No matter how just relations between men may become, the daily exercise of mercy will always be necessary, as it enriches and perfects the virtue of justice. A merciful attitude must extend to very diverse needs: material ones (food, clothing, health, employment...) and those of a moral order (making it easier for our friends to go to confession, combating the great ignorance regarding the most elementary truths of the faith by teaching the Catechism, collaborating in a formative task...).
Mercy is, as its etymology suggests, a disposition of the heart that leads us to feel compassion for the miseries we encounter every day, as if they were our own. Therefore, we must first practice understanding toward the defects of others, maintaining a positive and benevolent disposition that inclines us to think well of others and to easily forgive faults and mistakes, while still offering help in the most appropriate way. This attitude leads us to respect the radical equality among all men, as they are children of God, sowie the differences and peculiarities of each personality. Mercy implies true compassion—effectively sharing the misfortunes of our brothers and sisters, both material and spiritual.
The Lord made this beatitude the straight path to achieving happiness in this life and the next. “It is like a trickle of fresh water that flows from the mercy of God and allows us to share in His very happiness. It teaches us, much better than books, that true happiness does not consist in taking and possessing, in judging and being right, in imposing justice in our own way, but rather in letting ourselves be taken and grasped by God, in submitting to His judgment and His generous justice, in learning from Him the daily practice of mercy”15. Then we understand that there is more joy in giving than in receiving16. A compassionate and merciful heart is filled with joy and peace. In this way, we also obtain that mercy which we so desperately need; and we will owe it to those who have given us the opportunity to do something for them and for the Lord. Saint Augustine tells us that mercy is the luster of the soul; it enriches it and makes it appear good and beautiful17.
At the end of this time of prayer, we turn to our Mother, Holy Mary, for She “is the one who possesses the deepest knowledge of the mystery of divine mercy. She knows its price and knows how high it is. In this sense, we also call her Mother of Mercy”18.
Although we already have abundant proof of her maternal love for each one of us, we can say to the Blessed Virgin: *Monstra te esse matrem!*19, show that you are a mother, and help us to show ourselves as good children of yours and brothers to all mankind.
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**HCD**