MISERICORDIAE VULTUS
THE FACE OF MERCY George Pinto SJGeorge Pinto SJ
mission revealed the mystery of divine compassion.
He was a true and faithful witness of His Merciful
Father. Because of this commitment he had to
undergo pain, suffering and even death on the cross.
He became the embodiment of God's love and
mercy. It is the very life of Jesus that continuously
invites and challenges us to become the Face of
Mercy in this world. Are we ready and willing to
takeup thistaskupon us?
There are no boundaries and restrictions to
the mercy of God. It flows like a perennial river. The
Catholic Church must become the channel that
spreads this mercy to all people. The present
situation demands an energetic and determined
leadership from all of us to be the living witness of
God's Incarnate Mercy. In this regard, the study of
philosophy and theology must not allow us to
remain at the conceptual level alone which makes us
static and mute spectators to the burning issues of
the present world. Instead it should lead us to the
critical evaluation of the existing problems and if
possible to come out with the creative responses to
these problems. As Christians we cannot but live
withoutbeingaffectedandchallengedby thisworld.
The year of mercy is an opportunity to all of
us to come closer to God and to be the living witness
of the Gospel values in and through our lifestyle.
This year also demands us to take up the spiritual
and corporal acts of mercy in our lives. Let this year
lead us to become a little more humane in being
sensitive to the needs of the poor and the
marginalized of our society. Let us hope that, it is
through our merciful acts, the other may encounter
Jesus, theincarnateloveoftheFatherinhis/herlife.
0303 Writers’ ForumWriters’ Forum
he world of today is very much in need of
Mercy. It longs for a heart that would listen
Tto its cries attentively in the midst of
brokenness and frailty, where one is condemned and
judged instantly. It is obvious that no one is
interested in getting into the chaos of the other
person, because it certainly demands a great deal of
time and self sacrifice. In today's world most people
live in impersonal relationships. And in this context
our Holy Father Pope Francis who is a beacon of
mercy has declared The Extraordinary Jubilee Year
of Mercy throughout church with Bull of Indiction
'Misericordiae Vultus' (The face of Mercy- Merciful
like the Father), which began on the feast of
th
Immaculate Conception (8 Dec 2015) and will
th
continue till the feast of Christ the King (20 Nov
2016). The Year of Mercy calls each one of us to be
the visible face of mercy of an invisible Merciful and
Gracious(Ps 103.8) God.
Mercy is the very foundation of Christian
life. It is not a static verb which is used only in the
pious conversations, but it implies a self- empting
act which results in a deep joy and consolation
between two or more persons. Pope Francis even
coined a new word Misercodiando which in English
means 'Mercy-ing'. Mercy is not an inborn quality
but an attitude to be cultivated. Normal human
beings as we are, always try to avenge the wrong
done to us. But it is the readiness to forgive and
forget that brings harmony within and around us. 'A
little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and
morejust.'says Pope Francis.
Mercy is the very heart of the Gospel. The
life of Jesus can be beautifully summarized in two
words namely love and mercy. He made an option
for the anawim of God. He loved what He did. His
JANUARY 2016JANUARY 2016

he bull Misericordiae vultus (Merciful like
the Father) proclaiming the Holy Year of
TMercy calls us to rediscover our
'Christianness' or Christian ethos by first having the
experience of God's mercy so as to be 'Missionaries
of Mercy' (witnesses) in the world which often
recognizes us Christians for service (educational,
healthcareandsocialaction)alone.
The significant symbolism
of this year namely the opening of
the Holy door reminds me of Pope's
words in Evangelii gaudium – open
the doors and windows of the
church and take the church into the
streets. It is a year of grace for all
those who have broken their bond
with the Church because of the
lack of merciful accompaniment
and also for us to acknowledge our
lapses and to grow in mercy. It
implies and challenges us with its
deeper meaning – that we ust open
our hearts and be enriched by God's
abundant mercy so as to be able to
generously open our hearts to be
merciful to others. It is a time to
gaze attentively on the mercy of God the Father so
that we become more effective signs of His action in
our lives.
It is also a time to listen to the cry of innocent
people who are deprived of their property, their
dignity, their feelings, and even their very lives
(refugees and the persecuted in Syria, Iraq, Nepal,
etc) so as to be to them what God who wish us to do.
Acts of mercy and charity are guidelines to help us in
thisregard.
Thus we are invited to make our witnessing,
effective and stronger through our experience of His
mercy so as to realize our role to accept other
religions and ways of worship and work for global
peace in this world. In a word, in order to work for
peace one must draw the strength from of God's
mercifulheart.
This year is an opportunity to
allow our hearts to be touched
so that there is a globalization
of the heart and a renewal of
mission. Our mission must
include mercy. To be
transformed as missionaries
of mercy we need to allow
God to surprise us. God
wishes to show his mercy to
His people through us. We are
his instruments to others. He
desires the well-being,
happiness and joy and peace
for all, especially the
neglectedandthedespised.
God Almighty never tires of
reaching out to his children.
He never tires of throwing open the doors of His
heart and of repeating that He loves us and wants to
share his love with us. Let us respond to the call to be
tireless witnesses of mercy in this world broken and
pained but terrorism, fundamentalism and violence.
Thus let our mission be, 'mercifulness' and our
'mercifulness' become a 'witness' to God's love for
all humankind. In sum, in line with Pauline thought
now, Mission, Witness and Mercy abide; these
three,andthegreatestoftheseismercy.
A CALL TO BE MERCIFUL
IN OUR MISSION OF LIFE
A CALL TO BE MERCIFUL
IN OUR MISSION OF LIFELancy Fernandes SJLancy Fernandes SJ

n the Hindi film 'Jai Ho', the hero Salman Khan
(Jai) starts a new network system in which
Iwhoever helps others instead of accepting a
'Thank you' from them, should ask them in their turn
to help three more people and so on, whenever they
getanopportunity.
In our salvation history the living and visible
image of God's incarnate mercy and our eternal
hero, Jesus, through his life, death and resurrection
opened the door of mercy of his life to the whole of
humanity. So whoever enters through it may not
perish but have eternal life in the divine presence of
our Father. Each and
every one of us is
gifted with the door
of mercy as Jesus
was, because we are
created in his image
and likeness. Since
Jesus opened the door
of mercy of his life to
us, he desires us,
e s p e c i a l l y t h e
baptized, to open the
door of mercy of our
lives, not only for
three more people but
tothewholeofcreation.
In the Old Testament, the image of God was
that of an angry and punishing God. So Jesus came
into this world as the New Testament says, to reveal
God's unfailing and merciful love. In his Bull of
Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of
Mercy, 'Misericordiae Vultus' Pope Francis states,
that Jesus of Nazareth, by his words, his actions and
his entireperson revealsthemercyoftheFather.
His mercy is like having a hundred sheep. If he loses
one of them, he leaves the ninety nine in the
wilderness, and goes after that which is lost, until he
finds it (Luke 15:4). Whenever he saw sick and the
suffering his heart was moved with mercy and
compassion. The merciful nature of Jesus made him
perform numerous miracles, especially that of
feeding the five thousand with five loaves and two
fish, curing the sick and raising Lazarus from the
dead. Though he allowed everyone to enter the door
of mercy of his life only some entered it, like sinners
andtaxcollectors.
Jesus never
forces anyone to
enter the door of
mercy of his life. In
the episode of the
prodigal son, even
though the elder
son was with his
father obeying all
h i s
commandments,
he failed to enter
the door of mercy
of his father. Hence
he did not want his
father to show
mercy on his younger brother. Likewise, the
Pharisees and the elders of the synagogue never
entered the door of mercy of Jesus.They closed their
door of mercy of their lives and wanted others to do
the same to the sinners. It was even hard for the
disciples of Jesus to enter through it. But after
entering in they went into the world by opening the
door of mercy of their lives to the countless people
of thisworld.
AN INTERIOR DOOR OF
MERCY
AN INTERIOR DOOR OF
MERCY Amith SJAmith SJ

The story captured the attention of broadcast
and print media in the United States and around the
world. By Tuesday morning, around fifty television
crews had clogged the small village of Nickel
Mines, staying for five days until the killer and the
killed were buried. The blood was barely dry on the
schoolhouse floor when Amish parents brought
words of forgiveness to the family of the one who
had slain their children. Fresh
from the funerals where they
had buried their own children,
grieving Amish families
attended the killer's burial.
Roberts' widow was deeply
moved by their presence as
Amish families greeted her
and her three children. The
forgiveness went beyond talk
and graveside presence: the Amish also supported a
fund for the shooter's family. More than the tragedy
forgivenessbecamethemostspoken word.
THE YEAR OF MERCYTHE YEAR OF MERCY
Josephvaz Monteiro SJJosephvaz Monteiro SJ
few years ago I was searching for a story
on the theme of forgiveness in the internet
Afor my sermon and this is what captured
my spirits then. On Monday morning, October 2,
2006, a gunman entered a one roomAmish school in
Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. In front of twenty five
horrified pupils, thirty two year old Charles Roberts
ordered the boys and the teacher to leave.After tying
the legs of the ten remaining
girls, Roberts prepared to shoot
them with an automatic rifle and
four hundred rounds of
ammunition that he brought for
the task. The oldest hostage, a
thirteen year old, begged Roberts
to shoot her first and let the little
ones go. Refusing her offer, he
opened fire on all of them, killing five and leaving
the others critically wounded. He then shot himself
as police stormed the building. His motivation? “I'm
angry at God for taking my little daughter,” he told
thechildrenbeforethemassacre.
In today's world of hatred, injury and violence, we
are called to play the role of the disciples of Jesus.
But because of our selfish nature, pride and
disordered attachments we have locked the door of
mercy of our lives. Hence we live in the darkness of
isolation, depression and meaninglessness. It is a
challenge for us, as followers of Jesus, to open it and
to be a reflection of his mercy and compassion to
others through our corporal and spiritual works of
mercy. But how can we do this, if we ourselves are in
needofGod's mercy?
So we need to first enter the door of mercy of Jesus
and then it will be easy to open the mercy of our lives
toothers.
As we are in the Jubilee year of mercy, the
opening of the door of mercy of our lives is much
more important than that in a Basilica or in a
Diocese. Let us all, sons and daughters of the
merciful father, open the door of mercy of our lives
so that whoever enters through it may encounter the
mercy of Jesus and the Father and give glory to
them.
AN INTERIOR DOOR OF MERCYAN INTERIOR DOOR OF MERCY
Amith SJAmith SJContd. from pg. 05Contd. from pg. 05

countries and elsewhere for their faith, the plight of
the refugees of Syria, the ISIS and terrorism, the
consumerist individualistic life style, trafficking of
women and children, modern slavery, growing
intolerance, destruction of the environment and eco-
systems give us alarmingsignal that we have messed
up in our loving relationship with God with our
neighbours and with nature. So we all are in need of
mercy.
Amidst all this, the Church is giving us the
new hope to come back, to start afresh and return
again into the all embracing arms of the father. As
Pope Francis says, “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” (The Joy of the Gospel,
114), Let us take pride to be such a church which
made the Amish families forgive so quickly and set
an example to the world of what it means to be a
Christian.
The outside world was incredulous that such
forgiveness could be offered so quickly for such a
heinous crime.Within a week of the murders,Amish
forgiveness was a central theme in more than 2,400
news stories around the world.Three weeks after the
shooting, “Amish forgiveness” had appeared in
2,900 news stories worldwide and on 534,000 web
sites. Everyone who heard this story had only one
question to ask, How could the Amish do this? And
fromwheretheygotsuch ahearttoforgive?
The call of Pope Francis on the theme of
'mercy' is not something new to us Christians. We
have been following this ever since mercy flowed on
us from Jesus' wounded side. Having received so
much, can we not show mercy to others and the
whole of creation? I am very happy that Pope chose
very appropriate and apt theme for this year which is
very much needed in our broken world today. When
welookatthekillingof Christiansinneareast
THE YEAR OF MERCYTHE YEAR OF MERCY
Josephvaz MonteiroJosephvaz MonteiroContd. from pg. 06Contd. from pg. 06

Bala Kiran Kumar SJBala Kiran Kumar SJ
Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no
compassion for the child of her womb? Even if these
may forget, yet I will not forget you.” (Is49:15).This
merciful God is also Just God. He expects people to
be faithful to the covenant relationship with the
Lord; which means being faithful to one another and
treat each other as brothers and sisters. “Cease to do
evil. Learn to do good; seek justice, rescued the
oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”
(Is1:16-17) “Let justice roll down like waters, and
righteousness like ever-flowing streams.” (Am
5:24) Mercy is the
measure of Man's
relationship to
G o d , f e l l o w
human beings and
nature.
I n t h e N e w
Testament the
mercy of God is
manifests in the
unconditional
love. The visible
sign of this unconditional love is Jesus. “For God so
loved the world that he gave his only son.” (Jn3:16)
God continues to love us through Jesus
unconditionally regardless of our faithfulness.
When the realisation dawns upon us we would really
experienceMercyofGod.
What does it mean concretely? It means to love God
is to love neighbour. We can't love god, whom we
have not seen if we can't love our neighbour, who are
inseparably connected to us. The road to heaven
always passes through the doorstep of the
neighbour. We are able to show mercy and love our
neighbour only to the extent we have experienced
god's loveandmercy.
“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and
faithfulness” (Ex 34:6).
“Be merciful as the Heavenly Father is merciful”
(Lk6:36)
Pope Francis has declared this year as the
year of mercy. By this he intends to invite all the
faithful to experience the merciful God and in turn
become merciful towards one another. What does it
mean to be merciful? What is the theological
foundation of Mercy?What is it to be merciful in our
context?
In the Bible
mercy is one of the
important attributes of
God. In Hebrew the
word for mercy is
hesed which means
l o v i n g k i n d n e s s ,
l o y a l t y , a n d
faithfulness. When the
Lord passed before
Moses on Mount Sinai,
the Lord declared, “The Lord, the Lord, a God
merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding
in steadfast love and faithfulness.” (Ex 34:6) By this
the Lord says he is ever faithful to the covenant
relationship with His people. This merciful God is
also just and righteous. In God justice and mercy do
notcontradict.
God shows his mercy by remaining faithful
to the obligation of His covenant with his people
throughout the salvation history; to liberate and
protect the people as their true king. “I am the Lord
your God, I have redeemed you, you are precious in
mysight,andhonouredandIloveyou”(Is 43:3-4)
TRUE MERCY DEMANDS
JUSTICE
TRUE MERCY DEMANDS
JUSTICE

AN INVITATION TO BE
MERCIFUL
AN INVITATION TO BE
MERCIFUL Alwyn D’Souza SJAlwyn D’Souza SJ
Why this Holy Year of Mercy? It is to experience
strongly in us the joy of having been found by Jesus,
as the Good Shepherd who picked us because we
were lost. A year to perceive the warmth of his love
when he charges us on his shoulders to bring us to
His Father's house. It is a year
to be touched by the Lord
Jesus and transformed by His
mercy so that we also
become witnesses of mercy
in this world of hatred and
violence.
Therefore, it is a favorable
time to heal wounds, not
tiring to meet all those who
are waiting to see and touch
the signs of the nearness of
God and to offer to all the
path of forgiveness and
reconciliation. Having
received this gift of mercy that heals and transforms
our own lives, we are invited to extend it with a
loving heart and through concrete actions, to all
those friends, families, colleagues, acquaintances
andneighborsaroundus.
n our life of faith it is through the sacrament of
reconciliation in particular and largely through
Iprayer and Eucharistic celebration that we
receive God's mercy. The forgiveness of God fills us
with joy and gladness, gives us peace. But that is not
all. God shows us His mercy also
through people and concrete events to
which we need to be open in our lives.
Prophet Isaiah says that even though
our sins were scarlet red, God's love
will make them white as snow.
Moved by love for the world and
humanity, God has shown us his
tenderness, helped us concretely in
our lives, shown us his mercy and has
forgiven our shortcomings and
weaknesses by sending us His only
Son. In the New Testament, Jesus
invites us to do the same to our
brothers and sisters: "Be merciful just
asyour Fatherismerciful(Lk6:36)".
On December 8, 2015, Pope Francis
inaugurated "The Holy Year of Mercy" by
symbolically opening the Holy Door of St. Peter's
BasilicainRome.
What is true mercy in our context? It is not
sympathy; it is not charity; it is not even compassion.
Mercy is Just. I need to be just in my dealing with the
other regardless of the other's race, colour, gender,
caste, and creed. I give the dignity the other deserves
even if the other is beggar. I need to be just towards
the Mother Nature; I do not in any way contribute to
theexploitationofnature.
I need to defend and fight for the rights of the poor
who have been exploited and left out of development
trajectory. True mercy should disturb me looking at
the social reality. True mercy should make me
conscious of unjust social structures. True mercy
should impelmetoact.
TRUE MERCY DEMANDS JUSTICETRUE MERCY DEMANDS JUSTICE
Bala Kiran Kumar SJBala Kiran Kumar SJContd. from pg. 08Contd. from pg. 08

seven, to go in search of the one lost sheep and to
accept sinners just as we read in the parable of the
Prodigal Son. Thus Jesus, first and foremost was a
merciful human being. His abundance of mercy
flowed to sinners, the sick, crippled, the lepers, the
poor and the weak. He feels compassion for the
crowd which is like sheep without shepherd (Mt
9:36), he shares few loaves and some fish with the
hungry crowd (Mt 15:37), he raises to life the
widow's son
from Nain
(Lk 7:15), He
forgives the
w o m a n
c a u g h t i n
adultery (Jn
8 : 1 0 - 1 1 ) .
T h u s h e
reflects his
M e r c i f u l
Father.
Toda
y P o p e
Francis by
calling this
year as the jubilee year of Mercy asks us to be Good
Shepherds, who can go in search of the lost one. To
be like the father of Prodigal Son, to accept in
compassion the estranged members of our
community, family and the church. To open the
doors of our hearts to those who hurt us. Pope wants
to see, 'a compassionate and merciful church, not
just preaching church but practicing church, not just
talking church but also acting church' and finally
'truly a merciful church'. Hope his vision for the
church may come to fulfillment through our life and
actions.
BE MERCIFULBE MERCIFUL
Vishwas Misquith SJVishwas Misquith SJ
he call of a Christian is to be merciful just
as “our father is merciful”. It is a religion
Tcalled to show mercy and compassion not
just towards those who do good to us but even to
those who hurt us. This is a call to be the change in
the world, to be instruments of mercy where revenge
isdisturbingourpeace.
From the advent of Christianity 'mercy' has
been the priority.
It is the basic and
foundation of
Christianity. Just
as our 'Lord, is
compassionate
and gracious,
slow to anger,
abounding in
l o v e a n d
faithfulness,”
calls us to be
merciful like
him. His mercy
i s r i c h ,
unconditional,
a b u n d a n t ,
beyond measure. We are called to follow the
example of the father, to forgive without measure.
As we read in the Old Testament, he sent numerous
prophets to bring back his estranged people back to
the fold. Finally sent his only son in order that none
chosenbyhimmaybelost.
Jesus in the New Testament is the reflection of
mercy in his word and deed. He calls us to love our
enemies, to forgive endlessly i.e. seventy time

This may be a small incident, but it tells us how we
fail to walk the talk. Most of the religious are good at
preaching but poor in practicing. Our faith teaches
us that the core of the incarnation of Jesus was to
reveal the love and mercy of God the Father to
humankind. We have read and reflected many a
times over the acts of mercy of Jesus. Jesus
understood that people are not
wicked, but their weakness
and psychic wounds leads
them to commit sins. He
realized the difficulties of
fragile human beings, so he
forgave and loved them.Those
people who were known as
w i c k e d a n d o u t c a s t e
experienced deeply merciful
love of Jesus. The merciful
acts of Jesus prompted all
those were condemned in the
societytofollowHis example.
The Holy Father has
announced this year as a year
of mercy. He has opened the
“door of mercy”. It's a call for
us to open our hearts and eyes to the reality of the
world and to be merciful and to understand that we
are all created in the image and likeness of God. The
greatest model of all is Jesus, who showed his mercy
to the poor as well as the rich without any
discrimination. It is because He loved all equally. St
Augustine say that, God loves each of us as if there
wereonlyoneof us.
Letnot this year of mercybecomejust a lip
service. Let us be merciful. Let us come out of our
harshness and strictness in judging others; and let
our primary rule be to love our neighbor. Let us say
with the English writer, D.H.Lawrence, “I shall
a l w a y s b e a p r i e s t o f l o v e ” .
MERCIFUL
LIKE THE FATHER
MERCIFUL
LIKE THE FATHER Prajwal Apose SJPrajwal Apose SJ
priest in a prestigious parish, during the
Sunday mass, preached to the
Acongregation about mercy. He told the
people how they needed to be merciful and loving
towards each other. After the mass the priest was
sitting in the presbytery.Apoor woman came to him
asking for some financial help.As soon as he saw her
he abused her and sent her away
without offering anything. That
lady did not curse the priest
because she believed that he was
chosen by God. Was there any
need to abuse her? If he was not
willing to help her, he would have
sent her away politely. This priest
had closed his eyes to the reality
of the world. The prestigious
parish had only made him lead a
comfortablelife.
This may be a small
incident, but it tells us how we
fail to walk the talk. Most of the
religious are good at preaching
but poor in practicing. Our faith
teaches us that the core of the incarnation of Jesus
was torevealtheloveandmercyof God theFatherto
humankind. We have read and reflected many a
times over the acts of mercy of Jesus. Jesus
understood that people are not wicked, but their
weakness and psychic wounds leads them to commit
sins. He realized the difficulties of fragile human
beings, so he forgave and loved them. Those people
who were known as wicked and outcaste
experienced deeply merciful love of Jesus. The
merciful acts of Jesus prompted all those were
condemnedinthesocietytofollowHis example.

PRIESTS - THE CHANNELS OF
GOD'S LOVE AND MERCY
GOD'S LOVE AND MERCYLarren Menezes SJLarren Menezes SJ
At this she was convinced and she cried
bitterly. The priest helped her to unburdened her
sorrow andexperiencethemercifulof God.
This is only a short story but it tells us about
how people misunderstand God's love and mercy, by
getting stuck to some negative experiences. It is the
duty of the priests to educate the faithful about God's
love, mercy and forgiveness which are core values
of Christianity. These are the values taught and
preached by Jesus himself. Though Jesus lived 2000
years ago when there was no science and
technology, his values are held high. Today people
have changed a lot. Science and technology decides
the future. Yesterday's research and findings are
outdated today. The
c u l t u r e , t r a d i t i o n s ,
practices and even religion
are under the influence of
science and technology. It
even dictates what a person
should eat, dress up and
how he or she should
behave.And in the scenario
a question arises whether the teachings of Jesus are
stillrelevant?
I feel in these times of crisis the teachings of
Jesus are still relevant. The world today is wounded.
It is in need of healing. With the development of
technology and science, human life is devalued.
Violence, religious intolerance, exploitation of
women and children, besides the destruction of
nature are the external signs of woundedness deep
within. They show emptiness and dryness in the
human heart. And in order to be happy people have
tried everything possible on this earth except
followingtheteachingsof Jesus.
et me begin with a short narration. In a
parish there was a parishioner who used to
Lgo to the Church only once a month, due to
various reasons. And on a particular day which she
attended the Church, the priest was preaching on
“lovefor enemies”(Lk.6:27-36).
While preaching he said, “Our God is
loving, kind, forgiving and merciful. He loves us
andlistenstoourplea.....”
As he said this, the parishioner stood up and
said, “Father, please stop flattering. My husband is
an innocent man. He is arrested for no fault of his. I
tried my best to get him released. I even prayed to
your “merciful God”, but
He did not answer my plea,
and my husband is still in
jail.And my only son, John,
who was everything to me,
died of a fatal accident.
What wrong have I done?
Who will care for me? And
where is your merciful,
lovingandkindGod?”
The priest was dumbfounded and remained
silent for a while. But after a short pause, he said,
“Yes, God has put your husband in the jail, He took
away your son not because you were faithful
towards in Him. Just look at Jesus, God's own Son.
Did the father take away the cup from Jesus when He
prayed to Him in the garden of Gethsemane? Was
the father not kind and unmerciful towards Jesus?
And if the father were to relieve Jesus from all the
sufferings, we would still be under the slavery of sin.
In spite of all this foolish love and sacrifice, our God
isnotunmerciful.”

On the other hand, in the past few decades
even the Church has gone back to the Old Testament
spirituality. The shepherds have given negative
examples by leading a luxurious life, without paying
heed to the cry of simple people. They have even
condemnedtheirflock.
We hear every day the misbehaviour of one
or the other priest is coming to light. This has been
scandalous. This has left the people in a dilemma.
They are not able to experience the love, forgiveness
and mercy of the Lord. As a result the Churches all
over the world (especially in the west) which once
were over crowed, are empty now. More and more
Christians in search of love, peace, understanding,
mercyandcompassionareembracingotherfaith.
In spite of all this the arrival of Pope Francis,
to the Holy See has brought about great hope among
the people. Under his leadership the Church, which
was stuck to its dogmatic stands is able to breathe the
fresh air of love, compassion, forgiveness and
mercy. Many, especially the youth, are coming back
to the Church, hearing his teachings and looking at
his actions. It is clear that he is echoing the voice of
Jesus who came into this world 2000 years ago. At
the appropriate time the pope has announced “the
extraordinary year of mercy”. He is asking us to be
merciful like the Father. He is reminding priests and
religious to be merciful and forgiving, as they
become the hands and feet of Jesus by continuing
His mission. So, let us be more kind, loving,
understanding and merciful to the people we serve.
Let us be instruments of Mercy in this wounded
world.
GOD'S LOVE AND MERCY
GOD'S LOVE AND MERCYLarren Menezes SJLarren Menezes SJContd. from pg. 12Contd. from pg. 12

Congratulations
Dear Fathers
Congratulations
Dear Fathers

“Mercy is the force
that reawakens us to new life
and instills in us the courage
to look to the future with hope”
“Mercy is the force
that reawakens us to new life
and instills in us the courage
to look to the future with hope”
Pope FrancisPope Francis
PEARLSPEARLS
1515 Writers’ ForumWriters’ ForumJANUARY 2016JANUARY 2016
AvinashD’SouzaSJAvinashD’SouzaSJ

Writers' Forum January 2016 - MERCY

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Writers' Forum January 2016 - MERCY