What a Gospel for our times! Globally. Nationally.
On his first Sunday appearance as pope, Leo XIV made a passionate appeal for peace and an end to armed conflicts worldwide, particularly in Ukraine and Gaza. He said, “Never again war!” Clearly, this will be a priority for his papacy.
At a recent service at our parish, entitled Loving Creation: A Prayer Service of Longing, Lament, and Reconnection, we were introduced to the 81st homily of Saint Isaac the Syrian, a 7th-century bishop and monk from the Church of the East. (This past November, Pope Francis added him to the Roman Martyrology.) It seems so appropriate for today’s Gospel. The title: What is a merciful heart?
A heart on fire for the whole of creation, humanity, the birds,
for the animals, the demons, and for all that exists.
By the recollection of them, the eyes of a merciful person
pour forth tears in abundance.
By the strong and vehement mercy that grips such a person’s
heart, and by such great compassion, the heart is humbled
and one cannot bear to hear or see any injury or slight sorrow
in any of creation.
For this reason, such a person offers up tearful prayer
continually even for irrational beasts, for the enemies of the
truth, and for those who harm him, that they be protected
and receive mercy . . . because of the great compassion that
burns without measure in a heart that is in the likeness of God.
At each Mass, we pray the words Jesus taught his disciples. We say, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Is this what Jesus had in mind in that Sermon on the Mount: to love as God loves – with a merciful heart?
Let Us Pray:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.
