Dives in Misericordia: “He Who Sees Me Sees the Father” (3, continued)

Chapter 3 of “Dives in Misericordia” (“Rich in Mercy”) is entitled “When Christ Began To Do and To Teach.” It continues as follows:

“3. . . . On the basis of this way of manifesting the presence of God who is Father, love and mercy, Jesus makes mercy one of the principal themes of His preaching. As is His custom, He first teaches ‘in parables,’ since these express better the very essence of things. It is sufficient to recall the parable of the prodigal son,²⁴ or the parable of the Good Samaritan,²⁵ but also – by contrast – the parable of the merciless servant.²⁶ There are many passages in the teaching of Christ that manifest love-mercy under some ever-fresh aspect. We need only consider the Good Shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep, ²⁷ or the woman who sweeps the house in search of the lost coin.²⁸ The Gospel writer who particularly treats of these themes in Christ’s teaching is Luke, whose Gospel has earned the title of ‘the Gospel of mercy.’”

24. Luke 15:11-32.
25. Luke 10:30-37.
26. Matthew 18:23-35.
27. Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:3-7.
28. Luke 15:8-10.

 

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Pope John Paul II: “Dives in Misericordia”