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. . . . Connected with the mystery of creation is the mystery of the election, which in a special way shaped the history of the people whose spiritual father is Abraham by virtue of his faith. Nevertheless, through this people which journeys forward through the history both of the Old Covenant and of the New, that mystery of election refers to every man and woman, to the whole great human family. ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.’⁵⁶ ‘For the mountains may depart...my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed.’⁵⁷ This truth, once proclaimed to Israel, involves a perspective of the whole history of man, a perspective both temporal and eschatological.⁵⁸ Christ reveals the Father within the framework of the same perspective and on ground already prepared, as many pages of the Old Testament writings demonstrate. At the end of this revelation, on the night before He dies, He says to the apostle Philip these memorable words: ‘Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me...? He who has seen me has seen the Father.’⁵⁹”

56. Jeremiah 31:3.
57. Isaiah 54:10.
58. Jonah 4:2, 11; Psalm 145 (144):9; Sirach 18:8-14; Wisdom 11:23-12:1.
59. John 14:9.

 

To access the complete document, please visit:

Pope John Paul II: “Dives in Misericordia”