# Living the Gospel of Mercy – Wednesday, Week 5 of Lent
*2017-04-05*

> Bill reflects on Pope Francis’ Lenten meditation on mercy, shares a brief reading from Daniel, and offers a heartfelt prayer to Jesus as we approach Palm Sunday.

## Pope Francis on Mercy

Pope Francis reminds us that the Church is called to announce God’s mercy, the very heart of the Gospel. This mercy must penetrate the hearts and minds of every person, just as Christ went out to all without exception. In today’s new evangelization, the theme of mercy must be proposed again and again with renewed enthusiasm and pastoral action. The Church’s credibility depends on living and testifying to mercy, allowing its language and gestures to touch people’s hearts and lead them back to the Father. The first truth of the Church is the love of Christ, a love that forgives and gives itself. Wherever the Church is present—parishes, movements, associations—God’s mercy should be evident, creating an oasis of mercy for all.

## Reflection Question

How might I bear witness more effectively to God’s mercy in my own life?

## Scripture Reading: Daniel 3:25‑26

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## Prayer to Jesus, the Most Loveable

O admirable, beloved Jesus, you who are our life, our hope, our treasure. How great a cost it was for you to remain with us in the sacrament; you gave yourself up to die so that you might remain on our altars. You bore every offense to console us with your presence, your love, your desire to be loved by us in return. Lord, come into my heart; let no other creature take away the love I have for you. Grant that I may be entirely yours, that I may obey your commandments fully, that I may feel renewed so that I may seek to carry out your will in all things. May my greatest desire be to please you, to adore you in the blessed sacrament of the altar, to remain in your prayers, to receive you into my body, even if others seek pleasure elsewhere. I love nothing and desire nothing other than your precious love at the foot of the altar. Help me forget myself so that I may remember only your will. I do not envy the blessed seraphim for their glory, but for the love they have for God, and I pray that God may teach me how to love and please Him. Amen.

## Closing

I hope you’re having a good Wednesday. May this Lenten season draw us ever deeper into God’s mercy as we prepare for Palm Sunday and the joy of Easter.

*Let the mercy of Christ shape every word and action, becoming an oasis of love for all we meet.*