God’s immense mercy is in the news! Unfortunately, this supreme gift is often misrepresented. I will get to that in a moment.

December 8th through the following November 20th is a Holy Year of Mercy, an extraordinary jubilee. In announcing it, the Holy Father proclaimed “No one can be excluded from God’s mercy.”

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

His divine mercy truly is extraordinary and is the bedrock of Christian faith. We sin against God and the wages of sin is death. THAT is how serious sin is and the fate we deserve from a just but unmerciful god. God is not unmerciful and sent His only begotten Son into the world to offer us a choice.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed.

But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

John 3:16-21

Friends, that is God’s mercy and truly good news. Through Jesus Christ, every person, no matter the depths of their transgressions, may be forgiven. It is extraordinary and Pope Francis is a wise shepherd in declaring this year of mercy.

Make no mistake, while God’s incredible mercy is offered to all, this year and every year – it comes with one simple condition and is a limited time offer. The condition is contrition — acknowledge, understand, be truly sorry, and turn away from sin. The time limit is our lifetime and the clock is our beating hearts.

We have the free will to reject this generous and loving offer, that is to reject God. God’s love is so abundant, He does not force us to reciprocate. When we reject God’s commandments we reject Him and the undeserved mercy He offers us.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you.

I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live.

On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.

Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”

John 14:15-21

God’s great mercy is for everyone yet many will say “no thanks.” They do this in their pride and arrogance by rejecting God’s commandments, accepting morality not as God revealed truth but as the world continuously redefines it. They may call themselves Catholic or Christian or anything else, but in fact they manifestly reject God’s will and only accept Him, if at all, on their own terms and conditions. In doing so, they reject His mercy. By not dying on the spot, God’s boundless mercy continues to sustain them – temporarily.

It is disastrously wrong to expect God’s mercy to be an unconditioned entitlement. It is also wrong to believe God’s mercy is given by merely expressing empty “belief” without works (that is, without reflecting honest belief in our heart and through our actions).

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?

If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?

So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Indeed someone might say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.

You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble.

Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless?

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?

You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works.

Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called “the friend of God.”

See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

James 2:14-24

Divine mercy is not something we give. We are not God. It is not for us to judge. God will and when He does at the moment of our death, no amount of word games, excuses, false claims or blaming others could fool Him (should that be one’s plan). He knows us better then we know ourselves.

What if, some may ask, a person is invincibly ignorant or has diminished mental capacity or in some other way is not willfully rejecting God? Is there no hope? First, as long as they draw breath there is hope they will turn to God. Second, God is the most perfect and merciful judge. For any individual person, the answer is “we don’t know”. We pray for them, for everyone else and for ourselves. No one should presume to know (itself a sin). However, we know with certainty that Hell is real. Scripture and the Saints suggest it is anything but empty.

Headlines which speak of the Church or the pope offering mercy are distortions. Willful non-repentant sinners are themselves rejecting absolution. They are seeking worldly acceptance but are separating themselves from God and choosing to remain so. The angels and saints weep.

The media suggests the Church can / should / will adopt a “more merciful policy” on adultery, abortion, homosexual and other sinful acts. God’s mercy already absolves these sins for the truly repentant. The media’s implication however is that those who engage in these sinful acts, sometimes loud and proud, but without contrition should still be accepted and tolerated. Of course our brothers and sisters are accepted. It is the sinful acts that are rejected, not the sinners which we all are. That is not good enough for secular thought, which insists these acts are natural, good and wholesome. We call that scandal and such false affirmation will never come from Christ’s true Church. This prideful beef is with God as these violate His commandments. It is utterly impossible for the Church to change this, nor does she desire to. God’s way is the way and the truth and the life.

Sometimes I walk on water and I hope that you do too! It is real, supernatural and can be trusted 100%. Yes, yes, I am speaking figuratively but it is very real none-the-less.

We walk on water when we trust in the Lord completely. The more saintly among us do this routinely. For the rest of us, it is still a more conscious choice. We particularly experience this when we are unable to be in control, turning ourselves and our problems over to Him. We do not abandon the problem and step back into the boat. Rather we trust Jesus, work as His instruments and accept the direction He takes us.

This is easier said than done. We try to be self-reliant and solve problems ourselves. As complications increase we can start to sink before we realize it. Knowing when we are in too deep and asking God to take this increasing burden from us might not occur to us. So we too often keep control as we sink toward the bottom. It takes humility to see when this is happening. Peter trusted the Lord and didn’t hesitate to give up control (his will to keep a solid, if wobbly, platform beneath himself). Nothing he could do would change his buoyancy, yet he did not sink. Miracles work when faith is present.

Even when we do place our trust in the Lord we can be tempted to interfere. That is, attempting to reassert some control. Our trust then becomes conditional, subject to our will — effectively we revoke trust. You know how that works out. Peter discovered those consequences as he doubted the miracle he was in. The more he doubted, the more he sank. His faith – his trust – was waning, he was taking back control and sinking.

Jesus does not give-up on us when put our faith on ourselves. He is still there by our side waiting to extend His saving hand when our sometimes prideful freewill gets us into trouble. As Peter sank, he turned back to Christ and embraced His outstretched hand. He didn’t drown, but I bet he got soaking wet.

Think about that big problem you are currently dealing with. It might be publicly known like an issue at work or perhaps a very private matter known only to you. Do you really want to “go it alone”? For that matter, is there ever a time that you should? Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.

At once [Jesus] spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.

But when he saw how [strong] the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Matthew 14:26-31

When we Catholics initially enter a pew or when we exit the pew before leaving church, we “genuflect.” That means that we briefly kneel, bending our left leg and touching our right knee to the floor. Why?

Some possible reasons:

1. It is a charming habit.
2. Everyone else does, so to fit in.
3. It is a tradition, a “Catholicy” thing to do!
4. We are acknowledging the fact that we are literally in the presence of Jesus Christ, the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings. He is really, substantially before us in the Holy Eucharist – in body, blood, soul and divinity – reserved in the tabernacle. We acknowledge this and submit to His divine Kingship in humble adoration.

The correct answer of course is the last one. Genuflecting reminds us of who and where we are. We are not God and He is. We are in the MOST sacred space, where the passion, death and resurrection or our Savior is made present through the Mass. At that once and for all time sacrifice, we are assembled with far more people than those of the parish present. We are together in communion with all the angels and saints (known and unknown) and with the faithful of every past and every future Mass everywhere.

Sometimes when we genuflect this is not foremost in our mind. We may be thinking of other things or acting out of habit. That friends, is really sad. Properly genuflecting may be the most important thing we do to prepare our hearts and minds for the Mass. A quick mini-curtsy or head nod toward the front does not do it.

Catholic brothers and sisters, recommit yourselves to getting this right. Do so at the very next Mass you attend (and every one after that):

• Think.
• Find the sanctuary lamp. Is it lit? You are in His presence.
• Face the tabernacle and touch you right knee to the floor. Completely.
• Optional: bow your head (I prefer that) and/or cross yourself (the preference of most other people).

If you need to steady yourself, by all means hold on to the pew as necessary. If you physically can not do this, just do what you can (we are never expected to do the impossible).

Non-Catholic visitors, welcome! I wrote how your visit might seem like you are in a strange land, but will summarize. We Catholics believe (actually, know beyond any doubt whatsoever) that our communion bread literally becomes Christ just as He said. Not all of His most Holy Body is consumed by those receiving. That which is not is “reserved” (safely and respectfully kept) in a “tabernacle” (a special dwelling place harking back to that which Moses constructed). While rare (e.g. after Holy Thursday and throughout Good Friday), it is possible that the tabernacle is empty. When empty, Christ is not present and we do not genuflect (it would not make sense). A special lamp (typically a candle in red glass) is mounted close to the tabernacle and lit as a signal to us when He is present. For your visit, please just have a seat for now (it’s OK, really). We pray that you too will one day join us at the Eucharistic table.

Pope Francis has declared next year (from the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, 2015 through the feast of Christ the King on November 20, 2016) to be an Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. The Holy Father said “I am convinced that the whole church – that has much need to receive mercy because we are sinners – will find in this jubilee the joy to rediscover and render fruitful the mercy of God, with which we are all called to give consolation to every man and woman of our time.”

Mercy is absolutely central to who we are as Christians. It is what Jesus merited for us upon the cross. It is also commanded of us. That second sense of mercy is often poorly understood. I will get to that, but first let’s review God’s mercy.

We have all sinned against God and the Body of Christ, the Church.

all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23

If we say, “We are without sin,” we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1 John 1:8

This is gravely serious and in justice, our rebellion deserves eternal separation from God for it.

For the wages of sin is death

Romans 6:23a

It is through God’s superabundant mercy that we live. Through that same mercy, we may remain in His fellowship by repentance. The judgment that we deserve for our sins is set aside if we, with contrite hearts and will to amend our lives, only ask for His forgiveness. That is God’s amazing mercy.

As God shows us mercy through His love for us, we too are called to do likewise with others. It is compassion for others motivated by love. Saint Pope John Paul II wrote in his Dives in Misericordia (Rich in Mercy) encyclical that “Mercy is love’s second name” and is “the greatest attribute of God.”

Such love demands action. Let me offer an example. Imagine that we are on a bridge, near a person preparing to jump over the rail and end his life. What do we do?

We might back away, fearful that we could be accused of pushing him. It might occur to us that he has his reasons and after all, who are we to judge? We don’t want to be intolerant or force our religious views (about suicide) on someone else. Then there is the risk to our own safety should we get too close and get pulled along. If we are able to pull him to safety, he may hate us for our unwelcomed interference. Maybe it is best to “not get involved.”

None of that reflects compassion and true love for this person. If we love him as we are called to, we do get involved as best we are able even if it might not turn out so well for us.

While we may not witness a situation like this, we are called to action in helping those who suffer including the poor, the oppressed, the imprisoned. We are also called to instruct and advise (CCC 2447) those committing spiritual suicide. Those who denounce God, have sex outside marriage (including adultery and all same sex physical relationships), support abortion and all other sinful acts as they are grave, self-inflicted harm.

Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor sodomites, nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10

If we act out of love to help our brothers and sisters in these circumstances then we are showing them mercy. Such actions may never be self-righteous, preachy or condemning but show the love of Christ through us reflecting only what is best for the other – even when they themselves think otherwise and may condemn us for it.

Sometimes we see people throw our Lord’s commandments “out the window.” They rationalize and refuse to get involved. Worse, they may invent convenient and comfortable theology on the spot (“if there is a truly loving God…”). Often their idea of “mercy” is simply unbridled tolerance. That is no virtue, far from it.

To be clear: “accepting” / “tolerating” sinful action in the name of “mercy” is exactly the opposite of love and actual mercy. Actual mercy leads others to truth, to God and to salvation. It builds the kingdom of heaven, not reinforces the “wisdom” of the world.

Not every situation that presents itself is open to our help. Indeed, sometimes even planting a small mustard seed can not be reasonably achieved. We must use good judgment, wisely choosing where and how to help. If however we find our good judgment always leads to never getting involved, we may wish to reconsider our motivations.

“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.

But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans.

When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Matthew 10:16-20

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”

He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment.

The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:36-40