“We are called to show mercy, because mercy has first been shown to us.” —Pope Francis
In proclaiming the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has called on the entire church to to “open our hearts to those living on the outermost fringes of society” which means “opening our eyes to see the misery of the world, the wounds of our brothers and sisters who are denied their dignity” and to “recognize that we are compelled to heed their cry for help.”
Responding to this call, The Way of Mercy features essays and meditations on this gospel theme, beginning with the text of Pope Francis for the Year of Mercy, as well as reflections on mercy by theologians such as Walter Kasper, Jon Sobrino, and Leonardo Boff, and beloved spiritual writers including Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, Jim Forest, Joan Chittister, and Joyce Rupp, as well as poems by jessica Powers and R.S. Thomas. They reflect on Jesus and the ethics of mercy, on a “church of mercy,” on the spiritual and corporal “works of mercy,” and on ways to foster mercy in our lives and in our prayer. The Way of Mercy closes with Pope Francis’s Prayer for the Jubilee Year of Mercy, a good prayer to carry us into this special year and into the years to come.