This week we have a very special guest blogger, the man I always think of when I think of Mercy. He not only has written books on this topic, God's Mercy in his life has been tangible. He is Dr. Matthew Halbach. He is my husband and teaches me so much about God's love for each of us... read on!
"Divine Mercy Sunday is upon us. If there is anything divine about God, it is the mercy he shows toward us. In fact many saints and theologians over the years have agreed that mercy is the greatest of God’s qualities: not because God has other, lesser qualities but because we are so much in need of his mercy. Knowing this, we can say without hesitation that mercy is something, indeed, divine. God’s mercy is radical, far more radical than we can (or are willing to) imagine. Many of the parables, not to mention Jesus’ death and resurrection, challenge us to embrace (not necessarily comprehend) that God’s mercy as the very power that heals, transforms, and saves us . . . and it’s free! This does not mean that mercy is cheap. Our forgiveness comes at the most expensive price: the death of God’s own Son. But it does mean that God is so willing to forgive us that he is willing to risk everything, to give all of himself, and to do this “while we were still sinners” (Rom 5:8). We cannot merit or deserve God’s mercy. Yet, Saint Faustina—the recipient of the Divine Mercy Devotion and image—says that Jesus told her that “the greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to my mercy” (Diary, 723). In reality, we don’t have any rights to (or claims on) God. Yet, Jesus is ever-willing to be our servant if it means we will but follow him. Let this Divine Mercy Sunday remind us of how costly forgiveness can be, and how liberating it is when we accept it. May God open our hearts to be instruments of his mercy for others, though it may cost us dearly to be so. Finally, let us never be afraid to run to God for forgiveness, no matter how serious the sin or how many times we have committed it. Christ died and lives again to forgive. God is mercy (Lk 6:36)." Thank you Dr. Halbach!
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AuthorWord up. I am Stacy, the youth minister of this amazing group of teens. I have 4 kids of my own, 2 heaven babies and like 60 teens I consider very large children of my own. Archives
March 2018
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