Being Merciful
- FATHER JACQUES PHILIPPE
"Mature" Christians, who have truly become children of God, are those who have experienced their radical nothingness, their absolute poverty, been reduced to nothing.
At the bottom of that nothingness, they have finally discovered the inexpressible tenderness, the absolutely unconditional love, of God. Henceforth their only support and hope is the boundless mercy of their Father God.
For them, the words God speaks to the people of Israel through the prophet Zephaniah have come true: I will leave in the midst of you a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord.
They do all the good they can. They receive what their neighbor may do for them with joy and gratitude, but in great freedom, because their support is in God alone.
They are untroubled by their own weaknesses, nor do they blame others for not always meeting their expectations. Reliance on God alone protects them from all disappointment. It gives them great interior freedom, which they place entirely at the service of God and their fellow men, responding to love with love.
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Acknowledgement
Father Jacques Philippe. "Being Merciful." from Interior Freedom New York, NY: Scepter Press 2010).
Reprinted with permission of Scepter Press.
The Author
Father Philippe is a French priest, a member of the Community of the Beatitudes, and a renowned spiritual director. He is author of many books, including Searching for and Maintaining Peace: A Small Treatise on Peace of Heart. Discover more here.
