Daily Reflection Monday of the Second Week of Lent

God is crazy in love. Some time ago I referred to a saying of St. Catherine of Siena. She said, “God is pozzo d’amore.” This is an Italian expression meaning “crazy in love.” She meant that God’s mercy is outrageous. To illustrate this, pick up the “parables of mercy” in St. Luke’s Gospel, chapter 15. Included in this collection is “The Prodigal Son.”

In today’s gospel, the Son of God explains that his Father defies our ordinary way of understanding mercy. God crosses the limits of human generosity in a shocking way. And Jesus wants to develop that same merciful attitude within us, as he says, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”



Note that this is an attitude rather than a law. It should become a habit of our being so that this is the way we behave toward others. In order to cultivate this attitude, we need to refrain from judging and condemning, and beware of criticizing other people by our own limited standards. Instead, we need to forgive those who offend us and give generously to all who are in need, even if we have no expectation of being forgiven in return, or thanked for our gift.



The more we forgive and give away, the more we will be able to receive. The measure we measure with will be measured back to us. It is not that God will dole out divine gifts based upon our good work. Rather, this attitude of mercy expands our capacity to receive God’s gifts, the One who gives “outrageously.”