Our merciful Lord

By Tom Quiner

our merciful Lord

“Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord.”

The psalmist might allude to drowning in the depths of dark, frigid water.

Or he might allude to life’s addictions and sins that separate us from God.  Whatever the depth of our suffering, our soul is hardwired by God Himself to cry out to Him, our Creator and Savior, in times of distress.

Contrition and mercy

When our heart is sincerely contrite, our Lord is ridiculously merciful. Christ Jesus gave us His Church and a beautiful sacrament, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which cleanses us of our sin, restoring us to the fullness of redemption.

It is as if the sin never occurred in God’s eyes.

The culture mocks virtue

There’s a problem with our modern culture.  The culture is increasingly trying to twist sin and transform it into something virtuous. Perhaps the most brazen example is Planned Parenthood’s “shout your abortion” campaign, which encourages women to proudly and publicly proclaim their abortions.

How this must wound God, in whose image we were created.

The hope of salvation

Our hope of salvation is predicated on God’s forgiveness, which begins with His Son, and ends with our contrition.  Psalm 130 beautifully expresses this recognition of our need for forgiveness:

“If You, O Lord, never forgave us, who could survive?”

The answer:  not a one.  But He does, and the psalmist tells us to sing it out:

“But you forgive us, yes, you forgive us, and for that we revere you.”

Psalm 130 is one of a set of psalms called “Psalms of ascent.”  Faithful Jews sang it as they traveled to Jerusalem for religious feast days, which occurred three times a year.  The temple was the highest point in the land, thus the ‘ascent.’

They were going up, rising, so to speak, as they approached Yahweh.  Let Psalm 130 lift your soul. Catholic liturgy builds the Psalm around this uplifting response:

“With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.”

Sing it as you approach church for Mass.  You are about to receive God’s lavish mercy and fullness of redemption.  Thank-you, Abba Father, our merciful Lord!

8 Comments

  1. parrillaturi on April 6, 2019 at 11:23 am

    Were it not for the loving, and merciful heart of our Lord, we would not be here. Thank you Lord.



  2. sklyjd on April 6, 2019 at 6:09 pm

    Tom, I cannot help thinking that abortion is an easy target for Christians. To use your own words.

    “How this must wound God, in whose image we were created.”

    This comment must also apply to every war and every bit of human suffering experienced at the hands of another human. Is it not doctrine that all the aborted lives are automatically saved by the Lord anyway?



  3. sklyjd on April 6, 2019 at 6:10 pm

    Tom, I cannot help thinking that abortion is an easy target for Christians. To use your own words.
    “How this must wound God, in whose image we were created.”
    This comment must also apply to every war and every bit of human suffering experienced at the hands of another human. Is it not doctrine that all the aborted lives are automatically saved by the Lord anyway?



    • quinersdiner on April 6, 2019 at 8:58 pm

      Yes, abortion is an easy target for Christians. In fact, the entire American experiment is built upon the Judeo-Christian ethic that it is immoral to kill an innocent human being. And yes, God surely feels our pain when any of HIs creation is wounded, regardless of circumstances. Your last sentence is deeply troubling for its transparent cynicism. Life matters. It has profound meaning.



    • lburleso on April 8, 2019 at 9:26 am

      Why do you think that Christians target abortion so easily?



      • sklyjd on April 10, 2019 at 1:38 am

        For American Christians abortion it appears from what I read to be either their only issue or one they prioritise. I expect it is because they can tackle this issue on their own doorsteps.

        I have thought that there are equal or even more important issues to be recognised and possibly more progress to be made considering whatever the law changes on abortion may be in either one or two states or in an entire country there will always be somewhere else to procure abortion either legally or illegally.



  4. shelley pitts on April 10, 2019 at 8:24 pm

    ALL Americans, Christian, Jewish, atheists, and others…should be HORRIFIED at the murdering, holocaust of precious, innocent babies!!! It is unconscionable what is occurring nearly 4,000 times a day in this country!!! To even compare it to anything else, is also unconscionable.



    • quinersdiner on April 10, 2019 at 8:50 pm

      Thanks for weighing in.