“In this way, in Christ and through Christ, God also becomes especially ‘visible’ in His mercy; that is to say, there is emphasized that attribute of the divinity which the Old Testament, using various concepts and terms, already defined as ‘mercy.’ Christ confers on the whole of the Old Testament tradition about God’s mercy a definitive meaning. Not only does He speak of it and explain it by the use of comparisons and parables, but above all He Himself makes it incarnate and personifies it. He Himself, in a certain sense, is mercy. To the person who sees it in Him – and finds it in Him – God becomes ‘visible’ in a particular way as the Father who is rich in mercy. (Eph. 2:4)
How great and how incomprehensible a gift of God’s Mercy is Jesus for us; He who is God almighty, who became Man – our Brother! How great must God’s love be for us and how much He desires to be close to us, considering that He wanted to humble Himself so much as to live among us on earth and become “visible” to us!
Jesus, who came into the world, reveals to us the merciful face of God, who wants to be present in our ordinary and imperfect everyday life. And even more! He wants to be present in us! He wants to live in our hearts and meet us there! Even when our heart looks more like a neglected stable than a beautiful temple …
Are there spaces in your heart that you do not want, that are ashamed of, or afraid to let Jesus come in?
Do you not belittle your value and your dignity as a child of God by thinking about yourself in this way: “And who am I, that God would want to talk to me …?”
Invite Jesus into your heart today––as it is, unadorned, hiding nothing. He is very eager to meet you there!
“I come out to meet Him and invite Him into the abode in my heart, humbling myself profoundly before His majesty. But the Lord lifts me up from the dust and asks me, His bride, to sit next to Him and tell Him everything that is on my heart. Encouraged by His goodness, I put my forehead on His bosom and tell Him everything. First I tell Him the things I would never say to any creature. Then I tell him about the needs of the Church, and about the souls of poor sinners, how much they need His mercy. But the time passes quickly. O Jesus, I have to go out to the duties that are waiting for me. Jesus says to me there’s still time left to say goodbye. [We exchange] a deep glance and for the moment seemingly we part, but never in reality. Our hearts are united all the time; even though externally I am busy with many different duties, yet Jesus’ presence keeps me continually in a state of recollection (Diary 1806).”
