A hint of mercy.

"In short, we are called to show mercy because mercy has first been shown to us. Pardoning offences becomes the clearest expression of merciful love, and for us Christians it is an imperative from which we cannot excuse ourselves. At times how hard it seems to forgive! And yet pardon is the instrument placed into our fragile hands to attain serenity of heart. To let go of anger, wrath, violence, and revenge are necessary conditions to living joyfully."

The first line is probably the most special one of all, "because mercy has first been shown to us". The beautiful text taken from Pope Francis' bull on 2016 being the Year of Mercy (you can get it here) is a document proclaiming that next year is a year of understanding but more importantly receiving God's mercy. Because mercy has first been shown to us therefore it is only our right to be merciful and forgiving and having all the Christian values.

But wait!

Isn't this one of the hardest thing to do? To forgive, to understand, to listen, to comprehend, to tolerate and most of all to even love. Too many times, have we preached the word of mercy, but how merciful are we?

Mercy is an act of love, not only love for the other, but it extends as the inherent nature of human. Through mercy is where we experience the basics of human companionship, comfort, and fellowship with one another.

The challenge of mercy sometimes comes at a price; a price that can only be paid with humility and with a feeling of respect for the other person. Most of the time, this challenge arises when we are to show mercy to another person, showing mercy shouldn't be synonymous as a condescending attitude or a "duty" for the sake to care for the person, in fact showing mercy comes from the self offering to and for others so that others might gain from it(see Romans 12:1). Another challenge of mercy is also giving it out to those who need it most. Without going too far - as far as showing mercy to those in poverty and hunger - ask ourselves, who are the people who need mercy from us, in our everyday lives?

Sometimes we overlook this, and we tend to not show the mercy that others crave from us. Now the word "crave" may be strong, but let's reflect, who in our lives do actually crave for it. Another point of view is that sometimes the person who needs mercy from us is our very own self. Self-mercy isn't about pitying ourselves but rather a room we give ourselves to learn from the pain which we ourselves have caused or the pain from which others have given us.

"Perhaps we have long since forgotten how to show and live the way of mercy. The temptation, on the one hand, to focus exclusively on justice made us forget that this is only the first, albeit necessary and indispensable step. But the Church needs to go beyond and strive for a higher and more important goal. On the other hand, sad to say, we must admit that the practice of mercy is waning in the wider culture. In some cases the word seems to have dropped out of use."