Harden not your hearts

(Psalm 95:8)

Have we given up some habitual acts that pampered our senses and not our inner spirit, so we could make our Lent more sacrificial and directed towards charity and the works of mercy? Were we able to do some kind of Alay Kapwa even in simple, everyday events so we could practice the ‘face of mercy’ as Pope Francis encouraged us in his letter for the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy?

The pope writes that “Mercy is the very foundation of the Church’s life; the time has come for the Church to take up the joyful call to mercy once more…The Church’s very credibility is seen in how she shows merciful and compassionate love. Mercy is the force that reawakens us to new life and instills in us the courage to look to the future with hope.”

One must not forget, however, that useless are sacrifices if there is no love, for there may only be self-exaltation and pride instead of humility. “It is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than holocausts” (Hosea 6:6).

We had seen divine mercy in action in the parable of the Prodigal Son and in Jesus’ encounter with the woman caught in adultery. The Lord does not condemn, but exposes each person to his/her inner sanctuary of the conscience, to sinfulness and experiences of shame and guilt, that the person may be touched by the grace of contrition and repentance that will bring about hope in the mercy of God.

May God remove the fear and sense of despair that can harden hearts as did Judas who, unlike Peter who repented, forgot the compassion on Jesus’ face and committed suicide. Let Holy Week call us to return to God so near, in the temple of our hearts. Now is the acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation! May we show this renewed desire for God through our getting beyond ourselves and extending our care and sympathy to all those who need our help, and healing by the ‘oil of one’s compassion’.