By Barb Arland-Fye
Pope Francis perceived God’s mercy in his youth and has preached and prayed about mercy in these two weeks since assuming Peter’s Chair. His message has made an impact on me leading into Holy Week, and reinforced what I’ve been reading in Scripture and in The Little Black Book meditations on the Sunday Gospels of Lent.
In a talk he gave during the Angelus (a noontime prayer to Mary) on March 17 in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis reflected on the story of the adulterous woman (Jn. 8: 1-11).
“Jesus’ attitude is striking: we do not hear words of scorn, we do not hear words of condemnation, but only words of love, of mercy, which are an invitation to conversion,” the Holy Father said. In his reflection he also referred to a book on mercy he’s been reading that was written by Cardinal Walter Kasper of Germany. Pope Francis observed that a little mercy makes the world less cold and more just.
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