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Friends,
today's Gospel is a clarion call for us to be merciful. The whole
purpose of the Church—the priesthood, the Mass, the sacraments, good
preaching, the corporal and spiritual works of mercy—is to make saints.
There really is no question more important than this one: what does it
mean to be a saint? Well, to be a saint is to be holy, and to be holy is
to follow God's will, and God's will is always a will to love, and love
is willing the good of the other. So to be a saint is to will the good
of others.
Easy
enough to say, but the hardest thing in the world to do! What makes us
"blessed" or "happy" is precisely holiness. And Jesus says, "Blessed are
the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." In many ways, this is the
heart of the matter. Chesed is the relevant word in Hebrew, translated
wonderfully in the King James as "tender mercy." This is what God is and
what he invites us to participate in.
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