Christ's boundless mercy is certainly evident all around me. We all know the story of the sinful woman who washes Jesus' feet with her hair, anoints them with oil, and is forgiven. (It's so beautiful if you don't know it, Luke 7:36-50!) But recently, upon reading and reflecting with this scripture, I was moved to go to Reconciliation. After Reconciliation, I read it again and placed myself in the role of the sinful woman. What courage she had to go to a pharisee's house where she knew she would be judged, all to see Jesus and seek his forgiveness and healing. The beauty of the feeling of forgiveness. There are so many parallels that can be drawn here to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It takes so much courage to walk into the confessional just so see the priest in persona christi (aka JESUS) all to receive His forgiveness and healing and feel joy of being forgiven!
This mercy always reminds me of the pouring rain. I attend a Catholic high school and when I was a freshman, my favorite theology teacher shared this with me. It is an image that will never leave my mind. One day she was talking to her mom and sitting on their front porch while looking out at the pouring rain. As the rain was crashing down all around them, her mother commented, "It's like God's mercy."
The point is that Jesus is freely giving us his mercy, all we have to do is go out into it and get DRENCHED! Dance in the rain spreading the joy that comes from receiving it. And like the rain, God's mercy removes every stain, tear, and bruise that the devil inflicts on us. In His mercy, we are truly free to live!
