How can I cultivate a wide mercy?

April 3/Fourth Wednesday of Lent

The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. ~ Ps 145: 9

I’ve probably glossed over this simple verse dozens of times without really stopping to think about its implications. “The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.” Both halves of this verse present me with a bit of a challenge. On my unending quest for holiness—a quest I do not expect to complete in this life!—I try very hard to be good to those whom I love, know or respect. My husband and children, my friends, relatives and co-workers and all those whose lives are linked with mine—with them I strive to be compassionate, gracious and (to borrow from the psalmist) simply “good.” But to all? To the individual who holds different political beliefs than I do? To the non-believer? To the person who begs for money on a busy sidewalk? Am I good to these? All of us are God’s children, not just those of whom I approve, and it would behoove me to remember this when I am on the verge of judging, brushing off or passing by someone I don’t consider “in the family.” As for being compassionate to “all that he has made,” am I doing everything I can, in my own little corner, to safeguard and protect “this blessed plot, this earth, this realm” (if I may borrow from John of Gaunt’s famous paean to England in Shakespeare’s Richard II)? Environmental degradation, social disintegration and cultural decay are real and present dangers—what am I doing about them? In these remaining days of Lent, may we be thankful for our standing as God’s children, and may we cultivate a wide mercy that extends to all of God’s created world.

O God of all the earth and every living creature, give me the grace to respect and honor your world and those who inhabit it, remembering that each of us is your well-loved child.Amen.

For today’s readings, click here.

To hear “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy”, click here.