“Finally, the Church-professing mercy and remaining always faithful to it-has the right and the duty to call upon the mercy of God, imploring it in the face of all the manifestations of physical and moral evil, before all the threats that cloud the whole horizon of the life of humanity today” (Dives in misericordia, 12).
The Church has the right and duty to appeal to God’s mercy. So it is my right and my duty! I have the right to turn to God in difficult situations, I have the right to expect help from Him – like a child who, knowing that he is loved, dares to turn to his parents with all his needs. The child trusts his parents, so he also believes that they will give him what is good for him.
Appealing to God’s mercy is also my duty. My task is to bring to God in prayer all my personal matters, my loved ones, and also those I do not know, who suffer and need to experience His merciful love.
How do I refer to God’s mercy in my personal prayer?
What am I doing to encourage others to do so – my family and friends?
“O Eternal God, within me burns an inextinguishable fire of supplication for mercy; I sense and recognise this as my task, here and in eternity. You Yourself have told me to speak of Your great mercy and goodness” (D. 483).
“O my Jesus, now I am embracing the whole world and asking You for mercy on it” (D. 1582).