The Quality of Mercy

Last Sunday, Father preached on mercy which is a subset of charity. There's plenty of false mercy out there these days. We see it preached by those who tell us to "welcome the strangers" invading our shores. Meanwhile, Spain saw a one-day influx of about 60,000 Moors from Morocco, pouring into the city of Ceuta. According to news reports the invasion was facilitated by sex traffickers and most of those entering were young men. What does that do to a country if they allow it to continue citing "mercy?"

I'm going to re-read Camp of the Saints by Jean Raspail, a fictional story which describes just such a European invasion enabled by the media and politicians. Published in 1973, it's a work of dystopian fiction that has proved incredibly prophetic. God help us! I've added that book and The Catholics to my list of must reads along with Brave New World and 1984. Every one of those books blew the tocsin warning, but how many have listened?

So what exactly is mercy? Fr. John Hardon, S.J. defines it this way:
The disposition to be kind and forgiving. Founded on compassion, mercy differs from compassion or the feeling of sympathy in putting this feeling into practice with a readiness to assist. It is therefore the ready willingness to help anyone in need, especially in need of pardon or reconciliation.

Having this disposition is essential, but we need to remember that mercy belongs to charity. And what is charity? Again from Fr. Hardon:
The infused supernatural virtue by which a person loves God above all things for His own sake, and loves others for God's sake. It is a virtue based on divine faith or in belief in God's revealed truth, and is not acquired by mere human effort. It can be conferred only by divine grace. Because it is infused along with sanctifying grace, it is frequently identified with the state of grace. Therefore, a person who has lost the supernatural virtue of charity has lost the state of grace, although he may still possess the virtues of hope and faith.

Charity wills the good of the other. Mercy must do the same. Is blanket mercy that excuses everything an act of charity? Hardly! Scripture is clear on that. "The Lord chastises those He loves."

I read recently about a child telling a priest that her mom did not love her. The priest asked why expecting her to say that her mom deprived her of something she wanted. Instead she told him, "My mom doesn't love me because she gives me everything I want." What wisdom from a child! What did her mom give her that she knew, in her wise little mind, was not good for her? Remember, love wills the good of the other.

How many parents let their children do things that endanger their souls like knowingly letting them fornicate in their own homes or putting them on the pill. I know several parents who did that. The mother of a teen friend of my daughter put her on the pill when she was, I think, fourteen expecting her to fornicate in high school. Her daughter developed a very aggressive breast cancer in her early twenties and had a double mastectomy. Sin has consequences and the pill is poison. But many parents worry more about their own convenience and alienating their children than saving their souls.

I once read the testimony of a lesbian who left the lifestyle because her mom said, "I'm afraid after I die I'll never see you again." That honesty from her mother, triggered repentance and change of life. But how many parents are willing to risk it? Instead they applaud a child's same-sex relationship or their marriage outside the faith. Why should a child repent if their actions are fine with mom and dad?

Charity and mercy: they aren't easy virtues because they require both gentleness and tough love. Our bishops need to learn that. What don't they understand about the disaster of those who ignore the laws of a country by entering illegally. They call it mercy to the invaders, but what about mercy for the people who live in overwhelmed community who bear the burden in crime, lost jobs, closed hospitals, etc.

We have immigration policies that welcome a million legal aliens every year. Americans are generous and happy to "welcome the strangers" who obey our laws. Instead, we are chided for pointing out the disastrous implications of the multi-millions of unvetted aliens who've invaded the country over the past decade.

Charity and mercy: Let us pray for them both, but always in the correct context, because false mercy and false charity are no virtues.