Have mercy!

How happy I am to see myself imperfect and be in need of God's mercy.
St Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, OCD

Did you ever roughhouse with your siblings or friends when you were a kid until someone cried "Have mercy!" ? What a relief when they stopped! Yet the relief that follows after someone stops tickling you or holding you down is just an iota of what we can expect from God.

God's mercy is, like God, never ending. It is greater than we can even imagine. It is there whenever we need it and, of course, God knows when that is since He is everpresent.

But are you happy that you are imperfect? What about that hot temper you have? Or the tendency to rush all of the time? Are you happy that you don't look the way you want, that you have a learning disability, that you have asthma? Probably not! Our imperfections bother us. Because we are human, we don't like things that make us uncomfortable or even cause us to suffer. We want to be relieved and we cry out for mercy.

The paradox is that if we were not imperfect and fallible human beings, we would not need God's mercy. The vulnerability we have draws us nearer to God's mercy, which is one of His greatest gifts.

St. Therese found a sense of joy in this paradox. She embraced her imperfections, recognizing that God extended his mercy toward her because of them. She had faith that her needs would be met by His great mercy.

So the next time you feel like crying out for mercy, remember that God is there to meet your needs.