misionary of Christ's Mercy and compassion

July 11, 2023Tuesday of 14th week Year A

Memorial of Saint Benedict, Abbot

We live in a world where many people say, "Do not feel pity for me" because I am good and doing fine; I am a good man. Because people think that when other pity them, they feel despised or lower than others.

That is not the world of Christ's disciples.

The word "pity" in the Gospel today means compassion, and deep empathy caused by the suffering and misfortunes of others.

Jesus' heart was moved with pity for us when we came to him and asked him for pity or compassion. Jesus knows everything in our hearts, but we need to express them before him.

Story: once, I ask my mentor what the most important policy in the priestly formation is. He said, "Be yourself," If you are not doing fine, speak it out; if you are troubled, bring them to light; if you are unhappy, share it. Bring your troubles, challenges, and even sufferings to Jesus and tell him everything.

Lord, I am not doing fine; I am troubled and abandoned; I feel despised by others; please pity me. That is what the blind man in Luke's Gospel said to Jesus "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" and Jesus healed him. The “demon was driven out the mute man spoke” because people brought him before Jesus. We can never get healed if we do not show our wounds to Jesus.

If we have sinned, then come to confession. Fr. John Esseff who is an Exorcist for 40 years said “Confession is more powerful than an exorcism. One is a sacrament and the other is a blessing. One confession is worth 100 exorcisms, the devil wants to destroy the soul, but the soul is healed by confession. If people want to decrease the work of Satan, they should increase the use of confession. Once the confessional line gets thin, the activity of Satan increases.”

Through the sacrament of confession Jesus shows his unconditional mercy. So through our Christian life, we may show God’s mercy and compassion to others.

Jesus was moved by the troubled and abandoned people. People today are still as abandoned as sheep without a shepherd.

As Fr. Joe has mentioned before, we are all called to be missionaries; we are called to be sent out to show God's mercy. And one of the most important characteristics of a missionary is showing pity to others. Only those who show God's compassion can be missionaries.

We are all missionaries of Christ’s mercy and compassion.