This month we will celebrate the highest moment, the peak of our faith, the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Thinking about Jesus, offering Himself for our salvation, we cannot ignore God’s mercifulness. And this is so much present in the liturgy we celebrate.

As Pope Francis indicates in Misericordia et Misera: “we are called to celebrate mercy. What great richness is present in the Church’s prayer when she invokes God as the Father of mercies! In the liturgy, mercy is not only repeatedly evoked, but is truly received and experienced. From the beginning to the end of the Eucharistic celebration, mercy constantly appears in the dialogue between the assembly at prayer and the heart of the Father, who rejoices to bestow his merciful love. ... The celebration of divine mercy culminates in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the memorial of Christ’s paschal mystery, the source of salvation for every human being, for history and for the whole world. In a word, each moment of the Eucharistic celebration refers to God’s mercy” (5). We need to exercise, to show and bring mercy to everybody and everywhere.

In these times, marked by social and economical difficulties, wars and divisions on the international field, it is our duty to face the realities and overcome the temptation to run away or be indifferent. We need to catch and offer reasons of hope and solidarity. From the Vatican Council II to Pope Francis, the Magisterium encourages to read the reality we are in and, according to the “see, judge, act” method, we are called to give a coherent witness of our faith and to console the suffering. “All of us need consolation because no one is spared suffering, pain and misunderstanding. How much pain can be caused by a spiteful remark born of envy, jealousy or anger! What great suffering is caused by the experience of betrayal, violence and abandonment!... “Comfort, comfort my people” (Is 40:1) is the heartfelt plea that the prophet continues to make today, so that a word of hope may come to all those who experience suffering and pain. Let us never allow ourselves to be robbed of the hope born of faith in the Risen Lord” (ibidem 13).

May the Risen Christ grant peace and joy to you, your family, your organization and to all the world.

Alleluia!

Further readings

Misericordia et Misera 5,13

Evangelii Gaudium 198 -201

Prayer

Psalm 63

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.