I
asked God to inspire me on a topic for this advent retreat and the holy Spirit gave
me these words, “I am.”
I am the Alpha and the
Omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty (Rev
1:8) That’s
what Advent is all about. Advent is today, it was in the past, and it is what
we are waiting for in the future.
Then
Father said, Deacon let’s begin the retreat on the Feast of the Immaculate
Conception, the first day of the Jubilee year of Mercy and you should probably
talk about Mercy.
Lord I need grace, I know His mercy is great. Praise the
LORD, for he is good; his mercy endures forever. (Ps
136:1) I
know this message is for someone.
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Pope
Francis shared this story in one of his first public homilies as pope.
He
met a very old woman at a religious festival while archbishop of Buenos Aries. He
asked, “‘Grandmother … would you like to make your confession? But, if you have
not sinned …’ she interrupted, ‘we all have sinned.’”
Francis
replied: “‘If perhaps he should not forgive you?’ the grandmother replied, ‘The
Lord forgives everything.’”
He
then asked, “‘How do you know this for sure, madam?’ she answered, ‘If the Lord
hadn’t forgiven all, then the world wouldn’t [still] be here.’”
He
said, “‘I wanted to ask her, ‘Madam, did you study in Rome?’”
An
old woman in Buenos Aires, Argentina, knows the truth of God’s mercy. To sum up
what she said is simply this - Where God
is, there is mercy.
God’s
mercy is bigger than any mistake we could make. Mercy is God cleaning up our
mess. God’s mercy is his benevolence, his forgiveness and his loving kindness.
God’s
mercy was manifest by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She
was conceived without the misery of past sins.
Because
of her Immaculate Conception, she became the Mother of Jesus. By her Immaculate
Conception, Mary was prepared to become the Mother of God. By the grace of
God’s mercy, Mary became the Mother of Mercy.
Mary
was the ark of the new covenant. In her grace filled birth, her womb became the
vessel that protected and held the divine infant. Her womb was the first
tabernacle of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus.
Fr.
Tommy Lane, a theology professor at St. Mary’s Seminary in Maryland, points out
that the Hebrew word for “womb” comes from the same root as the word “mercy.” Mary’s
womb held the mercy that came for the world.
The
angel Gabriel exclaimed: Hail, full of grace! The LORD is with you. Where God is
there is mercy.
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I am the Alpha and the
Omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come. God’s
mercy is always.
It
is a benevolent mercy having existed in the midst of fallen, broken and sinful people.
We humans have always had a hardness of heart. This is the condition that
causes us to resist the mercy of God. Adam
hid and then blamed the woman. The woman blamed the serpent.
God’s
mercy is forgiveness. God never tires of forgiving us, but too often we get
tired of asking Him to forgive us. Never do that, never get tired of asking
God’s forgiveness and mercy. God’s mercy is always.
I am … gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in
love and fidelity, continuing in love for a thousand generations, and forgiving
wickedness, rebellion, and sin…. (Ex 34:6) Where God is
there is mercy.
Jesus
says, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”
Born
of a woman, Jesus is the face of God; the loving kindness of mercy that is, and
was, and is to come. In his mercy God has blessed us in Christ.
The
world needs Mercy, the mercy of Jesus who came to save what was lost. The heart
of His Gospel is mercy: Go and learn what this means, I desire mercy not sacrifice. (Mt
9:13)
The
gospel of John has Jesus’ eight “I am” statements. Of all the I am(s), the one
he does not speak is the one he exemplified, “I am Mercy.”
The
reason for the Immaculate Conception of the virgin Mary is Jesus. Jesus’ mercy is
in his divinity and his humanity.
Mary
is the mother of Jesus; the mother of God, and the mother of Mercy. Mary is the
way to Jesus. She points to him always, from her Immaculate Conception to her last
words in the Gospel: Do whatever he tells you. (Jn 2:5) In these things, the
Mother of God opens our eyes to comprehend our calling and to obtain the grace
to experience his mercy.
The
LORD’s mercy is a primal experience. His mercy today is the same mercy
experienced the first man and woman. It is same mercy that will be known by
those when he comes again. This mercy is relief from the misery of sin and it will
bring us to God. His mercy calls us. He calls us to confession; but our
hardness and shame keep us from his mercy.
No
matter how broken we are God’s mercy is there. Do not be hard hearted ask for
God’s mercy. His mercy is to experience an Immaculate Conception of being made new without the misery of our past sin.
Advent
the time we make ready for something extraordinary. We prepare for Christ; we ready
ourselves for extraordinary mercy.
Remember
this – where God is there is mercy. Our
ordinary mercy brings his extraordinary mercy. Share his benevolence, forgiveness,
and loving kindness.
Make ready and prepare ourselves for the Lord’s
Mercy! “Would you like to make your confession?”Amen
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