Mercy
(11 entries)
'Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.' Now I know
that in many passages of the Divine Scripture holy men call the Divine
Power merciful; as does David in the Psalms, Jonas in his prophecy, and
the great Moses frequently in the Law. If, therefore, the term 'merciful'
is suited to God, what else does the Word invite you to become but God,
since you ought to model yourself on the property of the Godhead? For if
the Divinely inspired Scripture calls God merciful, and if the Divinity
is truly blessed, then it should be clear how the following is to be understood.
It means that if a man is merciful, he is deemed worthy of the Divine Beatitude,
because he has attained to that which characterized the Divine Nature.
St. Gregory of Nyssa, On the Beatitudes
And what is a merciful heart? It is the heart's burning for the sake
of the entire creation, for men, for birds, for animals, for demons and
for every created thing; and by the recollection and sight of them the
eyes of a merciful man pour forth abundant tears. From the strong and vehement
mercy which grips his heart and from his great compassion, his heart is
humbled and he cannot bear to hear or see any injury or slight sorrow in
creation. For this reason he continually offers up tearful prayer, even
for irrational beasts, for the enemies of the truth and for those who harm
him, that they be protected and receive mercy. And in like manner he even
prays for the family of reptiles because of the great compassion that burns
in his heart without measure in the likeness of God. Saint
Isaac the Syrian
And what is a merciful heart? It is the heart's burning for the sake
of the entire creation, for men, for birds, for animals, for demons and
for every created thing; and by the recollection and sight of them the
eyes of a merciful man pour forth abundant tears. From the strong and vehement
mercy which grips his heart and from his great compassion, his heart is
humbled and he cannot bear to hear or see any injury or slight sorrow in
creation.
For this reason he continually offers up tearful prayer, even for irrational
beasts, for the enemies of the truth and for those who harm him, that they
be protected and receive mercy. And in like manner he even prays for the
family of reptiles because of the great compassion that burns in his heart
without measure in the likeness of God.
Saint Isaac The Syrian, Homily 81, from "The River of
Fire", Dr. Alexandre Kalomiros
Because the Deity is goodness itself, true mercy and an abyss of loving
bounty - or, rather, He is that which embraces and contains this abyss,
since He transcends every name that is named (cf. Eph. 1:21) and everything
we can conceive - we can receive mercy only by union with Him.
St. Gregory Palamas (On Prayer and Purity of Heart no.
1, The Philokalia Vol. 4 edited by Palmer, Sherrard and Ware; Faber and
Faber pg. 343)
But God said, I require mercy, and not sacrifice; and the acknowledgement
of God, and not whole burnt offerings" Hosea 6:6.
What is meant by mercy? and what by sacrifice? By mercy then is signified
Justification and grace in Christ; even that which is by faith. For we
have been justified, not by the works of the law that we have done, but
by His great mercy. And sacrifice means the law of Moses.
St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of
St. Luke
Even if we have thousands of acts of great virtue to our credit, our
confidence in being heard must be based on God's mercy and His love for
men. Even if we stand at the very summit of virtue, it is by mercy that
we shall be saved. St. John Chrysostom
Ever let mercy outweigh all else in you. Let our compassion be a mirror
where we may see in ourselves that likeness and that true image which belong
to the Divine nature and Divine essence. A heart hard and unmerciful will
never be pure.
St. Isaac of Syria, Directions on Spiritual Training
(Test 85. B #8)
Let no man deceive himself, let none be misled. Only the Lord can grant
mercy. Sins committed again Him can be cancelled by Him alone Who bore
our sins and suffered for us, by Him whom God delivered up for our sins.
Man cannot be above God, nor can the servant by any indulgence of his own
remit or condone the graver sort of crime committed against his Lord, for
that would make the lapsed liable to this further charge, that he knows
not the words of the prophet: "Cursed be the man that putteth his hope
in man." It is Our Lord we must pray to, it is Our Lord we must win over
by our satisfaction; for He has said He will deny the man that denies Him,
and He alone has received all power of judgment from His Father.
St. Cyprian, The Lapsed
Should you exercise mercy toward another, you will receive mercy for
it.
Counsels of the Optina Elder Moses (Putilov)
Those who do not have a conscience assured of purity of heart cannot
pray with the words of the Prophet `Give reward unto Thy servant.' If,
indeed, the reward is according to the measure of our works, we remain
within the chastisement of our sins and our faults. It is already good
if one has the means of assurance that permit thanks to God thus: `Not
according to our iniquities hath He dealt with us, neither according to
our sins hath He rewarded us. For according to the height of heaven from
the earth, the Lord hath made His mercy to prevail over them that fear
Him...for He knoweth whereof we are made' (Ps. 102: 9,10,12). It is important
to recognize such mercy on the part of God for us, to now that we are insulated
by the accustomed practice of our faults, and for us to begin to be worthy
of the mercy of God.
St. Hilary of Poitiers quoted in The Lament of Eve by
Johanna Manley
You hear in church more often than anything the voices of the priests,
deacons, readers and singers praying God to have mercy upon us.What does
this signify? It signifies that all of us who are in God's Temple are deserving,
by our sins, of God's punishment, and that before everything - on our coming
into the church - we must remember that we are sinners, and have come to
the Lord of Heaven and Earth, to our Creator and Benefactor, Whom we have
daily and hourly angered by our iniquities, to ask for mercy, each one
for himself, and also, in accordance with Christian love, for others.
From St. John of Kronstadt (My Life in Christ, Part 1;
Holy Trinity Monastery pg. 29)
Used with the permission of Fr Seraphim Holland from
his website.
