From a Sermon by Saint Caesarius of Arles,

 Divine and human mercy Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. My brothers and sisters, sweet is the thought of mercy, but even more so is mercy itself. It is what all men hope for, but unfortunately, not what all men deserve. For while all men wish to receive it, only a few are willing to give it.

How can a man ask for himself what he refuses to give to another? If he expects to receive any mercy in heaven, he should give mercy on earth. Do we all desire to receive mercy? Let us make mercy our patroness now, and she will free us in the world to come. Yes, there is mercy in heaven, but the road to it is paved by our merciful acts on earth. As Scripture says: Lord, your mercy is in heaven.

There is, therefore, an earthly as well as heavenly mercy, that is to say, a human and a divine mercy. Human mercy has compassion on the miseries of the poor. Divine mercy grants forgiveness of sins. Whatever human mercy bestows her on earth, divine mercy will return to us in our homeland. In this life God feels cold and hunger in all who are stricken with poverty; for, remember, he once said: What you have done to the least of my brothers you have done to me. Yes, God who sees fit to give his mercy in heaven wishes it to be a reality here on earth.

What kind of people are we? When God gives, we wish to receive, but when he begs, we refuse to give. Remember, it was Christ who said: I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. When the poor are starving, Christ too hungers. Do not neglect to improve the unhappy conditions of the poor, if you wish to ensure that your own sins be forgiven you. Christ hungers now, my brethren; it is he who deigns to hunger and thirst in the persons of the poor. And what he will return in heaven tomorrow is what he receives her on earth today.

What do you wish for, what do you pray for, my dear brothers and sisters, when you come to church? Is it mercy? How can it be anything else? Show mercy, then, while you are on earth, and mercy will be shown to you in heaven. A poor person asks you for something; you ask God for something. He begs for a morsel of food; you beg for eternal life. Give to the beggar so that you may merit to receive from Christ. For he it is who says: Give and it will be given to you. It baffles me that you have the impudence to ask for what you do not want to give. Give when you come to church. Give to the poor. Give them whatever your resources will allow.

Psalm 119: 57 Lord, I love your commands.I have said, O LORD, that my part is to keep your words. The law of your mouth is to me more precious than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

Do we love the Lord’s commands or do we spurn them? Do we follow the word of God or do we follow the secular world? What is the light that guides our understanding? If I think the world is wiser than the Gospel then I am not a disciple. Please listen to these words of instruction from Pope Leo XIII. They are good for your soul, for your family, and for society.

“No one should be excluded from Our charity. We commend to your fidelity and piety those unhappy persons who, carried away by the heat of passion, and being utterly indifferent to their salvation, live wickedly together without the bond of lawful marriage. Let your utmost care be exercised in bringing such persons back to their duty; and, both by your own efforts and by those of good men who will consent to help you, strive by every means that they may see how wrongly they have acted; that they may do penance; and that they may be induced to enter into a lawful marriage according to the Catholic rite.”

Jesus imparts a doctrine which rocks and overturns acquired habits and preconceptions. Those who safeguard these preconceptions (the Pharisees) rebel against this teacher of a new lesson. It is intolerable for them. It was intolerable then and for us now. The teaching of Jesus will always be intolerable.

We resist the one who can regenerate us. What is the explanation for this resistance to what is new? Consider an animal forced to endure a metamorphosis in order to reach its adult form. Would the caterpillar prefer to remain in it’s juvenile condition rather than become a butterfly? It is highly possible that this is also true for man. Man is essentially an incomplete animal, called by God the Creator to a supernatural destiny, to participation in the life of God. He can only participate in this new life through a re-birth, a transformation. St. Gregory Nanzianzen calls us – The deifiable animal. We resist this re-birth, this metamorphosis, with all our strength. Further, we persecute those who call upon us to undergo this transformation. He prefers to remain the man of old, the old man, rather than become the new man. More precisely, he harbors two contradictory desires: one fills him with hope to embrace the new life, and the other makes him turn back and regress.

The mustard seed and the yeast are very small. The Word of God is very small. Will we say yes to its growth in our lives?