Whalen
Singing at the Threshold of Elizabeth’s Home: Mary’s Magnificat
In his reflection on Mary and her role in God’s economy of mercy, Pope Francis pauses with Mary at the threshold of...
Mater Misericordiae: Mary, Mother of Mercy
For multiple and varied reasons the month of May has come to be associated with Mary, the Mother of Jesus. In the...
The Madness of Mercy: Jacques Derrida on Forgiveness
The Madness of Mercy: Jacques Derrida on Forgiveness In this brief meditation (and, quite frankly, rather “thick” in...
Forgive us our Debts as we Forgive our Debtors
Forgive Us Our Debts As We Forgive Our Debtors: Mercy and Justice in the Political and Economic Sphere – Part I We begin with a dream (or perhaps more accurately a fantasy). What, if in the days following what we now refer to as 9.11, people’s minds and hearts turned...
Justice and Mercy on the Way to Love
In the previous meditation, we embarked on an exploration of the somewhat tense if not actually tortured relationship between mercy and justice. We also highlighted the various “station stops” we would make along the way. This first such “station stop” simply seeks...
A Wideness in God’s Mercy, A Kindness in God’s Justice
Before moving forward it might prove useful to pursue a series of five meditations on the relationship between mercy and justice. In the first meditation, the relationship between mercy and justice as enshrined in Pope Francis’ Bull of Indiction is noted (primarily...
Every (Sun)Day Is “Divine Mercy” (Sun)Day
Every (Sun)Day Is “Divine Mercy” (Sun)Day: Every Eucharist, a Thanksgiving for God’s Mercy Pope Francis issued his Bull of Indiction, Misericordiae Vultus (“The Face of Mercy”), on April 11, 2013, the Vigil of the Second Sunday of Easter, now officially inscribed in...
Fool’s Pardon: A Meditation – Part II
Fool’s Pardon: A Meditation in Two Parts on Mercy as Sheer Gift of Accepting and Offering (Inter)Personal Forgiveness II In the previous meditation (Part I) we explored a type of theoria regarding the nature and characteristics of forgiveness. Before moving forward...
Fool’s Pardon: A Meditation – Part I
Fool’s Pardon: A Meditation in Two Parts on Mercy as Sheer Gift of Accepting and Offering (Inter)Personal Forgiveness I We begin with a comment concerning the title of this meditation, namely “fool’s pardon.” It derives from the title of a collection of poems by...
I Like You Just Because…: Mercy as the Surprise of Sheer Gift
I Like You Just Because…: Mercy as the Surprise of Sheer Gift Whether the “gospel” begins with the tragic or the comic, that is, with sin or grace as its first movement, begs some discussion; and, still, the answer eludes any complete grasp. Catholic intuitions tend...
The Mercy of the Lord Burns: Sinfulness in the Fire of God’s Mercy
The Mercy of the Lord Burns: Sinfulness in the Fire of God’s Mercy Matthew Fox, the popularizer of a school of Christian spirituality sometimes known as “creation-centered,” once listed Vincent de Paul as a subscriber to such a spirituality. Apparently anyone...
Facing Mercy
Facing Mercy: In the Reign of God’s Mercy There Are No Anonymous Faces in Crowds Writers often acknowledge the importance of opening words and lines. Images grab; words beckon; tones compel; and even official church documents capitalize on this dynamic. Church...