A primary truth of our lives is that God is friendly toward us. God shows us this over and over. And when we don’t get the message, God continues trying to convince us that no matter what we do, the divine love and forgiveness are always there for us. We may find the truth of God’s mercy hard to believe as we consider our own failings and realize our own helplessness. But mercy assumes unworthiness and neediness.
We are always held securely in the divine mercy. We are wrapped in mercy like the air.
When we speak of mercy, however, we mean more than forgiveness of sins, although that is certainly a part of it. Mercy is the loving-kindness of God—in Hebrew, hesed, God’s forbearance toward us, a tender love that does not require deserving on the part of the one on whom it is bestowed. In the Hebrew scriptures it is “that sure love which will not let Israel go” (N. H. Snaith, “Loving-Kindness,” Theological Word Book of the Bible).
And there is another Old Testament word, racham, which the King James Version renders by the beautiful expression “tender mercies.” Racham is etymologically related to the Hebrew word for womb, and represents “God’s tender compassion, that pity which he has for [us] in our … helplessness” (Snaith, “Mercy,” Theological Word Book of the Bible).
-Sr. Rose Hoover (http://www.vocationquest.org/cenaclearchives/2012/03/wound-with-mercy/)
We are always held securely in the divine mercy. We are wrapped in mercy like the air.
When we speak of mercy, however, we mean more than forgiveness of sins, although that is certainly a part of it. Mercy is the loving-kindness of God—in Hebrew, hesed, God’s forbearance toward us, a tender love that does not require deserving on the part of the one on whom it is bestowed. In the Hebrew scriptures it is “that sure love which will not let Israel go” (N. H. Snaith, “Loving-Kindness,” Theological Word Book of the Bible).
And there is another Old Testament word, racham, which the King James Version renders by the beautiful expression “tender mercies.” Racham is etymologically related to the Hebrew word for womb, and represents “God’s tender compassion, that pity which he has for [us] in our … helplessness” (Snaith, “Mercy,” Theological Word Book of the Bible).
-Sr. Rose Hoover (http://www.vocationquest.org/cenaclearchives/2012/03/wound-with-mercy/)
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