My Sisters and Brothers:
We believe that the “pillars of Lent”
are prayer, fasting and alms-giving. As we know, each of these virtues requires both sacrifice and mercy, and they are oriented
towards right relationships with God and with other people. We believe
that our prayers, our sacrifices and our acts of charity, are ultimately
motivated by our desire to unite our lives with Jesus. We love that he
shows mercy towards all, and that he made the ultimate sacrifice in
order to save us! Jesus also firmly teaches us that the virtues of
mercy and sacrifice must always be so closely related that one must
never be understood apart from the other. Unfortunately, we might have
experienced at times a kind of tension between these two virtues.
Some
might be tempted to place a higher value on the Christian call to “sacrifice;” others might believe “mercy”
to be more important than any other obligation. With regard to these,
we might even misunderstand what the Scriptures themselves teach us
about sacrifice and mercy. For example, we read in the Old Testament
Book of Hosea: “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings” (see Hosea 6:6).
These words were written more than seven hundred years before Jesus
began his public ministry, and in his preaching, Jesus quotes them. He
states: “Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (see Matthew 9:13).
At first glance, and in contrast to this, the words of the Gospel today
seem to place a greater emphasis on the virtue of sacrifice. Today we
hear: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to
the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies,
it produces much fruit” (see John 12:24). These words,
biblically framed between the days leading up to the events of Holy
Week, and the actual sufferings and death of Jesus, clearly tell us that
sacrifice is a key component of the Christian life.
But we might ask: “Where then does ‘mercy’ fit into this picture?”
In order to answer this question, I believe we must consider the
example given by the entire life and ministry of Jesus. His public
ministry was one totally characterized by acts of care, compassion and
mercy for others, especially towards those who were most in need, and
towards those who were the most marginalized of society. I believe the
adjective “merciful” might perhaps best characterize the manner
in which Jesus related to the people he served. It was precisely
because of this that the Pharisees, the other religious “leaders”
of his day, and the secular Roman authorities were so infuriated by
him. For this reason they decided to have him arrested, persecuted and
killed.
It is exactly because of the mercy Jesus had shown towards
others, that he was led to the Cross on Calvary. In this sense, it is
clear to us who are Christian that the virtues of mercy and sacrifice
cannot be understood apart from one another.
During these days of Lent
we have practiced the great virtues of prayer, fasting and alms-giving.
May these acts of sacrifice and mercy truly unite our lives to Jesus,
and may they lead us joyfully to the hope of new life offered to each
one of us at Easter!
Praise God! Friar Timothy
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