You called and cried out loudAugustine · Confessions, Book X
and shattered my deafness.
You were radiant and resplendent,
you put to flight my blindness.
You touched me,
and I am set on fire to attain the peace which is Yours.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,Psalm 103:8
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Late have I loved You,Augustine · Confessions, Book X
Beauty ever ancient, ever new,
late have I loved You!
What mercy have you received
that you have not yet fully named?
Peter experienced mercy not as abstract forgiveness, but as breakfast by the lake:
"Simon, son of John, do you love me?"Peter · John 21:15
"Yes, Lord; you know that I love you."
"Feed my lambs."
"Simon, son of John, do you love me?"Peter · John 21:16
"Yes, Lord; you know that I love you."
"Tend my sheep."
"Simon, son of John, do you love me?"Peter · John 21:17
"Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you."
"Feed my sheep."
Paul, who had been breathing threats and murder against the disciples, was stopped on the road to Damascus:
"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"Paul · Acts 9:4-6
"Who are you, Lord?"
"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."
Whatever gain I had,Paul · Philippians 3:7-8
I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Indeed, I count everything as loss
because of the surpassing worth
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
"His mercy is for those who fear himMary, Mother of God · Luke 1:50, 54-55 (The Magnificat)
from generation to generation.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever."
You have made us for Yourself, O Lord,Augustine · Confessions, Book I
and our heart is restless until it rests in You.
Too late came I to love You,Augustine · Confessions, Book X
O beauty both so ancient and so new!
Too late came I to love You—
and behold, You were with me all the time.
Thérèse of Lisieux, who called herself "the little flower," trusted utterly in mercy—even for sins she never committed:
Yes, I feel it; even though I had on my conscienceThérèse of Lisieux · Story of a Soul, Manuscript C
all the sins that can be committed,
I would go, my heart broken with sorrow,
and throw myself into Jesus' arms,
for I know how much He loves the prodigal child who returns to Him.
It is confidence and nothing but confidenceThérèse of Lisieux · Letter to Sister Marie, 1896
that must lead us to Love.
Catherine of Siena learned to trust that even suffering is mercy—that God's providence tastes sweet, though it may taste bitter:
Every providence of God is sweet,Catherine of Siena · The Dialogue of Divine Providence
though it may taste bitter.
The soul that loves me will pour itself outCatherine of Siena · The Dialogue
in work and service for others,
according to the grace I have given it.
Mary Magdalene knew mercy not as a gentle thing, but as complete deliverance:
Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out.Mary Magdalene · Luke 8:2
And from that deliverance, she became a disciple who traveled with Jesus, supported his ministry, witnessed his death, and became the first to see him risen. She was sent to proclaim: "I have seen the Lord."Mary Magdalene's story · John 20:18
Padre Pio bore the visible wounds of Christ for fifty years, and in the confessional, he became a living sacrament of mercy. Thousands came, and in that small box, they met Christ offering infinite forgiveness:
Do not look so much to the gravity of your sinsPadre Pio · Comfort to the spiritually troubled
as to the greatness of God's mercy.
In confession, Jesus himself absolves you through the minister.Padre Pio · Understanding of sacramental confession
God's mercy is infinite.Padre Pio · Message to penitents
Come to Him as you are,
no matter how great your sins.
He waits only for your trust.
But God, being rich in mercy,Ephesians 2:4-5
because of the great love with which he loved us,
even when we were dead in our trespasses,
made us alive together with Christ.
The mercy you have received
is the beginning, not the end.
A Prayer of Received Mercy
Lord, You called and cried out loud
and shattered my deafness.
You touched me, and I am set on fire.
Late have I loved You—
but behold, You were with me all the time.
Give me the confidence that leads to Love—
the trust to throw myself into Your arms,
knowing how much You love the prodigal who returns.
Through the intercession of Peter,
who received mercy as a question and a meal,
Paul, who counted everything as loss for the sake of Christ,
Augustine, who loved You late but truly,
Thérèse, who trusted in mercy alone,
Catherine, who found Your sweetness even in suffering,
Mary Magdalene, who was delivered from seven demons to become your first apostle,
and Padre Pio, who bore Your wounds while offering infinite forgiveness—
let the mercy I have received
become the beginning of something new.
Amen.