Dear Friend,

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Reflection by Rev. Msgr. Joseph Reilly, S.T.L., Ph.D.

It was in the vestibule following Mass when I was given a book by a young woman who worked for the publishing company that had the rights for distribution of Pope Francis’ first book he issued after being elected. She was excited and enthusiastic to share it with me. After reading an advanced copy, her heart had been moved. She was hoping the same for me and for the thousands she anticipated would be interested in obtaining one for themselves. The Name of God is Mercy was the title. It was published in conjunction with the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, inviting all the faithful to reflect upon and embrace mercy as the “first attribute of God.”

The book reminded me that the genuine encounter with God’s mercy is nothing short of seeing and experiencing our true selves from the divine perspective. The results could be described as corrective, restorative, and creative – all at once! In today’s first reading, the prophet Isaiah uses the following powerful words to capture this dynamic: “Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool” (1:18).

God always holds out possibility.  Through the forgiveness of sin God can completely transform our lives.  This Holy Season of Lent is our annual reminder regarding this possibility and the invitation to be transformed in Christ.  Some of us may feel that we’ve used up all our chances – for ourselves or on someone else – that there is no hope.  The Christian perspective can never permit such a grim conclusion.  Looking upon the face of Christ, he extends to us his gaze of mercy and takes us to himself.  May our own eyes meet those of our loving Savior, and may we find in him God’s tender, all-embracing mercy and let our hearts be moved.

“Mercy is in reality the core of the Gospel message; it is the name of God himself, the face with which he revealed himself in the Old Testament and fully in Jesus Christ, incarnation of Creative and Redemptive Love. This love of mercy also illuminates the face of the Church, and is manifested through via the Sacraments, in particular that of the Reconciliation, as well as in works of charity, both of community and individuals. Everything that the Church says and does shows that God has mercy for man.” Pope Benedict XVI

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Rev. Msgr. Joseph Reilly, S.T.L., Ph.D., Vice Provost for Academics and Catholic Identity Seton Hall University and Rector/Dean Emeritus, Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology. He holds a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, a licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) from Pontificio Istituto Teresianum, Rome, and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Fordham University. He has served as a member of the Archdiocesan Priest Personnel Board, the Advisory Committee on Continuing Education and Ongoing Formation of Priests, the Archdiocesan Vocations Board, and the Board of Trustees of Seton Hall University. Pope John Paul II named him a Chaplain to His Holiness in 2005, with the title of Reverend Monsignor. In 2016 during the Holy Year of Mercy, the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization sought priests who were living signs "of the Father's welcome to all those in search of His forgiveness." He was the only priest from the Archdiocese of Newark formally commissioned as a Missionary of Mercy by Pope Francis.