One person especially needs mercy right now

Forgiving ourselves tough, but shows an acceptance of God's love, mercy

Published: November 19, 2016

By Deacon Larry Hatch

In this Year of Mercy, the Church teaches us to show mercy in every way possible. We need to show mercy to the poor, the homeless, people of color and cultures that are different.

We must punish those who violate the laws of our society. We also know, through Church teachings and the witness of Christ with the woman caught in adultery, that mercy tempers justice. Conflicts with others are a constant reality in our inter-personal relationships. Mercy requires that we be slow to anger and quick to forgive. Sometimes agreeing to disagree is the best we can hope for so that we may remain friends. There is one other person who requires mercy. We seldom think about showing this person mercy because our focus remains outward. Who is that person?

Ourselves.

We need to show mercy to ourselves. If we do not, it is more difficult for us to accept and understand God’s mercy for us. Anyone will tell you the most difficult person to forgive is ourselves. Yet forgive we must if we wish to grow in God’s grace.

We are all good people, created in God’s image. The human being is the crown jewel in God’s creation. We also know we are all sinners. We are good people who sometimes do bad things. When we do fall short of our personal expectations, we are much harder on ourselves than we should be. In the human condition we find true guilt and false guilt. True guilt is when our conscience bears the burden of wrongdoing and urges us to seek reconciliation. If we take our burdens to the sacrament of reconciliation and receive absolution and forgiveness for our failures but continue to beat ourselves up for those failures, then we are experiencing false guilt. If we believe God can forgive us for our failures, then who are we to hold ourselves in bondage to those failures? Certainly we are not greater than the one who created us in our mother’s womb.

We must always strive to grow in the sacraments, in self-awareness, self-love and esteem, and we must always try to forgive ourselves quickly and completely. We must strive to understand and accept those with whom we may have conflicts. We must allow God, through the Holy Spirit, to reveal our weaknesses so that we may strengthen ourselves to grow in holiness.

God’s mercy is without limit. If we can accept God’s mercy for ourselves, we will find a greater spiritual peace and a greater ability to show mercy to others.

Deacon Larry Hatch writes from Mena.

Click for the Holy Year of Mercy index