“Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36.)
Origen of Alexandria (part 2 of Pope Benedict’s reflections on Origen) comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:
“The traces of the divine image are clearly recognized not through the likeness of the body, which undergoes corruption, but through the intelligence of the soul. We see the divine image in its righteousness, temperance, courage, wisdom, discipline, and through the entire chorus of virtues that are present essentially in God. These can be in people through effort and the imitation of God, as also the Lord points out in the Gospel when he says, “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” and “Be perfect, as your Father is perfect.”” (On First Principles, 4.)
Collect
O God, Who have taught us
to chasten our bodies
for the healing of our souls,
enable us, we pray,
to abstain from all sins
and strengthen our hearts
to carry out Your loving commands.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
to chasten our bodies
for the healing of our souls,
enable us, we pray,
to abstain from all sins
and strengthen our hearts
to carry out Your loving commands.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen
