Wednesday after Epiphany
January 6, 2021
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, as we once again pray with Psalm 27, we do so in the light of our seminal first reading from John:
God is love,
1 John 4:16
and when we remain in love
we remain in God
and God in us.
How can we love like that?
Psalm 27 tells us how God does it:
For the Lord rescues the poor who cry out,
Psalm 27: 12-13
and the afflicted who have no other help.
The Lord has pity for the lowly and the poor;
and saves the lives of the poor.
Our psalm gives us the measure for love in our lives. Who are the suffering ones in the circle of our experience? How are we widening that circle to offer loving mercy with greater energy and fidelity?
The Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy can be our guide as we seek to stretch our love in ever-widening circles.
The Corporal Works of Mercy
To feed the hungry
To give water to the thirsty
To clothe the naked
To shelter the homeless
To visit the sick
To visit the imprisoned, and ransom the captive
To bury the dead
The Spiritual Works of Mercy
To instruct the ignorant.
To counsel the doubtful.
To admonish sinners.
To bear patiently those who wrong us.
To forgive offenses.
To comfort the afflicted.
To pray for the living and the dead.
Poetry: Widening Circles – Rainer Maria Rilke
I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not complete this last one
but I give myself to it.
I circle around God, around the primordial tower.
I’ve been circling for thousands of years
and I still don’t know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?
Music: The Mercy Song – Paul Alexander
Lavish Mercy 