The Priest at Prayer, May 23

The Priest and the Eternal Truths

The Mercy of Christ

First Meditation - God's Mercy and Justice

I.
Now, what if I, a priest of the Most High God, have also been a sinner? What if I have trampled upon my supreme dignity, repeatedly profaned the Sacraments, and in particular the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; or if, like the lewd elders of the Book of Daniel:

"I dethroned my reason and tUrned my eyes away from the sight of heaven, forgetting the just awards". . . ?

And if, like another prodigal child, debased, famished, ragged, and conscious of my own wretchedness, I make up my mind to go back to Thee; O Lord, how wilt Thou receive me? What dost Thou harbour in Thy Heart for me? What wilt Thou speak to me? Galling reproach? Sweetest compassion? Lord, leave me not in suspense; tell me clearly. What is Thy attitude towards Thy priests who perhaps for many a year by their mis­deeds have administered to Thee gall and vinegar?

II.
If I wish to know Christ's attitUde and mind I must never forget that He is God

"with whom there can be no change, no swerving from his course"

not a shadow of alteration (James i, 17).

I am decided to return to Him, but with what inten­tion? Shall I use His Goodness as a shield to cover my continuance in sin? If that is my intention, I should heed the warning:

Say not: the mercy of the Lord is great; he will have mercy on the multitude of my sins.
For mercy and wrath quickly come from him: and his wrath looketh upon sinners.(Ecclus. v, 6-7)

And the Psalmist also gives warning:

Oculi Domini super justos et aures ejus in preces eorum; Vultus autem Domini super facientes mala, ut perdat de terra memoriam eorum. (Ps. xxxiii, 16-17)

"On the upright the Lord's eye ever looks favorable; His ears are open to their pleading; perilous is His frown for the wrong-doers; He will soon make their name vanish from the earth."

This, then, is the welcome awaiting me from Jesus, the meek and mild, if I obstinately cling to evil, and if I am not determined to walk the ways of His adorable Will.

III.
Yes, Christ is indeed meek and humble of heart (Matt. xi, 29) but I must not deceive myself. From those meek eyes, from that humble Heart, there came at times the blazing wrath of Ancient Jehovah. And if I read the Gospel attentively I shall hear a true echo of the Psalmist's "Perilous is His frown for the wrong-doers."

Jesus. . . groaned in the spirit and troubled himself. . . . Jesus therefore again groaning in Him­self. . . . (John xi, 33, 38)

And looking round about on them with anger, being grieved for the blindness of their hearts. . . . (Mark iii, 5.)

Our Divine Redeemer, long-suffering and forbearing as He was towards our human weaknesses, found some­thing repulsive and sickening to His Heart, something so loathsome as to make Him almost appear to lose His divine Serenity. What was it? The obstinate attempt to deny, or the refusal to recognise, one's own sins, for the purpose of continuing in sin. How terrible the threats and curses of the Son of God upon such perversity! (Cfr. Matt. xxiii, 13 and following)

Resolution
Sin is an evil thing, but it is immeasurably worse to enlist the Mercy of God as an additional motive or cause of my sinning; for that would be an outrage against God's most wonderful Attribute.

No, dear Lord, I am not trying to return to Thee in order to find in Thy magnanimous Heart a support for sinning; I am not going to try to make Thee an accom­plice of my sinful life; I wish to come to Thee repentant and ready for anything rather than offend Thee again.

I recognise, my faults, I - declare myself alone respon­sible for them in the sight of Thy Justice; I regret ahove all things my having offended Thee; with all sincerity I promise, by Thy grace, to rectify and atone for the past.

Lord, Thou who sees through to the depths of my heart, are witness that I come to Thee without deceit or guile.
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Adapted from The Priest at Prayer
by Fr. Eugenio Escribano, C.M. (© 1954)
Translated by B.T. Buckley, C.M.

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Please pray for our priests and pray for vocations to the priesthood!