Mercy is a characteristic attitude of God which can define him entirely: as Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus said, "He is nothing but love and mercy".

Mercy reveals the care with which the Father surrounds his children: God listens attentively to what rises from the human heart, which evokes in Him an almost maternal concern. We can then accept seeing the misery, the poverty, the narrowness of our lives. Faced with our difficulties in loving and forgiving, God Himself comes to fill our voids and restore our humanity, guiding us toward a life of greater self-giving.

In Latin, Miseri means "the poor" and Cor, "the heart." Miseri-cor means the heart toward the poor. Mercy consists of having a heart that beats for the poor. What could be more beautiful, more heartfelt, more courageous! The word mercy, says Saint Thomas Aquinas, signifies a heart made wretched by the misery of others. Mercy is compassion for all forms of suffering; it is benevolent patience in the face of the slowness of conversion; it is generous forgiveness toward those who repent; it is the heart that opens itself to the misery of one's neighbor. This heart, sensitive to misery, is not merely a matter of feelings or emotion. This heart is an attitude of the whole person, a commitment of the will, both a disposition of the soul and a way of acting. It compels one to want to end the misery of one's neighbor as one would one's own.

Mercy is not a human posture, however rebranded. It is the very being of God, his Fatherly heart, his benevolence toward humanity and the world, his ultimate attribute, the highest expression of his justice. Mercy, as revealed to us in Holy Scripture, is God, moved to the core by my distress, coming to my aid and delivering me.

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