Mercy

This morning I listened to a beautiful conversation between Jesuit priest Fr. James Martin and Trappist monk Brother Paul Quenon about the spiritual life. They touched on many meaningful topics — our image of God and our relationship with prayer — but one insight that truly stayed with me was their reflection on struggling with scrupulosity. We can be so hard on ourselves (and often on others too), yet we sometimes forget the greatest gift of our faith: mercy.

When we live in constant self-accusation or judgment of others, we are not fully reflecting the image of God. The legendary Trappist monk and priest Thomas Merton once wrote, “mercy within mercy, within mercy…” How beautiful.

If God forgives and offers mercy to all, why shouldn’t we?

Living in God’s image is what we are called to strive for — a simple, kind, gentle, loving, and merciful way of being. It may not always be easy, but it is always worth trying again.