Heart of Mercy

"O give thanks to the Lord for God is good; for God's love endures forever."  Psalm 107

Come let us return to the Lord, it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us but he will bind our wounds.  He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, to live in his presence.  Let us know, let us strive to know the Lord.  Hosea 6:1

God be merciful to me a sinner. Lk. 18

Day One of Self-Isolation

Two weeks have passed and I have seen more change in and around me than I have in a lifetime.  Still, there is a quiet, peaceful center in my soul where God's unchanging love endures forever, just as the Psalm says.  This is not because I have been faithful my whole life or because I've been good (though I hope that mostly I have been).  Like the Publican in today's Gospel reading, I've had more than my share of occasions to beat my breast and cry out to God, "Be merciful to me a sinner.", and what has grown inside of me is seeing myself so greatly, surely loved I have grown free of the sin that has bound me and so freer to respond to strangers, enemies and friends with the same love, forgiveness and mercy I have experienced. There is no end of mercy, only a turning towards her with our broken hearts and miserly fears; and our Merciful God first empties us out, drives out our weakness and sinfulness, then fills us with none other than God's Divine Heart of mercy; with God's self.

This lent is uniquely aligned with the circumstances we now find ourselves in with the virus.  God has drawn us into the wilderness, is calling us to follow in Christ's way.  We strive and seek to know God through scripture, through the metaphor's and images of our day to day encounters, through nature in all her wild and wonderful glory.  God is the heart of mercy, with us in all things.

This morning as I rose to make my first cup of coffee, I greeted the crucifix hanging on my wall.  My hand touched the cross in a conscious desire to draw near to him whose love cries and pours out from the cross of his sufferings around the world, and before even having prayed morning prayer, I was overcome with grief and sorrow for my sins.  I weep every time I do this.  When I turned the corner into the kitchen and made my coffee, looking out at the early dawn, and seeing my home, with the precious gifts hanging on the walls, the furniture and photos of loved ones, Rublev's icon of the Trinity hanging on the wall, I was overcome with gratitude, peace and joy.  A simple gesture; a simple turn.  I made my coffee and went to my room to pray.

God's whole heart is given in mercy.  There is nothing more to do than open our hearts, minds, wills, bodies, souls to receive.  He will revive us after two days.  On the third day he will raise us up, to live in his presence.