Short Reflection by George Calleja
Mercy. Being a merciful person is the ultimate key to taste and see that the Lord is good. What does it mean to be a merciful person? A merciful person is one who has compassion for his neighbour. Compassion for your neighbour means to be one with the person by recognising his needs, and to do your utmost to help him in the particular needs of his life.
The needs of the person can be different from one person to another. When one considers these needs, which at times can hinder people from accepting God in their lives, one finds that such needs are either of the body or the soul. So, to be a merciful person one can be required to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to harbour the harbourless, to visit the sick, to ransom the captive, and to bury the dead.
Also, a merciful person is to reach out to the spiritual needs of another person. To address the spiritual needs of one’s neighbour, one might need to counsel the doubtful, to instruct the ignorant, to admonish sinners, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive one’s enemy, to comfort the afflicted, and to pray for the living and the dead.
Through these different actions of love, a merciful person who embraces the love of God in his life, striving to be Jesus to these people, will experience the grace, love and peace of the Lord.
Are you a merciful person?
(This reflection is an extract from my book ‘Taste and see that the Lord is Good’)
In peace and unity,
George Calleja
To view further reflections about life, kindly visit the website ‘Peace and unity in our lives’ through the following link: https://sites.google.com/site/peaceinunity/