Trust in the Mercy of God

“Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God.”

(Sir 3:17)

Today’s readings all speak about humility: a difficult path to follow, but one that leads to life. In his general audience of November 20, 2013, Pope Francis spoke about how God’s mercy brings new life to those who humbly confess their sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation:

“ … Jesus gave the Apostles the power to forgive sins. It is a little difficult to understand how a man can forgive sins, but Jesus gives this power… God forgives every man in His sovereign mercy … Through the apostolic ministry the mercy of God reaches me…

Perhaps many do not understand the ecclesial dimension of forgiveness… the Christian is tied to Christ, and Christ is united to the Church. For us Christians there is a further gift, there is also a further duty: to pass humbly through the ecclesial community… I go to my brother priest and I say: “Father, I did this...”. And he responds: “But I forgive you; God forgives you”… this is beautiful, this is having the surety that God forgives us always, He never tires of forgiving us. And we must never tire of going to ask for forgiveness...

God’s forgiveness… is transmitted to us by… our brother, the priest; and he too is a man, who, like us in need of mercy, truly becomes the instrument of mercy, bestowing on us the boundless love of God the Father… are we conscious of the beauty of this gift that God himself offers us? …God never tires of forgiving us; through the ministry of priests he holds us close in a new embrace and regenerates us and allows us to rise again and resume the journey.”