By Bob Ho
CATHOLICS need to be constantly reminded that the sacraments are the inherent expression of His mercy every time they are celebrated.
Fr Simon Yong, SJ, in emphasising this, said mercy was not an added “component or ingredient” to the sacraments.
“Every time a sacrament is celebrated, it is inherently an expression of God’s mercy,” he said. The parish priest of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Johor Bahru was delivering a talk titled Misericordiae Vultus – The Face of the Father’s Mercy, organised by the Firm Foundation Ministry at the Church of St Francis Xavier.
He quoted a passage from Pope Francis’ declaration of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2015: “Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy. And His mercy will always be greater than any sin, and no one can place limits on the love of God who is ever ready to forgive.”
Fr Simon delivered a stimulating reflection on mercy in a challenging pastoral landscape, noting that the Sacraments are directed towards the salvation of souls which requires the exposure of sin and error. Yet many choose to avoid confronting the truth. He said: “It is a spiritual act of mercy to instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful and admonish the sinners because to speak the truth in love is always merciful. Sadly, the world will judge that as not being merciful.”
He began his talk with a witty overview on how perception in a utilitarian world was blurring the understanding of mercy and pastoral justification when “possibility is confused with permissibility … we set aside morality in favour of potentiality” in matters like irregular unions, communion for the divorced and remarried, as well as same-sex attraction.
He linked this to what he called the “self” trapped in a subjective vortex in which the “self” somewhat became the benchmark in one’s measure of mercy. This is when one feels his experience is larger than others, and in this case, God. “We are supposed to be as merciful as the Father is merciful. But what has happened is that the Father is supposed to be as merciful as I am,” he said.
Fr Simon said: “When we dispense with the commandments of God, meaning we feel that they are not merciful enough, or not pastoral enough, then it is left to us to be more merciful than God.” To allow this, he cautioned, would make it “easier for us to justify pastoral needs … to meet the needs of God’s people in the name of mercy”, which in turn “reinforce heresies, misconceptions, bad liturgies and teachings”. He described such pastoral justifications as the “abuses we commit in the name of mercy” in occasions like weddings and funerals.
He stressed that if the best place to experience mercy was through the Sacraments, “then the Church needs to constantly remind that it is not lex vivendi, lex credendi, lex orandi (how we live determines what we believe and how we worship) but lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi (how we worship reflects what we believe and determines how we live).”
The Seven Sacraments instituted by the Lord are the Sacraments of Initiation – Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist; the Sacraments of Healing – Penance and the Anointing of the Sick; and the Sacraments at the Service of Communion – Marriage and Holy Orders.
Reflecting on Pope Francis’ often quoted but misunderstood “Who am I to judge” comment, he pointed out that the Vicar of Christ also stressed the need for sinners to acknowledge their sins. This, he said, put to rest the misconstrued idea that he was soft on sins. On the skewed understanding that confession did not really require contrition or amendments, he said: “But the Pope has made a correction to this skewed understanding. We love the sinner but condemn his sins.”
The Firm Foundation has lined up an Encyclical series of talks for its Jubilee 2025 programme, Journeying as Pilgrims of Hope: Living Pope Francis’ messages of hope in his Papal documents. – Herald Malaysia
