v. Benevolence, Kindness, Kindness, Compassion, Grace
Gen 19:16 according to the m of the Lord toward him; and the
24:12
The Hebrew word hesedh is one of the most important in the OT and lies at the center of the Lord’s revelation of himself in relation to his attitude towards his people. His hesedh is rooted in his grace (Gen 19:19; combines the idea of love, commitment, duty, and protection). It is explicitly linked to truth—that is, being true to oneself, being authentic, being trustworthy—so there is an emphasis on the loyalty with which love acts (Gen 32:10; Exo 34 :6).
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
(heart with misery, compassion: (suffer with), kindness, kindness.). See “Charity”.
Christian Bible Dictionary
Dr. J. Dominguez
http://bible.com/dictionary/
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
Inclination of mind to sympathize with the evil of others. In the OT several Hebrew words are used that contain the ideas of m., to be merciful, to have m., to be benign, etc. The term is hesed. Many times it also conveys the idea of fidelity. Given the multiplicity of meanings that this word can have, several scholars argue about its emphasis in different passages. In the Latin versions of the OT it is translated as m.
Although the theme appears throughout the Scriptures, it is in the Psalms that m is most mentioned. of God (†œ… slow to anger, and great in m.† ). Also human beings can exercise m. Boaz told Ruth: “You have done your last kindness better than your first” (Ruth 3:10). Hesed is also translated as “piety” (“Your piety is like a morning cloud”).
in the NT the word is eleeö (“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy”). Paul says that he was “welcomed to me” (1Ti 1:13). Believers have received m. (2Co 4:1; 1Pe 2:10). But the term that is closest to the m. mentioned in the OT is “grace” (Gr. charis). The apostle Paul teaches that we are saved “by grace” (Eph 2:5) and that “the grace of God has appeared to all men for salvation” (Tit 2:11). Furthermore, he wishes Timothy and Titus: † œGrace, mercy and peace from God our Father † (1Ti 1: 2; 2Ti 1: 2; Tit 1: 4).
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
It literally means having a “heart” in the face of the physical, psychic or moral and spiritual “misery” of others. Mercy as a divine attribute is one of the features most claimed by the sacred authors, following the evangelical message and in a particular way the Pauline doctrine of divine compassion.
The most systematic and justified study of this attribute is found in the Summa Theologica of Saint Thomas (II q. 21, a. 3), which considers it primordial.
It is the one that most appears before the minds of men and the one that makes the most understand what divinity is: infinite goodness, benevolence, benignity, compassion, providence. St. Augustine recalled that “the greater the misery of men, the greater the mercy of God” (Confess. 3. 7)”
As a human quality, the concept of mercy is synonymous with sorrow, regret, suffering, compassion, pity, clemency, pity, in the face of the evils of others.
When man is compassionate, he is more like a compassionate God. Authentic mercy does not remain in the affective dimensions, which arise in the person of the kind, but instead calls for concrete actions of relief and help to help the person of the compassionate or the needy.
Up to 80 times the word pity, compassion, mercy, piety appears, in the Greek form of the verb “eleeo” or in the noun “eleemosyne” which are equivalent.
Jesus attributes mercy to himself (Mt. 5.19) and recommends mercy to everyone (Mt. 9.13; Mt. 23.23; Lk. 11.41). In the beatitudes he does not forget the praise in this regard: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” (Mt. 5.7)
Pedro Chico González, Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy, Editorial Bruño, Lima, Peru 2006
Source: Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy
Divine mercy according to revelation
In the Old Testament revelation, God shows his merciful love that comes from his heart, entrails or “maternal womb” (“rahamim” Jer 31,3; Is 49,15; Os 2,3); as kindness and fidelity to the Covenant (“hesed” Ex 34,6; Is 63,7; cf. DM 7). It is a universal love, since “the whole earth is filled with the mercy of the Lord” (Ps 33,5; Wis 11,23-26), and it is eternal and indefectible love (Jer 31,3).
This divine love has given rise to creation, to the incarnation of the Word and to redemption. All of creation and all of history have their origin in the eternal love between the Father and the Son, which is expressed in the Holy Spirit. The whole of humanity, in all its historical and salvific process, is the fruit of this love. The mission or sending of the Son and the Holy Spirit, corresponds to the merciful design of the Father “This design stems from the ‘fountain love’ or the charity of God the Father, who… by his excessive and merciful kindness, creating us freely and calling us also without interest anyone to share with him in life and glory, freely spread divine goodness” (AG 2).
Mercy, the key to Jesus’ message
Jesus announced the merciful love of the Father as the key to understanding and living the new law “Be merciful, as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36). Jesus himself is the personal epiphany of God’s “compassion” (Mk 1,41; 8, 2; Mt 15,32). Jesus “is sent by the Father as a revelation of God’s mercy (cf. Jn 3:16-18). “He himself embodies and personifies mercy… He himself is, in a certain sense, mercy” (DM 2). He has come not to condemn, but to forgive, to shower mercy (cf. Mt 9:13). And the greatest mercy lies in his being among us” (VS 118). For this reason, “Christ becomes a legible sign of God who is love” (DM 3). In it, every human being will be able to discover divine mercy.
God the Father, “rich in mercy” (Eph 2,4), manifests himself in the person of his Son Jesus. The Christian message to all peoples is like this. “God, who is love, cannot reveal himself in any other way, if he is not as merciful” (DM 13). The norm that the Lord lived and that he transmitted to his own is that of loving everyone, to show that everyone is “children of the heavenly Father, who makes the sun rise on the good and the bad” (Mt 5:45). The parables of mercy (Lk 15) celebrate the “joy” born in the heart of the loving person (pastor, wife, father) when he has found the loved one again.
The evangelizing action of Jesus is carried out with an attitude of mercy towards any human being with whom he has come into contact, regardless of race or religion. The mission of “evangelizing the poor” is a characteristic note of his messiahship (Lk 4,18; 7,22; Mt 11,5). Every human situation of suffering and any kind of person, is the objective of his merciful mission that has no borders “For the redemption of all” (Mt 9,36). The “other sheep”, which are not yet part of his flock, are also his “I have other sheep… and I must bring them” (Jn 10:16). The mission of Jesus, by virtue of being the epiphany of God’s merciful love (Tit 3,4), is addressed to every human being (cf. EN 16). “In reality, the mystery of man is only clarified in the mystery of the Incarnate Word” (GS 22).
The constitutive forces of the mission
It is, then, the love of the Father for his Son and for the world, which has given rise to the mission (Jn 3,16-17; 1Jn 4,8-9). The mission of Jesus derives, as from its source, from the love of the Father “The Father loved me” (Jn 15,9), “the Father sent me” (Jn 20,21). This love of the Father to Christ sent, is prolonged in the men evangelized by Christ “You have loved them as me” (Jn 17,23). The mission entrusted to the apostles has these same characteristics “Thus I send you” (Jn 20,21).
The proclamation of this universalist divine mercy is an essential part of the mission entrusted by Jesus to his Church. Divine mercy, manifested in the redemption of Jesus, must be proclaimed through the mission of the Church. “The Church lives an authentic life, when she professes and proclaims mercy… and when she brings men closer to the sources of the Savior’s mercy” (DM 13).
Mercy is “the constitutive force of the mission” of Jesus and of the Church (DM 6). The incarnation, the cross and the resurrection of Jesus have the capacity to raise any human being from all prostration. In the history of the ecclesial mission, it is necessary to highlight how God works mercifully through weak instruments and without the powers of this world.
Like Mary, the Church is “Mother of Mercy” (VS 118-120). For this reason, the mission must reflect this love and mercy of the Father of all “Be perfect as your heavenly Father” (Mt 5,48); “Be merciful as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36). The ultimate epiphany of divine justice is “through mercy” (DM 4). Since Christ “became sin for us” (2Cor 5:21), he is the “revelation of mercy in its fullness” (DM 7). In his death and resurrection it appears that “the love of the Father is stronger than death… stronger than sin” (DM 8).
References Covenant, charity, God Love, Mother Church, Virgin Mary, works of mercy.
Reading of CEC documents 210-211, 214, 218-221, 1465, 1846-1848; MD; VS 3,118-120.
Bibliography AA.VV., Dives in Misericordia, Commento all’enciclica di Giovanni Paolo II (Rome, Pont. Univ. Urbaniana, 1981); AA.VV., Giovanni Paolo II. Dio Rico gave me mercy (Rome, Logos, 1980); Y. CONGAR, La misericorde attribut souverain de Dieu La Vie Spirituellle (1962) 380-395; S. MEO, Maria “Mater Misericordiae”, in Dives in Misericordia, Commento… 443-461; A. SISTI, Mercy, in New Dictionary of Spirituality (Madrid, Paulinas, 1991) 1216-1224.
(ESQUERDA BIFET, Juan, Dictionary of Evangelization, BAC, Madrid, 1998)
Source: Dictionary of Evangelization
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SUMMARY: In the AT. -1. The teachings of Christ. 1. “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.” 2. “Be merciful as your Father is merciful.” 3. “I want mercy and not sacrifice.” 4. “The most important of the Law: justice, mercy and faith.” – II. The Parables. 1. The parable of the Prodigal Son. 2. The parable of the good Samaritan. 3. The parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus. 4. The parable of the gutless servant. 5. The final judgment. – III. The attitudes of Christ. 1. With sinners. 2. With the sick and afflicted. 3. With women.
We could define it as an inner feeling of compassion and pity in the face of other people’s misfortunes that drives us to help those who suffer from them. It has a very broad meaning and field of action and we also call it: compassion, mercy,…