Jezu, Ufam Tobie

In a book as vast and ancient as the Bible, any of us even just somewhat familiar with its contents will be especially fond of particular passages (e.g., "The Lord is my shepherd..."). I've mentioned several before, such as:

• Psalm 19:2, "The heavens proclaim God's glory, and the skies His great skill" – just looking at the clouds and stars and galaxies and nebulae quash the concepts of agnosticism and atheism;
• A verse from another Psalm, 116:15, "Too great a loss to the Lord is the death of those who love him", which was some consolation to me after my father (and others since) died suddenly... perhaps this verse may end up on his gravestone;
• John 8:3-11, where Jesus gave total mercy and compassion to a woman flawed and weak like the rest of us. He had been raised in, and taught, the Halakha, or Mosaic law, and as a devout Jew he followed it – though with a clear eye on the spirit and intent and aim of the law. In this particular instance, Mosaic law called for the woman to be put to death… but instead, with deep love and infinite kindness he simply said she was not condemned "Just don't do that anymore, okay?" he said to her, in essence;
• And another look at blindly following of the law, versus contrition and mercy: Luke 18:10-13. Here, again, you approach God not with comfort in doing as you are told, but rather with a recognition that you – we – consistently fail utterly in obedience. Before Communion, we pray: "Lord, I am not worthy to receive You. But only say the word, and I shall be healed." This echoes the words of a centurion to Jesus in Matthew 8:5-13 (also Luke 7:1-17); not even a Jew, this Roman officer knew clearly where he stood in relation to the holiness of that itinerant rabbi.

Thus I take immense comfort from the words of our late Holy Father, John Paul II: "The greater the penitent's moral misery, the greater should be the mercy shown." In a vision to St. Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s, Jesus stated: "The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy."

This is my only hope! Father Benedict Groeschel explains that come Judgment Day, the first thing he's going to say to Jesus will be (in quavering, truly pitiable voice): "Me-e-rcy! Me-e-e-rcy!" And if that doesn't do it, he'll fall back on the simple and honest, "I trusted you, Jesus." This sweet and humble priest is a shoo-in, and likely won't have need to throw himself on the mercy of the court.

Me? The good father has written my lines! It's not a technicality, since Jesus could easily respond with, "No you didn't." (Wanna call Him a liar?) So if you want to have those words in your back pocket, go for it – but you'd better live them, too. I'm trying…