BE MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER (LUKE 6:36): ENTERING INTO THE MYSTERY OF GOD’S MERCY

Richard OMOLADE

Abstract


The invitation of Pope Francis to Catholics and the world in general to celebrate a Jubilee Year of Mercy is both a profession of faith in God’s goodness and an invitation to become like him. This presupposes the fact that while we acknowledge that God is undeniably merciful, human beings who are often recipients of God’s mercy are far from being merciful. In a world that is daily characterized by violence and hurts inflicted by human beings upon one another, in a world filled with injustice and oppression inflicted by people who claim special affiliation to God; The face of God has become hidden and mercy seems more like an empty slogan, an unattainable goal.  Yet, in relationships and legal processes, many continue to beg for mercy and hope that mercy will cushion the shortcomings in their relationships, but it is still a scarce virtue in human beings. No wonder many regard it as essentially an attribute of God that human beings are called to cultivate.  This paper examines the nature of mercy as an attribute of God and why human beings need it today. It also places in the right perspective the human desire to be like God by examining the necessary relationship between human virtues and divine attributes that provide the firm foundation for all virtues. In the final analysis, the paper argues that we can talk of human virtues only because human beings have been made in the image of God, and only God gives the true meaning to all human striving.

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Rev. Fr. Richard OMOLADE is a Catholic Priest of the Archdiocese of Ibadan, where is the Coordinator for Religious Education. A lecturer at Ss. Peter and Paul, Major Seminary, Ibadan, he specializes in Biblical studies, Religious education and Educational Administration and Supervision. He is currently, the National Chairman of the National Association of Catholic Diocesan Directors/Secretaries of Education (NACDDED). He enjoys poetry, reading and astronomy. Email: [email protected]. Tel: 08073153466 or 08168287538

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Walter Kasper, The message of Mercy. America: The National Review, September 15,2014. 11 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/virtue 12 Marc Jackson, Emotion and Psyche.Hants, UK: O- Books, 2010, p. 12 13 Cf. Aristole, Nicomachean Ethics II, 6 14 Arthur F. Holmes. Ethics: Approving Moral Decisions, Contours of Christian Philosophy, ed. C. Stephen Evans Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1984, 116. 15 Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 7,no 1804. 16 CCC no 1833 17Matt, Ferkany. Mercy as an Environmental Virtue.Environmental Values. 20 (2): 266-267. 18 Ferkany, p. 268. 19 Ferkany p. 268-269. 20 Aquinas, Summa Theologia. 1, 21.3 21Pope Francis, Misericordiae Vultus, Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, 11 April, 2015, 10 22 John Paul II, Dives in Misericordia, A papal encyclical on mercy, 1980, 13.


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