Mercy and Compassion… revisited

a post by Neil Sator,

Seminarian 

“God our Father, we are all your children. Make of us a nation of mercy and compassion…” This is what the Philippine Church prays for in each Mass leading to the apostolic visit of Pope Francis. The petitions that compose this prayer ask God to grant us the grace to live an authentic Christian life: generosity, mercy, frequent Confession and Communion. These are the authentic ways of achieving our target: being merciful and compassionate to others as God’s children.

But seeing the Synod, and its seeming “support” of homosexual unions, quicker divorce and contraception, its seeming statement of triumph of “mercy over dogma” (to borrow Jesus Dureza in his column at DCHerald), the false euphoria of headless spring chickens in the Synod and elsewhere during the pontificate of Francis (namely, “the Francis Effect”); are we really in the right direction?

We have to see things in perspective: to see Francis and his agenda of “mercy and compassion” in the changes in the Church hierarchy in the light of the perennial teaching of the Church. Each pontificate does not bring in itself a new Church like ‘the Church of JPII’, “Benedictine Church”, “the Church of Francis”, but really, the Church of Jesus Christ. All those who examine and study pontificates must remember that Christ works in the Church through the leaders inspired by the Spirit. Whatever changes must be seen as the working of the Spirit, who teaches us through the legitimate teachings and decisions of the Church. All those who expect drastic change in the various events within a pontificate will sadly be disappointed, especially in a Synod: the Synod is not a decision-making body, but an advisory council for the Pope.

Going to another aspect, homosexuality, contraception and divorce: if we expect to see changes, it must be for a healthy appreciation for the teachings of the Church. An example: communion for the homosexual, the divorced and the remarried. Let us remember that Holy Communion is not a reward for the virtuous, but a remedy for sinners. Man is strengthened by the Eucharist to struggle against sin in God’s name. But, this line of thinking does not say that everyone, including the hardened sinner, has a right to the Eucharist. If we receive Communion, we share not only in union with Christ, but also with the Church, hence its title as the ‘Sacrament of Unity’. The Church, after the example of Paul and the early Christian communities, does not want that the Body of Christ be mutilated again-and-again by sin and division, hence the need of constant preparation esp. in Confession. If we claim to have a right in everything, then we forget that all of what we receive is an unmerited gift of God to us.

Being merciful and compassionate does not mean condoning and permissiveness. Being merciful and compassionate must not lead us to relativism. Being merciful and compassionate must entail the courage one needs to love the sinner and to denounce the sin. Being merciful and compassionate does not leave the person in the mud pool of sin, but instead leads the person, even if painfully, to see the truth behind every action. Mercy and compassion is like the example of our parents; gentle yet firm, strong yet mild, nurturing, caring and nourishing while being formative and educative. God is not a condoner, people! If we want to see a condoning Church, we will be left with a small and dwindling Church in the future because we expect to see her as the bastion of truth and orthodoxy.

To end, I would like to quote GK Chesterton who once said that: “I do not need a Church which tells me the wrong may be right. I need a Church that can state what is right and what is wrong”. Hence, let us pray for each other and for our Church that we may continue onwards our pilgrim way to the Father: ‘Rise, let us be on our way!”