It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice

"Like Bartimaeus, let us cast off our cloak and rise to our feet: that is, let us cast aside all that prevents us from racing towards him, unafraid of leaving behind those things which make us feel safe and to which we are attached. Let us not remain sedentary, but let us get up and find our spiritual worth again, our dignity as loved sons and daughters who stand before the Lord so that we can be seen by him, forgiven and recreated. ...


"...May our words be those of the disciples who, echoing Jesus, said to Bartimaeus: “Take heart; rise, he is calling you” (Mk 10:49). We have been sent to inspire courage, to support and to lead others to Jesus. Our ministry is one of accompaniment, so that the encounter with the Lord may be personal and intimate, and the heart may open itself to the Saviour in honesty and without fear. May we not forget: it is God alone who is at work in every person. In the Gospel it is he who stops and speaks to the blind man; it is he who orders the man to be brought to him, and who listens to him and heals him. We have been chosen to awaken the desire for conversion, to be instruments that facilitate this encounter, to stretch out our hand and to absolve, thus making his mercy visible and effective." --Pope Francis, homily for penitential celebration on March 4, 2016

"Every repentant faithful, after the priest's absolution, has the certainty, through faith, that his sins no longer exist, that they have been cancelled by divine mercy. Every absolution is, in a certain sense, a jubilee of the heart, that brings joy not only to the faithful and the Church, but above all to God Himself..." --Pope Francis to participants in the annual course of the internal forum of the Apostolic Penitentiary, March 4, 2016

"There is one thing to meditate on—the attitude of the older son, the one who had stayed home and worked with the father, the one who was always well behaved. When he speaks, he is really the only one to say something truthful: “Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf” (Luke 15:29–30). He speaks the truth, but at the same time he disqualifies himself...." --Pope Francis, The Name of God is Mercy

H/T: Whispers in the Loggia

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