St Matthew’s Gospel powerfully portrays Christ’s mercy for us. “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt 11, 28-30). Jesus knows perfectly well the hardships that we go through in our lives. He is making himself available to all those who want to experience his comforting presence.

In his second letter to the Corinthians, St Paul exhorts us that in times of great sorrow we are to seek refuge in God. The more we let ourselves be embraced by God’s merciful love the more we can be his servants of comfort for all those who suffer from all sorts of afflictions which life presents to them. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor 1, 3-4).

In the beatitudes Jesus taught us: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matt 5, 7). And in his stunning revelations to St Faustina Jesus bid her: “I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbours always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it”.

May we all understand that it is by trusting in God’s mercy and lavishly show it to one another that our broken world would be healed from its ongoing decay! After all, did Christ not tell us: “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matt 25, 40)?

Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap