Table of contents
What does it mean to encompass mercy? This question has gnawed at me for quite some time, for at its foundation is forgiveness. Yet, how much forgiveness do we see in today’s world? While many would ask for merciful intervention, how much have people been willing to give?
Here, we will examine the divine nature of mercy. We will look at it from a perspective of three character traits: compassion, loving kindness, and merciful justice. By examining these traits, I aim to show how we can incorporate these divine qualities into our daily lives.
Merciful and the Words of Fancy
The quality of mercy is not strain'd.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The thronèd monarch better than his crown.
His scepter shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptered sway.
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings;
It is an attribute to God Himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this:
That in the course of justice none of us
Should see salvation. We do pray for mercy,
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
To mitigate the justice of thy plea,
Which, if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there.
— Portia, in William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, act 4, scene 1
(Wikipedia contributors, “The Quality of Mercy”)
The Character Traits of Mercy
Merciful Action Defined
Mercy is the compassionate and forgiving treatment of someone who is under the power or authority of another person. It encompasses kindness and leniency, and is often extended to those who have done wrong or who are suffering.
To be merciful is also a divine quality that reflects God’s compassion. It is a willingness to forgive. It is also a virtue that we can strive to embody in our interactions with one another. At its core lies compassion, love, grace, forgiveness, and the capacity to be lenient to those who are forgiven.
Compassion and Mercy
The Greatest Commandment
28 One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?”
29 Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!
30 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Would You Be My Neighbor?
As a child, I remember Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood. There were valuable lessons taught there. Even in the opening credits, the show reminds us of the importance of neighborly conduct. “Won’t you be my neighbor.” Did the producer consider this greatest of commandments when they spoke of the value of neighborly love?
Let us break this down. What does it mean to be compassionate. First, we must understand that compassion comes from an inner sense of security. As the takeoff checklist on an airline teaches us, you must first put on your own air-mask. Only then can you help those around you. This holds true even among our children. You can not care for others if you are unconscious to do so, as a mishap in air-pressure can easily create.
Self-care is a primary facet when examining the nature of compassion and its relationship to mercy. To be neighborly, we must first secure our sacred space. It is only then, that we can truly love our neighbor as we do ourselves.
Addressing the shadow of compassion
Mercy encompasses compassion. But should compassion come from a perspective of weakness or strength? If weakness is apparent, how easy will it be to create further victimization? No, to give, we must be in a position to give. We must fill our proverbial cup to give to others. As the saying goes, if you give a person a fish, they eat for a day. If you teach them to fish, they eat for a lifetime. Yet, you can’t teach, until you have learned yourself.
Now, to give, we must learn to receive. The opposite creates a shadow element, where suffering, even cruelty can exist towards internal and external elements. This is particularly visible in the idea behind Self-Sacrifice without an end. While it is hard to address these intrapsychic phenomenon directly, one must ask to what end they engage compassion. Is it self-serving, or truly serving to one’s neighbors. There may not be a right or wrong answer. However, asking this question can lead to true growth. It can also help create a neighborly presence.
Loving Kindness (Corporal Works)
A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.
How do you want others to remember you? What deeds will others speak of when they remember you? A brief exercise that addresses this very important question goes as follows.
Imagine your wake. Everyone has gathered to celebrate your life at its passing. The crowd, or lack thereof is present, to pay you last respects. Is it loved ones, a few confidants, or a crowd? What stories will they share? Lastly, what story do you want told?
To be loving and kind incorporates corporal works. It represents a gift to God, and the celebration that is creation (yours included) itself. The Catholic Church breaks down Corporal Works of Mercy.
The Corporal Works of Mercy
- Feeding the hungry
- Giving drink to the thirsty
- Sheltering the homeless
- Visiting the sick
- Visiting prisoners
- Burying the dead
- Giving Alms to the poor (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)
Loving Kindness and an Act of Remembrance
Now many of these acts of loving kindness represent a possible financial outlay. However, not all. One may not be able to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, bury the dead, or give alms. Yet, they may be able to give drink to someone who is thirsty. They might also visit the sick. Alternatively, one could bring a sense of hope to a person that is incarcerated. Or what if they engage in a simple act of being kind to a stranger. You never know. That random act of kindness might touch someone who is mentally locked in their own prison. To be lovingly kind, find what acts of generosity call upon you. People will remember you for those acts.
Loving Kindness is not a checklist of those acts you unable to give or perform. To be loving and kind represents a conscious commitment to better oneself daily in those areas from which one can give. I believe, in these works, that we create individual textiles of beauty, in God’s magnificent mosaic called life.
Merciful Justice
What a hot topic justice is in recent memory. But what does it mean to be just?
To be just, is to assume a position of conformity to fact or reason. The ideal of being just involves a faithfulness to the original concept. It also requires conformity to what is morally upright or good (Merriam-Webster).
Just Morality and Mercy
“If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be one nation gone under.”
To be just, is to show mercy from a higher plane. When we look at the ideals behind upright morality, we don’t necessarily see the law at play. Law is superficially imposed upon others as a means to create civility. Morals and ethics should stand as the basis of law. Yet, oftentimes, they do not. Laws do not form the foundation of morality because being moral is a personal choice. It requires active and conscious effort by the individual. Many who are moral may not know all the laws that govern them. However, when engaged in moral behavior, they act under the accordance of legal edicts.
Let’s say one assumes an edict of “I will do no harm.” If you follow the set guidelines of taking others’ personal safety into account, you’ll likely follow most laws. You might do this without knowing the laws that you are following, even if inadvertently.
Values and Morality
To show just morality, is to work from a position of higher values. It takes an objective observance of one’s own subjective moral state. While theoretically impossible to do, that is not the point. It is the willingness to attempt an examination of consciousness that allows growth through morality to flourish.
President Ronald Reagan reminds us of an important point. If we forget we are a “nation under God,” then we will be a nation “gone under.” He invites us to see the just behind justice. A morality is there, but is it human, or should it be linked to the divine where it belongs? When faith combines with higher moral principles, how far can we advance in both science and philosophy? Can we do so for mutual advantage and not for individual or egotistical aim? I wonder what a society would look like if those were the ideals that littered our airwaves?
Mercy and the Human Equation
I write the following constructs as theoretical inroads to a higher state of consciousness. It is important here to give a brief history. I came to God through the sciences, and was baptized in my late thirties. I was always spiritual. However, I found a home in God’s grace much later in my adult life. In the end, I was called to the road of religion through the sciences in which I was trained.
A Road Less Traveled
I am a psychotherapist and philosopher by trade. I seek to understand the psychodynamic complexities that people undergo. It is in this professional pursuit that I have noticed something important. There is a lack of faith behind much of the mental discord affecting our society today.
There are many roads to God. I found my path through science and my early in my career of teaching in a public school. Early on, I knew I experienced a general lack of trust in what I taught. I knew my children would not go to a public school. Yet, at the time, I had not found the faith I have now. That faith serves as the foundation for their educational journey.
Choice and Intent, One Road to Mercy
As I said, there are many roads to God. Chose one. My path lead me to the Catholic Church. It has a beautiful history and is richly intertwined with ancient tradition and a history directly related with its founder. As a historian, I always respected primary sources. I believe it is wise to use primary sources today. Secondary sources give opinion, and how useful are they? Primary sources tell of actual events as they were experienced in the time. One is hindsight, the other is lived experience.
While I respect my journey in the Catholic faith, I also respect all world religions. Even though there are differences at their core, there are also many similarities that need protection and respect. For religion allows an individual to aspire towards something greater than what is human. I believe that it is in this spirit that one can find hope through faith for better things to come. What a powerful construct.
“E Pluribus Unim”
“Out of Many, One.” That was the motto of the United States. I believe it holds true within the context of mercy. Mercy is blind. Just as the symbol of justice is blind, mercy must lead to a higher context. It involves more than just the law. Morality and ethics supersede the law. They exist on a higher plane than that which is necessary only to keep a civil society. They foster individual growth in correlation with the collective. Out of many, lets say in this case, people, what is a single point that can be aspired towards.
Historically, this was linked to God. But as Nietzsche once alluded to, how can a society that killed the most holy of holies bear weight? It carries that blood on its proverbial knives. Since that time, has society gone into a state pure individualism at a collective level? Has it created the means to its own end, as if there is nothing above, what can be aspired towards? If we only have human nature and human capacity to aspire towards, then what element of a dream can exist? It is this that underlies so much of the chaos we see in modern times.
God’s Mercy and the Power of Three
God’s mercy is characterized by doing good to others, being kind, and building bridges of love. To be merciful, embrace something higher. Maybe it is lending a helping hand to a passer in need. Maybe it is giving a dollar, five, or twenty to someone who is hungry. Possibly it is showing compassion to a student that didn’t quite pass the test. Take a few moments to show them the nature of their mistakes. Possibly, you may then notice that they take corrective action on their next go-around. Is that worth a A, even though the missed the question in the first place?
Mercy encompasses corporal works. They must be taken out of theory and put into practice. It is only then that we can engage those higher dynamics only possible when we elevate the practice of being humane, that core ingredient underlying the root of our humanity.
Goodbye Blessings
There is much more to write here. It seems that the more I say, the deeper it leads one into a proverbial rabbit hole. I will end for now, to revisit these themes in future articles. Yes, the rabbit hole stands at the core of philosophy, but in the end, by asking those questions that do not have easy answers, we can learn inroads towards higher aspects of consciousness. For those who have chosen to join me here, I thank you. As always, let blessings be with you. Envision your dreams. Encompass them as you chart a course. Advance confidently in your dream’s direction. Just remember one facet, when you do, make sure you practice a little mercy on the way. I wonder how our world will change. Or how the world at large will transform if we just practiced a little bit of mercy.
References
- Merriam-Webster. “Definition of JUST.” Merriam-Webster.com, 2019, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/just.
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. “The Corporal Works of Mercy | USCCB.” Www.usccb.org, 2022, http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/jubilee-of-mercy/the-corporal-works-of-mercy.
- Waldstein, Susan. “What Makes Mercy an Attribute of God?” Church Life Journal, 10 Mar. 2022, churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/what-makes-mercy-an-attribute-of-god/.
- Wikipedia contributors. “The quality of mercy.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 6 Sep. 2024. Web. 11 Oct. 2024.
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