Mercy Rising (on trembling legs …)
Day 22 of our 40 Days of Mercy Fast
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Mercy Rising (on trembling legs…)
‘I know that the grain of wheat must be ground between millstones in order to become food. In the same way, I must be crushed in order to be useful to the Church and to souls.’ (641)
Jesus is crushed to become for us the Meal of Mercy; death precedes life, first for Christ then for Christians. Only our death is not fatal. The Risen Lord invites us to die to our props and illusions; He grants us Mercy then resurrects what in us pleases Him.
St. Peter illustrates well these necessary losses. I love that man. He embodies the zealous, unrefined, and teachable soul better than any other. Jesus loved Him dearly, in light of his blindness—‘You shall never die, Jesus!’ his fear and unbelief—‘Jesus, I will follow You on the water; help, I am drowning here!’, and his arrogance—‘Jesus, you shall never wash my feet!’
Jesus loved Peter in all of his stumblings, and set him aright each time.
Jesus entrusted Peter with the keys of the Kingdom—forgiveness, the binding and loosing of sin. Does that not make sense in light of the Rock’s many failures?
To whom would you be more apt to entrust your sin—a seamless saint or a sinner made holy through Mercy alone? Through failure and repentance unto Jesus and His forgiveness, Peter earned his place as the first to be entrusted to forgive sins in Jesus’ Name and power.
Consider Peter’s last great failure, his three-fold denial of Jesus prior to Calvary. Almighty Mercy turned the Apostle’s worst humiliation inside out; He made it the basis of His three-fold call for Peter to love and feed His sheep.
The Resurrected Christ elevated the humbled Peter as the Church father of forgiveness, His man of Mercy for sinners like you and me. On trembling legs, with extended hand, we the members of the one body are wise to follow Peter’s lead. Let Mercy overflow from the depths of vacated sin.
‘The Church is founded on forgiveness. Peter is a personal embodiment of this truth, for he is permitted to be the bearer of the keys, after having stumbled, confessed, and received the grace of pardon. Behind the talk of authority, God’s power appears as Mercy and thus is the foundation stone of the Church.’
Pope Benedict, Called to Communion
‘Simon Peter, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, Peter, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.’ (Lk.22:31, 32)
‘Jesus, we agree with You that sin crushes us. Thank You for not crushing us as a penalty for our sin; thank You for granting us Mercy. Only in Mercy can we repent and come to a full knowledge of the Truth. You are that Truth, Jesus. In the words of Peter, where else will we go? You are the key to our lives, the antidote to our sin and the secret of a future lived in union with You. Make us Merciful, as You were merciful to Peter and to us. Like Peter, may we represent well the truth that ‘Mercy is the foundation stone of the Church.’ ‘
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Author’s note – Each day’s entry is based a passage from St Faustina’s diary. The passage entry is the number in parentheses at the end of each opening quote or simply a page number in parenthesis. Diary of St Maria Faustina Kowalska – Divine Mercy in My Soul (Association of Marion Helpers, Stockbridge, MA 01263) is available through the publisher or Amazon.com.
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