Dives in Misericordia: “He Who Sees Me Sees the Father” (4, continued)

Chapter 4 of “Dives in Misericordia” (“Rich in Mercy”) is entitled “The Concept of ‘Mercy’ in the Old Testament.” It continues as follows:

“4. . . . Added to this is the fact that sin too constitutes man’s misery. The people of the Old Covenant experienced this misery from the time of the Exodus, when they set up the golden calf. The Lord Himself triumphed over this act of breaking the covenant when He solemnly declared to Moses that He was a ‘God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.’⁴⁵ It is in this central revelation that the chosen people, and each of its members, will find, every time that they have sinned, the strength and the motive for turning to the Lord to remind Him of what He had exactly revealed about Himself⁴⁶ and to beseech His forgiveness.”

45. Exodus 34:6.
46. Cf. Numbers 14:18; 2 Chronicles 30:9; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 86(85); Wisdom 15:1; Sirach 2:11; Joel 2:13.

 

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Pope John Paul II: “Dives in Misericordia”