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“God’s mercy endures forever.” Psalm 136

Our response to Psalm 136 today was, “God’s love endures forever.”

The message of mercy is that God loves us –each of us, no matter how we are or what we do. God’s love is eternal.

This love was shown over and over again to the children of Israel as they

lived in Egypt and then as they left Egypt to journey back to the Promised Land. Theirs had been a drama in four acts: sin, punishment, repentance, deliverance. This happened over and over again but “God’s mercy endured forever.”
The Servant mentioned in today’s gospel, Jesus, was a Servant of God’s merciful love for “a bruised reed he did not break, nor did he quench a smoldering wick.” What hope Jesus gave in order to bring justice to the people!

St. Camillus, whose feast we celebrate today, became a servant of the merciful love of God as he established hospitals and was given a special love for the sick as he cared for them, himself.

In the encyclical, “Rich in Mercy,” Pope John Paul II spoke of Christ as the

“incarnation of mercy…the inexhaustible source of mercy” and emphasized that

“Christ’s messianic program, the program of mercy” must become “the program of

God’s people, the Church.” “Throughout the encyclical, the Holy Father stressed that the Church has the ‘right and duty’ to profess and proclaim God’s mercy,’ to

‘introduce it and make it incarnate’ in the lives of all people, and ‘to call upon the mercy of God,’ imploring it for the whole world.”

Mercy is love that seeks to relieve the misery of others. It is an active love, poured out upon others to heal, to comfort, to console, to forgive, to remove pain.

It is the love that God offers each of us and that we need to share with others.

We are encouraged to:

Ask for God’s mercy on ourselves and on the whole of creation,

Be Merciful. Receive God’s mercy and extend that love and forgiveness to others.

Completely trust in the graces of God’s mercy. The more we trust, the more

we will receive for “God’s love endures forever.” (Ps, 136)

And finally, to sing to Mary, mother most merciful, that she might turn her eyes of mercy toward us…and toward the whole world.

(The Divine Mercy Message and Devotion—Fr. Michalenko & V. Flynn) Sister Mary Magdala

Loving God, you gave St. Camillus a special love for the sick.

Through his prayers inspire us with your grace,

so that by serving you in our sisters and brothers

we may come safely to you at the end of our lives. We ask this

through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Loving God, we who receive the sacrament of salvation

ask your mercy. Help us to imitate the love of St. Camillus

and give to us a share in his glory.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.