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Á¦¸ñ õÁÖÀÚºñ¿Í Àڱ⠼ºÈ­ ÀÌ·ç±â/The Mercy of God- ¿¹¼ö ¼º½É ÷·Ê
ÀÛ¼ºÀÚ °ü¸®ÀÚ ÀÛ¼ºÀÏ 2014-10-10

 


õÁÖÀÚºñ¿Í Àڱ⠼ºÈ­ ÀÌ·ç±â - ¿¹¼ö ¼º½É ÷·Ê(2014-06-27)  

 

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¾î´À ³¯, ¸£Æäºê¸£ ´ëÁÖ±³²²¼­ ¡°ÀÚºñ¶õ »ç¶ûÀÇ ÃÖ°íÁ¤Á¡ÀÌ´Ù.¡±¶ó°í ¸»¾¸Çϼ̽À´Ï´Ù. ½ÇÁ¦·Î ¿ì¸® ÁÖ ¿¹¼ö ±×¸®½ºµµ²²¼­ ÇàÇϽŠ»ê»ó¼öÈÆÀ» ¼º ¸¶Å׿À°¡ ÀοëÇÕ´Ï´Ù: ¡°ÀÌ·¯¹Ç·Î ³ÊÈñ´Â Çϴÿ¡ °è½Å ³ÊÈñ ¼ººÎ ¿ÏÀüÇϽɰú °°ÀÌ ¿ÏÀüÇÑ ÀÚ µÇ¾î¶ó.¡°(¸¶Å׿À5:48) ¼º ·ç±î º¹À½¿¡µµ ÀÌ¿¡ ´ëÀÀÇÏ´Â ¸»¾¸ÀÌ ÀÖ½À´Ï´Ù: ¡°ÀÌ·¯¹Ç·Î ³ÊÈñ ¼ººÎ ÀÎÀÚÇϽɰú °°ÀÌ ³ÊÈñµµ ÀÎÀÚÇÏ¿©¶ó.¡°(·ç±î6:36)

 

ÀÚºñ¶õ ºÒ½ÖÇÑ ÀÚ¿¡°Ô À§´ëÇÑ »ç¶ûÀ¸·Î ³»·Á°¡ ±× ºÒÇàÀ¸·ÎºÎÅÍ ±×¸¦ µµ¿ÍÁÖ´Â ÇàÀ§À̸ç, ¾ÇÀ» ¾ÇÀ¸·Î °±Áö ¾Ê°í ¿ÀÈ÷·Á ¼±À¸·Î½á ¾ÇÀ» À̱â´Â °ÍÀÔ´Ï´Ù! ÀÌ ¼¼»ó¿¡ °è½Ç Àû¿¡ ¿ì¸® ÁÖ ¿¹¼ö ±×¸®½ºµµ²²¼­´Â º´Àڵ鿡°Ô ±× ºÐÀÇ À§´ëÇÑ ÀÚºñ¸¦ º¸¿©Áּ̰í, ¼º ±³È¸ ¿ª»ç¿¡¼­´Â ¼ºÀεé°ú Çå½ÅÀûÀÎ ½ÅÀڵ鿡 ÀÇÇØ ÇàÇØÁø ¼ºÃ¼ ÀÚºñ°¡ ¼¿ ¼ö ¾øÀ» ¸¸Å­ ÀÖ¾ú½À´Ï´Ù.


 ±×·¸Áö¸¸ À̺¸´Ù ´õ ³ôÀº ÀÚºñ°¡ ÀÖÀ¸´Ï, ÁËÀε鿡 ´ëÇÑ ÀÚºñÀÔ´Ï´Ù! ÀÌ Á¡Àº ÀÌÇØÇϱ⠾î·Æ°ÚÁö¿ä. ½ÇÁ¦·Î ½ÅüÀû °íÅë, ƯÈ÷ µ¿Á¤ ¹ÞÁö ¸øÇÒ ¶§ÀÇ ÀÌ °íÅëÀº ÀÚºñ¿Í ¿¬¹ÎÀÌ ¿äûµË´Ï´Ù. ¿¹¸¦ µé¾î, º´°í, ºó°ï(ÀÚ½ÅÀÇ ÅëÁ¦ ¹Û »óȲ¿¡¼­ ÀÌ·ç¾îÁö´Â °¡³­) ¶Ç´Â ºÎ´çÇÑ ÇàÀ§·Î ÀÎÇÑ Èñ»ýÀÚµéÀÔ´Ï´Ù: »ç¶÷Àº ÀÌ¿Í °°Àº À̵鿡°Ô ½±°Ô ÀÚºñ¸¦ º£Ç®±â´Â Çϳª, ´ÙÀ½°ú °°Àº ÁËÀεé, Áï °íÀÇ·Î Àڱ⠻îÀ» ¸Á°¡¶ß¸®°Å³ª, ¾à¹° Áßµ¶ÀÚµé, µµ¹ÚÇÏ´Â À̵é, »ìÀÎÀÚµé, °£ÅëÇÏ´Â À̵é, µµµÏµé µî À̵鿡 ´ëÇÏ¿© ±Ø¼Ò¼ö¸¸ÀÌ ¿¬¹Î°ú ÀÚºñ¸¦ ´À³§´Ï´Ù. ÁË´Â ¾î´À ½ÅüÀû °íÅ뺸´Ù ÈξÀ ´õ ¾ÇÇÕ´Ï´Ù.


 ½ÇÁ¦·Î ¿ì¸®´Â ¹°ÁúÀûÀÎ »ç¹°º¸´Ù ¿µÀûÀÎ ÀÏ¿¡ ´ëÇØ ±× ¿ì¿ù¼ºÀ» ÀνÄÇؾ߸¸ ÇÕ´Ï´Ù. »ç¶÷µéÀÌ ÈçÈ÷ ¹°ÁúÀûÀÎ Äè¶ôÀ» Áñ±â¸ç ¿µÀûÀÎ °ÍÀº ÇÏÂúÀº °ÍÀ¸·Î ¿©°Ü ¹«½ÃÇÏ´Â °æÇâÀÌ ÀÖ½À´Ï´Ù.¡±¿ì¸®°¡ ¸ñÀûÇÏ´Â ¹Ù´Â ÀÌ À¯ÇüÇÑ °ÍÀÌ ¾Æ´Ï¶ó ¿ÀÁ÷ ¹«ÇüÇÑ °ÍÀÌ´Ï, ´ëÀú À¯ÇüÇÑ °ÍÀº º¯ÃµµÇ³ª ¹«ÇüÇÑ °ÍÀº ¿µ¿øÇÑ ¿¬°í´Ï¶ó.¡°(ÄÚ¸°Åä ÈÄ 4:18)

 

¿µÀûÀÎ ¿ì¿ù¼ºÀ» ÀνÄÇϱâ À§Çؼ­´Â °¡Àå ³ôÀº Àΰ£ÀÇ ±â´ÉÀÌ Áö¼º°ú ÀÇÁö¶ó´Â °ÍÀ» ¸í½ÉÇÏ´Â °ÍÀÌ À¯ÀÍÇÕ´Ï´Ù, ½ÇÁ¦·Î ¿ì¸®ÀÇ ¸ö°ú µ¿¹°ÀÇ ¸öÀ» ºñ±³ÇÑ´Ù¸é, ¸ðµç ¸é¿¡¼­ µ¿¹°µéÀÌ ¿ì¸® ¸öº¸´Ù ´õ ¶Ù¾î³³´Ï´Ù: µ¶¼ö¸®ÀÇ °æ¿ì ¿ì¸®º¸´Ù ÈξÀ ´õ ¸Ö¸® º¼ ¼ö ÀÖÀ¸¸ç, ¸¹Àº µ¿¹°µéÀÌ Ã»°¢¿¡ ÀÖ¾î ¿ì¸®º¸´Ù ÈξÀ ¶Ù¾î³ª¸ç, °³ÀÇ °æ¿ì¸¦ º¸¸é ¿ì¸®º¸´Ù ÈξÀ ´õ ÈÄ°¢ÀÌ ¹ß´ÞÇßÀ¸¸ç (°³µéÀº ³¿»õ·Î ¿ì¸®¸¦ ÀνÄÇÒ ¼ö ÀÖÀ¸³ª, ¿ì¸® Àΰ£Àº ±×·¯Áú ¸øÇÕ´Ï´Ù) ¸¹Àº µ¿¹°µéÀÌ ¿ì¸®º¸´Ù »¡¸® ´Þ¸± ¼ö ÀÖÀ¸¸ç, »çÀÚ³ª °õÀÇ °æ¿ì¿¡´Â ¿ì¸® º¸´Ù ÈξÀ ÈûÀÌ °­ÇÕ´Ï´Ù. ¸¹Àº µ¿¹°µéÀÌ ¿ì¸®º¸´Ù ¼ö¿µÀ» ÀßÇÏ°í, ¿ì¸®µéÀº ³¯ ¼ö ¾øÀ¸³ª ¸¹Àº »õµéÀº ³¯ ¼ö°¡ ÀÖ½À´Ï´Ù.

 

±×·¸Áö¸¸ ¿ì¸®ÀÇ Áö¼ºÀ» ÀÌ¿ëÇÏ¿© ÀÌ ¸¹Àº µ¿¹°º¸´Ù ´õ ¸¹ÀÌ, ´õ ÀßÇÒ ¼ö ÀÖ½À´Ï´Ù. ¾î´À µ¿¹°º¸´Ù ´õ ¸Ö¸® º¼ ¼ö ÀÖ´Â ¸Á¿ø°æÀ» ¸¸µé ¼ö ÀÖ°í, Çö¹Ì°æÀ¸·Î ¾î´À µ¿¹°º¸´Ù ´õ ¹Ì»ý¹°µéÀ» º¼ ¼ö°¡ ÀÖÀ¸¸ç, ·¹ÀÌ´õ¸¦ ¸¸µé¾î µ¿¹°µéÀÌ °¨Áö ¸øÇÏ´Â ÀüÆĸ¦ Àâ¾Æ³»¾î µéÀ» ¼ö ÀÖ°í, »çÀÚ³ª °õ¿¡ ¸Â¼­ ¿ì¸® ÀÚ½ÅÀ» º¸È£Çϱâ À§ÇÑ ÃÑÀ» ¸¸µé ¼ö ÀÖÀ¸¸ç, ¾î´À µ¿¹°º¸´Ù ´õ »¡¸® ´Þ¸± ¼ö ÀÖ´Â ±âÂ÷³ª ÀÚµ¿Â÷¸¦ ¸¸µé ¼ö ÀÖ°í, ºñÇà±â¸¦ ¸¸µé¾î ±× ¾î´À »õº¸´Ù ´õ »¡¸® ³ôÀÌ ³¯ ¼ö°¡ ÀÖÀ¸¸ç Àá¼öÇÔÀ» ¸¸µé¾î ¾î´À ¹°°í±â º¸´Ù ´õ ±íÀÌ µé¾î°¥ ¼ö ÀÖ½À´Ï´Ù. ¿ìÁÖ¼±À» ¸¸µé¾î ´Þ±îÁö °¥¼ö ÀÖÀ¸´Ï, ÀÌ´Â ±× ¾î´À µ¿¹°µµ ½ÃµµÇÏÁö ¸øÇÑ °ÍÀÔ´Ï´Ù! ÀÌ ¸ðµç °ÍÀº ¿ì¸®ÀÇ Áö¼º°ú ÀÇÁö·Î ÀÌ·ç¾î ³½ °ÍÀÔ´Ï´Ù. ÀÌÁ¡Àº ¿ì¸®ÀÇ °¡Àå ³ôÀº ±â´ÉÀÌ ¹Ù·Î Áö¼º°ú ÀÇÁö¶ó´Â Á¡À» ¸ðµç ÀÌ¿¡°Ô ºÐ¸íÈ÷ ÇØÁÖ´Â °ÍÀÔ´Ï´Ù.


 ¸¸¾à ¿ì¸®ÀÇ Áö¼ºÀÌ ¿ì¸®ÀÇ °¡Àå ³ôÀº ±â´ÉÀ̶ó¸é, ÀÌ Áö¼ºÀÌ ¿ì¸® ¾È¿¡ Áö¹èµÇ¾î¾ß ÇÏ°í, ¿ì¸®ÀÇ ¸ðµç »î°ú °¨Á¤°ú ¿­Á¤¿¡ °¡µæ Âù ¿ì¸®ÀÇ ¸öÀ» ±ÔÁ¦ÇØ¾ß ÇÕ´Ï´Ù. ÀÌ ³ôÀº Áö¼ºÀ» Àú±ÞÇÑ ¿ì¸® ¸öÀÇ ±â´É¿¡ »ç¿ëÇÑ´Ù¸é, Çö´ë ¼¼°è¿¡¼­ ¸¹Àº À̵é ÇàÇϵíÀÌ ¿ì¸®ÀÇ À°½Å Äè¶ô¿¡ ¿ì¸®ÀÇ ¿µ¼ºÀ» »ç¿ëÇÒ ¶§¿¡´Â ½É°¢ÇÑ ¹«Áú¼­¸¦ ÀÏÀ¸Åµ´Ï´Ù.

 

¿ÀÈ÷·Á ¿ì¸® ¸öÀº ¿µÈ¥À» ¼¶±â´Âµ¥ »ç¿ëÇؾ߸¸ ÇÏ°í, ¿ì¸®ÀÇ °¡Àå ³ôÀº ±â´ÉÀÎ Áö¼ºÀ» ÃÖ°íÀÇ Çà½Ç·Î, Áï ÃÖ°íÀÇ Á¸ÀçÀÚÀ̽ŠõÁÖ´ÔÀ» ¹¬»óÇϵµ·Ï ¿ì¸® ¿Â »ý¾ÖÀÇ ¹æÇâÀ» ¼³Á¤ÇØ¾ß ÇÕ´Ï´Ù.

 

¸¸¾à, ½ÅüÀûÀÎ ¾Ç, Áúº´ µîÀÌ ¾î¶°ÇÑ ¾ÇÀ̶ó¸é, ¿ì¸®ÀÇ Áö¼º, ¿ì¸®ÀÇ ¿µÀû ±â´ÉÀ» °í·ÁÇغ»´Ù¸é, ¿µÀûÀÎ ¾ÇÀ̶õ ¾î´À ´Ù¸¥ ½ÅüÀû ¾Çº¸´Ùµµ ´õ Ä¿´Ù¶õ ¾ÇÀ̶ó´Â Á¡À» ¾Ë¾Æ¾ß ÇÕ´Ï´Ù. »ç½Ç, ¿µÀûÀÎ ÇÇÁ¶¹°ÀÌ Ã¢Á¶ÁÖ ÃµÁÖ´Ô²²·Î ÁöÇâÇØ¾ß ÇÏ´Â ±× ÀÚüÀÇ Áú¼­¸¦ °ÅºÎÇÏ´Â »óÅ·μ­ÀÇ ´ëÁË´Â Áö±ØÈ÷ ¹«ÇÑÇϽŠ¼±ÇÑ ÃµÁÖ´ÔÀ» °ÅºÎÇÑ´Ù´Â Á¡¿¡¼­ Á¸ÀçÇÏ´Â ±× ¾î¶°ÇÑ ¾Çº¸´Ù Å« °ÍÀÔ´Ï´Ù.

 

Á˶õ ÀǵµÀûÀÌ°í °èȹÀûÀÎ ¾ÇÀ̱⿡, ¿ì¸®ÀÇ ÀÚºñ¸¦ ¿ä±¸ÇÏÁö ¾Ê½À´Ï´Ù. ÀüüÀûÀ¸·Î Çø¿À°¨À» ÁÖ´Â °ÍÀ̸ç, ÀÚºñ°¡ ¾Æ´Ï¶ó ¡¹úÀÌ ´ç¿¬ÇÑ °ÍÀÔ´Ï´Ù. ³ë»ó°­µµ, »ìÀÎÀÚ, °­°£¹ü ±×¸®°í µµµÏÀÌ ÀâÇô ó¹úµÇ¸é, ¿ì¸® ¸ðµÎ´Â ±× Á¤ÀÇ¿¡ µ¿ÀǸ¦ ÇÕ´Ï´Ù. ÀúµéÀº ±×·¸°Ô ¡¹ú ¹Þ´Â °ÍÀ» ÇàÇÑ °ÍÀÔ´Ï´Ù.


õÁÖ²²¼­´Â Ä£È÷ Á˸¦ Çø¿ÀÇÏ½Ã¸ç ¸Å¿ì ¾öÁ¤ÇÏ°Ô, »ç½Ç»ó, ¿µ¿øÇÑ Â¡¹ú·Î½á Á˸¦ ó¹úÇϽʴϴÙ! ¡°¾ÓÈ­(äêü¡)À» ¹ÞÀº ÀÚµé¾Æ, ³ª¸¦ ¶°³ª ¸¶±Í¿Í ±× ¾Ç½ÅÀ» À§ÇÏ¿© ¿¹ºñÇÑ ¿µ¿øÇÑ ºÒ·Î °¡¶ó. ´ë°³ ³ª ÁÖ·ÈÀ» ¶§¿¡, ³ÊÈñ°¡ ³»°Ô ¸ÔÀ» °ÍÀ» ÁÖÁö ¾Æ´ÏÇÏ°í, ¸ñ¸¶¸¦ ¶§¿¡ ¸¶½Ç °ÍÀ» ÁÖÁö ¾Æ´ÏÇÏ°í.......ÀúµéÀº ¿µ¹ú·Î µé¾î°¡°í...¡°(¸¶Å׿À 25:41, 46) Áø½Ç·Î ÁË, ¿µÀûÀÎ ÁË´Â ¸ðµç °Í Áß¿¡ ÃÖ¾ÇÀÇ ÁËÀÔ´Ï´Ù.


õÁÖ²²¼­´Â ÁËÀε鿡°Ô ÀÚºñ¸¦ º£Çª½Ê´Ï´Ù:¡±³ª ÁÖ ¾ßÈÑ ¸»Çϳë´Ï, ÁËÀÎÀº Á×¾î¾ß ¸¶¶¥Çϳª ±×ÀÇ Çà½ÇÀ» ¹ö¸®°í ȸµÎÇÏ¸é »ì¾Æ°¡¸é ±â»µÇϸ®´Ï.¡°(¿¡Á¦Å°¿¤18:23) õÁÖ´ÔÀº ÁËÀεéÀÌ ±×µéÀÇ Çà½Ç¿¡¼­ ȸµÎÇÏ¿© ¿ì¸®¸¦ ±¸¿øÇϱâ À§ÇØ ±× ºÐÀÌ º¸³»½Å ±×ºÐÀÇ µ¶»ý¼ºÀÚ¿¡°Ô ¿Í¼­ »ì±â¸¦ ¹«Ã´ ¿øÇϽʴϴÙ: ¡°ÃµÁÖ ÀÌó·³ ¼¼»óÀ» »ç¶ûÇÏ»ç ´ç½Å µ¶»ý¼ºÀÚ¸¦ Áֽñâ±îÁö ÇϼÌÀ¸´Ï, ¹«¸© Àú¸¦ ¹Ï´Â ÀÚ·Î ÇÏ¿©±Ý ¸ê¸ÁÄ¡ ¾Æ´ÏÇÏ°í ¿ÀÁ÷ ¿µ»ýÀ» ¾ò°Ô ÇϼÌÀ¸´Ï.¡°(¿ä¿Õ3:16) ±×¸®°í õÁÖ´ÔÀÇ Áö±ØÇÑ »ç¶ûÀ» ¹ÞÀ» ÀÚ°ÝÀÌ ¾ø´Â »ç¶÷ÀÏÁö¶óµµ ÁÖ´Ô²²¼­ ¸»¾¸ÇϽñæ: ¡°³ª ÀÇÀÎÀ» ºÎ¸£·¯ ¿ÀÁö ¾Æ´ÏÇÏ°í ¿ÀÁ÷ ÁËÀÎÀ» ºÒ·¯ ȸ°³ÄÉ ÇÏ·¯ ¿Ô³ë¶ó.¡°(·ç±î5:32)

 

ÁËÀÎÀº ¡¹úÀ» ¹ÞÀ» ¸¸ ÇÏÁö¸¸ ±¸¼¼ÁÖ²²¼­ ¿À½Ã¾î ÀÚºñ¸¦ º£Çª½Ã´Ï, ¸ÕÀú ¿ë¼­À̸ç, ±×¸®°í ¼ºÈ­(á¡ûù)ÀÌ¸ç ±Ã±ØÀûÀ¸·Î´Â ¿µ»ýÀÎ °ÍÀÔ´Ï´Ù!  ±× ºÐÀº Áø½Ç·Î ±¸¼¼ÁÖÀ̽ôÏ,¡° ¿¹¼ö(È÷ºê¸®¾î·Î ¡®ÃµÁÖ²²¼­ ±¸¿øÇϽŴ١¯)¶ó ºÎ¸£¶ó´Â °ÍÀº ±× ºÐÀÌ Á˷κÎÅÍ »ç¶÷µéÀ» ±¸¿øÇÏ½Ç °ÍÀ̱⠶§¹®ÀÔ´Ï´Ù.¡±(¸¶Å׿À 1:21) ±× ºÐÀº ¼±ÇÑ ¸ñÀÚÀ̽øç, ÀÒ¾î¹ö¸° ¾çÀ» ã¾Æ µµ·Î °®°í ¿À½Ã´Â ºÐÀÔ´Ï´Ù. Áø½Ç·Î õÁÖ²²¼­´Â ¾ÇÀ» ¾ÇÀ¸·Î °±Áö ¾ÊÀ¸½Ã°í ¼±À¸·Î ¾ÇÀ» À̱â½Ê´Ï´Ù.


¿µÈ¥À» õÁÖ´ÔÀ¸·ÎºÎÅÍ ºÐ¸®½ÃÅ°¸é¼­, ¡°¿µ¿øÇÑ °íÅ롱(¸¶Å׿À25:46)¹ÞÀ» ¼ö ¹Û¿¡ ¾ø´Â ÁËÀÇ ¾öÁßÇÔÀ» ¿ì¸®°¡ ÀÌÇØÇϸé ÇÒ¼ö·Ï, ¿ì¸®´Â õÁÖ´ÔÀÇ ÀÚºñ¸¦, ¿ì¸®ÀÇ Áö±ØÇÑ ºÒÇà¿¡ ¿¬¹ÎÀ» Áֽðí Á˷κÎÅÍ ¿ì¸®¸¦ ±¸¿øÇØ Áֽô ¿¹¼ö¼º½É²² ´õ¿í °¨»çÇØ¾ß ÇÕ´Ï´Ù.


±×¸®°í ±× ºÐÀº ¾î¶»°Ô ¿ì¸®¸¦ ±¸¿øÇϼ̳ª¿ä? µÎ ´Ü°è°¡ ÀÖÀ¸´Ï; ù°, ¿ì¸®°¡ ¹ÞÀ» Á˸¦ ±× ºÐÀÌ ½ÊÀÚ°¡ À§¿¡¼­ ¸ö¼Ò, Áö±ØÈ÷ °Å·èÇϽŠ¼º »ïÀ§·Î, Á¸±ÍÇϽŠ¿ÏÀüÇÑ Èñ»ýÁ¦¹°·Î ¼ººÎ²² Á¦ÇåÇϽÉÀ¸·Î½á ¿ì¸® ÁËÀÇ ºúÀ» °±À¸¼Ì°í, ÀÌ¿¡ õÁÖ´ÔÀ» ºÒÄèÇÏ°Ô ¸¸µç ¼¼»óÀÇ ¸ðµç Á˾ÇÀ» ¶Ù¾î³Ñ¾î ¼ººÎ¸¦ ±â»Ú°Ô Çϼ̽À´Ï´Ù. (¡±¾Æµé ¼ºÀÚÀÇ Á×À½À¸·Î ÀÎÇØ ÃµÁÖ¿Í È­ÇØÇϼÌÀ¸´Ï.¡±(·Î¸¶ 5:10) ±×·¡¼­ ¿ì¸®ÀÇ ´ë½ÅÇÏ¿© ±¸¿øÀÇ °ªÀ» Ä¡·ç½Å °ÍÀÌ¸ç ¿ì¸®¸¦ À§ÇØ ÀÚºñ¿Í ÀºÃÑÀ» ¾òÀ¸½Å °ÍÀÔ´Ï´Ù. ÀÌ Ã¹ ´Ü°è´Â ¿ì¸®¸¦ À§ÇØ ±×¸®½ºµµ²²¼­ ÀºÃÑ°ú ±¸¿øÀ» ¡°È¹µæ¡±ÇϽŠ°ÍÀÔ´Ï´Ù.


µÎ ¹ø° ´Ü°è´Â ¿ì¸® ¿µÈ¥¿¡ ¼ºÃÑÀ» ¡°Àû¿ë¡±ÇÏ´Â °ÍÀÔ´Ï´Ù. ¡°Àü¿¡´Â (õÁÖ¿Í)¸Ö¾îÁö°í ¾ÇÇÑ Çà½Ç·Î ¸»¹Ì¾Ï¾Æ ¿ø¼ö°¡ µÇ¾ú´ø ³ÊÈñµéÀ», Áö±Ý¿¡´Â (±×¸®½ºµµ)´ç½Å À°½ÅÀÇ Á×À¸½ÉÀ» ÀÎÇÏ¿© (õÁÖ¿Í)È­ÇؽÃÄÑÁ̴ּÀ´Ï¶ó. ÀÌ´Â ³ÊÈñ¸¦ °Å·èÇÏ°Ô ÇÏ½Ã¸ç ¹«ÁËÇÏ°Ô ÇÏ»ç, ºñ³­ÇÒ °÷ÀÌ ¾ø´Â ÀÚ·Î (õÁÖ)¾Õ¿¡ ÀÖ°Ô ÇϽñ⸦ À§ÇϽÉÀ̴϶ó.¡°(Äݷλõ1;21-22)

 

¡°(õÁÖ²²¼­´Â)±× ¹ÝÄ¢°ú ÁË·Î ÀÎÇÏ¿© Á×¾ú¾ú´ø ³ÊÈñµéµµ ¶ÇÇÑ (±×¸®½ºµµ¿Í ´õºÒ¾î »ì¸®¼Ì´À´Ï¶ó) ³ÊÈñ´Â ºÒ¼øÇÔÀÇ ÀÚ½Äµé ¾È¿¡¼­ ¾ÆÁ÷µµ È°µ¿ÇϽô ½Å, °ð Çã°ø¿¡ ÀÖ´Â ´ÉÇ°½Å -¾Ç½Å – ÀÇ À¸¶äÀÎ ÀÚ(¸¶±Í)ÀÇ ¿µÇâÀ» ¹Þ¾Æ, ÀÌÀü¿¡´Â ¼¼¼ÓÁ¤½ÅÀ» µû¶ó ±× ¹ÝÄ¢°ú ÁË ¾È¿¡ °Å´Ò¾ú´À´Ï¶ó. ¿ì¸® ¸ðµç À̵µ ¶ÇÇÑ Àúµé ºÒ¼øÇÔÀÇ Àڽĵé Áß¿¡¼­ Àü¿¡´Â ¿ì¸® À°½ÅÀÇ ¿ø¿åÀ» ÂѾƠ»ì¾ÒÀ¸¸ç, ¿ì¸®ÀÇ À°¿å°ú »ý°¢ÀÌ ¿øÇÏ´Â °ÍÀ» ÇàÇÏ¿© ´Ù¸¥ »ç¶÷µé°ú °°ÀÌ º»½Ã Àdzë(ëùÒÁ)ÀÇ ÀÚ½ÄÀ̾ú³ë¶ó. ±×·¯³ª Áö±ØÈ÷ ÀÚºñÇϽŠõÁÖ²²¼­´Â ¿ì¸®¸¦ ³Ê¹«³ª »ç¶ûÇϽŠ³ª¸ÓÁö, ÁË·Î ¸»¹Ì¾Ï¾Æ Á×Àº ¿ì¸®¸¦ ±×¸®½ºµµ¿Í ´õºÒ¾î »ýÈ°ÄÉ ÇϼÌÀ¸¸ç ³ÊÈñ´Â ¼ºÃÑÀ¸·Î ÀÎÇÏ¿© ±¸¿øµÇ¾ú´À´Ï¶ó.¡°(¿¡Æä¼Ò2;1-5)

 

ºÐ¸íÇÑ »ç½ÇÀº ¿¡Æä¼ÒÀεéÀÌ È¸°³Çϱâ Àü¿¡, ÀúµéÀÌ ¡°¼¼»óÀÇ ¿ø¿å¿¡ µû¶ó ±× ±æÀ» µû¶ú°í.......À°½ÅÀÇ ¿å¸ÁÀ» ÃæÁ·½ÃÅ°°íÀúµéÀÌ ¡°ºÐ³ëÀÇ Àڽĵ顱ÀÌ¿´À½¿¡µµ ºÒ±¸ÇÏ°í, ±×¸®½ºµµ²²¼­ ¼ö ³â Àü Á×À¸¼ÌÀ½¿¡µµ ºÒ±¸ÇÏ°í, ÀúµéÀÌ È¸µÎÇÏ´Â ¼ø°£¿¡ ±× ¼ºÃÑÀ» ¹Þ¾Ò´Ù´Â °ÍÀÔ´Ï´Ù.

 

Àú ȸµÎ´Â ¼º ¹Ù¿À·Î²²¼­ Ä£È÷ ÇϽŠ¸»¾¸¿¡ ºÐ¸íÈ÷ ³ªÅ¸³³´Ï´Ù: ¡°´ëÀú ³ÊÈñ´Â ³ªÀÇ ÀÌÀü À¯µ¥¾Æ±³ÀÎÀ¸·Î¼­ÀÇ ÇàÀ§, °ð, ³ª ¾ó¸¶³ª °Ý·ÄÇÏ°Ô ÃµÁÖÀÇ ±³È¸¸¦ Ç̹ÚÇÏ°í ±×¸¦ ¼Ò¸êÇÏ·Á°í Èû½èÀ¸¸ç.......³ª¸¦ ÀÌ¹Ì ¸ðÅ¿¡ ÀÖÀ» ¶§¿¡ °£ÅÃÇϽðí, ¶ÇÇÑ ±× ¼ºÃÑÀ¸·Î ¸»¹Ì¾Ï¾Æ ³ª¸¦ ºÎ¸£½Å õÁÖ²²¼­´Â Àú¸¦ ³» ¾È¿¡ °ÅÇϽðÔ......¡°(°¥¶óŸ 1:13-16)


º» °Íó·³, ¿µÈ¥ ¾È¿¡¼­ ÀÌ °°Àº ¼ºÃÑÀÇ Àû¿ëÀº ÁËÀÎÀÌ ÀÇÀÎÀ¸·Î, õÁÖ´ÔÀÇ Àû¿¡¼­ ±×¸®½ºµµÀÎÀ¸·Î, ¾îµÒ¿¡¼­ ºûÀ¸·Î, ¼¼¼ÓÀû °¡Ä¡¸¦ Ãß±¸ÇÏ°í À°½ÅÀÇ ÀÏÀ» µµ¸ðÇÏ´Â Àΰ£¿¡¼­ Áï ¼¼»ó ¹°ÁúÀÇ ¾ÖÂø¿¡¼­ ¶³¾îÁ® ³ª¿Â Àΰ£À¸·Î(¡±ÀÚ±âÀÇ À°Ã¼¸¦ ±× Á¤¿å°ú À°¿å°ú ÇÔ²² ½ÊÀÚ°¡¿¡ ¸ø ¹Ú¾ÒÀ¸´Ï¶ó.¡° – °¥¶óŸ 5:24) ±×¸®½ºµµ¿¡ ¼ÓÇÑ À̵éÀº õÁÖ´ÔÀ» ¹ÏÀ¸¸ç ¸ðµç »ç¹°º¸´Ù õÁÖ´ÔÀ» »ç¶ûÇÏ°í, ¼±¾÷À» ½×´Âµ¥ Çå½ÅÇÏ°Ô µË´Ï´Ù.(¿¡Æä¼Ò2:10)


µÎ °¡Áö, Áï, ¼ºÃÑÀ» ȹµæÇÏ°í À̸¦ Àû¿ëÇÏ´Â °ÍÀ» ºÐ¸íÈ÷ ±¸º°ÇÏ´Â °ÍÀº Áß¿äÇÕ´Ï´Ù. ÇÑÆí, ¡°±×¸®½ºµµ²²¼­´Â ¿ì¸® ¸ðµÎ¸¦ À§ÇØ Á×À¸¼Ì°í¡±(ÄÚ¸°Åä Àü5:15) ¼ººÎÀÇ ¿µ±¤À» ¿ÏÀüÇÏ°Ô È¸º¹½ÃŲ ±× ºÐÀÇ Èñ»ýÀº ¸ðµç ÀÌµé ±¸¿øÇϱ⿡ Â÷°í ³ÑÄ£ °ÍÀÌ µÇ¾ú½À´Ï´Ù. ±×·¡¼­ ±× ºÐÀº ¡°¸ðµç »ç¶÷ÀÌ ±¸¿øÇÔÀ» ¾ò°í Áø¸®¸¦ ¿ÏÀüÈ÷ ÀνÄÇϱ⸦ ¿øÇϳë¶ó.¡°(Ƽ¸ðµð Àü2:4)

 

±×·¯¸é¼­µµ ÇÑÆíÀ¸·Î´Â ¸ðµç ÀÌ°¡ Áø¸®ÀÇ Áö½Ä¿¡ À̸£Áö ¸øÇÏ´Ï, ¸ðµç »ç¶÷ÀÌ ±¸·ÉµÇ´Â °ÍÀº ¾Æ´Õ´Ï´Ù. ½ÇÁ¦·Î ¡°º» ¶¥¿¡ ¿À½ÃµÇ ±× ¹é¼ºÀÌ ¿µÁ¢ÇÏÁö ¾Ê¾Ò°í¡°(¿ä¿Õ1:11) ±× ºÐÀº ¡°¾ç[¼±ÇÑ »ç¶÷, °£¼±µÈ ÀÚ]Àº Àڱ⠿ìÆí¿¡ ¼¼¿ì°í, ¿°¼Ò[¾ÇÇÑ »ç¶÷, ÀúÁÖ¹ÞÀº ÀÌ]´Â ÁÂÆí¿¡ ¼¼¿ì¸®¶ó.¡°(¸¶Å׿À 25:33)

 

ÁÖ´ÔÀÇ ¼±ÇϽÉÀ¸·Î ÀúµéÀÇ ¾ÇÀ» ±Øº¹(¿ë¼­)ÇÒ ¼ö ÀÖÀ½¸¸Å­ ÁÖ´ÔÀÌ ¼±ÇÏÁöÁö ¾ÊÀº°¡¿ä? ¾Æ´Õ´Ï´Ù. ¿ÀÈ÷·Á ÁÖ´ÔÀº ±× ºÐÀÌ ¸¸µå½Å ¼±À» Æı«ÇÏ´Â °ÍÀÌ ¾Æ´Ï°í, Àΰ£ÀÇ ÀÚÀ¯¸¦ Æı«ÇÏ´Â °Íµµ ¾Æ´Õ´Ï´Ù. ¸¸¾à »ç¶÷ÀÌ ±× ºÐÀ» °ÅºÎÇÏ°í, ±¸¼¼ÁÖ·Î ¹Þ¾ÆµéÀÌ±æ °ÅÀýÇÑ´Ù¸é, ±×·¯ÇÑ ÀÌ´Â ±¸¿øµÉ ¼ö ¾ø´Â °ÍÀÔ´Ï´Ù. ¿©ÇÏ°£ õÁÖ²²¼­ »ç¶÷À» À§ÇØ ¸ðµç °ÍÀ» Áֽðí, ±×ÀÇ µ¶»ý¼ºÀÚ¸¦ ±¸¼¼ÁÖ·Î º¸³»½Ã¾î ±× ºÐÀÌ ½ÊÀÚ°¡¿¡ Á×À¸½Ã°í, ±×·Î ÀÎÇØ »ç¶÷À» ±¸¿øÇÏ·Á ÇßÀ½À» º¼ ¶§, õÁÖ´ÔÀ» ºñÆÇÇÒ ±Ù°Å´Â ¾ø´Â °ÍÀÔ´Ï´Ù. ±¸¼¼ÁÖ¸¦ °ÅºÎÇÔÀ¸·Î½á, ±¸¼¼ÁÖ¸¦ ¹èôÇÔÀ¸·Î½á, »ç¶÷Àº ±× ÀÚ½ÅÀÌ ÀÚ±â ÀúÁÖÀÇ ¿øÀÎÀÌ µË´Ï´Ù.


õÁÖ´ÔÀº Á¤ÀǷοì½Å ºÐÀ̸ç, ÁËÀÎÀ» ó¹úÇÏ·Á ¾Ê½À´Ï´Ù. ÁË°¡ ±×¸®½ºµµÀÇ ¼ºÇ÷·Î ¾Ä±âÁö ¾ÊÀ¸¸é, ¿ÂÀüÈ÷ ¹úÀ» ¹Þ°Ô...... Áï Áö¿ÁÀ¸·Î ¶³¾îÁö°Ô µË´Ï´Ù.  Àΰ£ÀÇ ±³¸¸ÀÌ ¾ó¸¶³ª ¾ÇÇÑÁö, õÁÖ´ÔÀÇ ±¸¿øÀ» ¸ê½ÃÇÏ°í, ¹«½ÃÇÏ¸ç ½ÉÁö¾î °ÅºÎ±îÁö ÇÕ´Ï´Ù!


¿ì¸® ¸ðµÎ °¢ÀÚ¿¡°Ô Áß¿äÇÑ ÇØ¾ß ÇÒ °ÍÀÌ ÀÖ½À´Ï´Ù. ù°, ¿ì¸®´Â ¿ì¸® ÀÚ½ÅÀ» À§ÇØ ÀÚºñ¸¦ °£¿øÇØ¾ß Çϴµ¥, ¿Ö³ÄÇÏ¸é ¿ì¸®°¡ õÁÖ´ÔÀÇ ÀÚºñ°¡ ÇÊ¿äÇϱ⠶§¹®ÀÔ´Ï´Ù. ½Å·Ú°¨À» °®°í °£Ã»ÇØ¾ß ÇÕ´Ï´Ù. ÀÌ´Â ¿ì¸® ÁÖ ¿¹¼ö²²¼­ ±× ºÐÀÇ ¼ºÃÑ°ú ÀÚºñ¸¸Å­ ´õ ÁÖ½Ã±æ ¿øÇÏ´Â °ÍÀº ¾ø±â ¶§¹®ÀÔ´Ï´Ù. ±×·¯ÇÑ ¸ñÀûÀ¸·Î ¿À¼ÌÁö¸¸, ´õ ´Þ¶ó°í °£Ã»ÇÏ´Â À̵鿡°Ô ´õ ¸¹ÀÌ ÁֽðíÀÚ ÇϽʴϴÙ.


µÑ°·Î, ÁÖ´ÔÀÇ ¼ºÃÑ¿¡ Ãæ½ÇÇÑ »ýÈ°À» ÇØ¾ß Çϸç ÀÌÀüÀÇ ÁËÀÇ »ýÈ°¿¡¼­ ¿ì¸® ÀÚ½ÅÀ» ¶°³ª°Ô ÇÏ¿© ¿ì¸® ¾È¿¡ °è½Å ±×¸®½ºµµÀÇ »õ·Î¿î »ý¸í, ½Å¾Ó»ýÈ°, ´öÇà°ú Á¤°á, ¼±ÇàÀ¸·Î½á ¿ÂÀüÈ÷ ¡°³ÊÈñ´Â õÁÖÀÇ »ç¶ûÇϽô ÀڽĴä°Ô Àú¸¦ ¸ð¹üÇÒÁö¶ó. ¶ÇÇÑ ³ÊÈñ´Â ±×¸®½ºµµ ³ÊÈñ¸¦ »ç¶ûÇÏ»ç ´ç½ÅÀ» Çâ±â·Î¿î Á¦¹°°ú Èñ»ýÀ¸·Î »ï¾Æ ¿ì¸®¸¦ À§ÇÏ¿© õÁÖ²² µå¸®¼ÌÀ½°ú °°ÀÌ »ç¶û ¾È¿¡ °Å´ÒÀ»Áö´Ï¶ó.¡±(¿¡Æä¼Ò 5:1-2) ÇÏ´Â »ýÈ°·Î µé¾î°¡¾ß ÇÕ´Ï´Ù.


¼Â°·Î, ¿ì¸® ÀÌ¿ô¿¡°Ô ÀÚºñ¸¦ º£Ç®¾î¾ß ÇÕ´Ï´Ù! ¡°ÀÌ·¯¹Ç·Î ³ÊÈñ ¼ººÎ ÀÎÀÚÇϽɰú °°ÀÌ ³ÊÈñµµ ÀÎÀÚÇÏ¿©¶ó.¡°(·ç±î6:36) ¡°³ÊÈñ´Â ¼­·Î Ä£ÀýÇÏ°Ô ÇÏ°í ±à·ÃÈ÷ ¿©±æ °ÍÀ̸ç, ¶ÇÇÑ ÃµÁÖ ±×¸®½ºµµ ¾È¿¡ ³ÊÈñ¸¦ ¿ë¼­ÇϼÌÀ½°ú °°ÀÌ ³ÊÈñµµ ¼­·Î ¿ë¼­ÇÒ Áö´Ï¶ó.¡°(¿¡Æä¼Ò4:32) ¿ì¸® ÁÖ´ÔÀº ÀÌ Á¡À» ÁÖÀåÇϼ̽À´Ï´Ù: ¡±³ÊÈñ°¡ ¸¸ÀÏ »ç¶÷¿¡°Ô ±× Á˸¦ ¿ë¼­ÇÏ¿© ÁÖ¸é, õ»óÀÇ ³ÊÈñ ¼ººÎ ¶ÇÇÑ ³ÊÈñ¸¦ ¿ë¼­ÇÒ °ÍÀÌ¿ä, ³ÊÈñ°¡ ¸¸ÀÏ »ç¶÷¿¡°Ô ¿ë¼­ÇÏÁö ¾Æ´ÏÇϸé, ³ÊÈñ ¼ººÎµµ ³ÊÈñ Á˸¦ ¿ë¼­ÇÏÁö ¾ÊÀ¸¸®¶ó.¡°(¸¶Å׿À6:14-15)

õÁÖ´ÔÀÇ ¸ðµç ÀÚºñ´Â ¿¹¼ö¼º½É ¾È¿¡ ºÐ¸íÈ÷ µé¾î³µ½À´Ï´Ù. ±× ºÐÀº ¼º À°½ÅÀ̽ŠÀÚºñÀ̽ʴϴÙ!¡±»ç¶÷µéÀ» Áö±ØÈ÷ »ç¶ûÇß´ø °ÍÀº ¹Ù·Î ÀÌ ¿¹¼ö ¼º½ÉÀ̶ó. ±×·¸Áö¸¸ ÀÌ ¼º½ÉÀÌ ¿ÀÈ÷·Á ³Ê¹«³ª ¸¹ÀÌ °¨»çÇÏÁö ¾Æ´ÏÇÏ´Â ¸¶À½°ú °æ¸ê·Î ÀÎÇØ º¸´äÀ» ¹Þ¾Òµµ´Ù.¡±±×·¯¸é¼­ ¾î°Å½ºÆ¾ ¼ºÀÎÀº ¿¹¼ö´ÔÀº ÀÇ»ç¿Í °°´Ù Çϼ̴µ¥ ¿ì¸®°¡ ±× ºÐ ¾È¿¡ ´©¿ö ÀÖÀ¸¸é, ±× ºÐÀº º´ÀÚ¸¦ Ä¡·áÇÏ·¯ ¿À½Å °Í ÀÔ´Ï´Ù. Áï Àǻ縦 °ÅºÎÇßÀ» ¶§ ÀÚ½ÅÀÇ Á×À½À» ºÒ·¯µå¸° °ÍÀº ¹Ù·Î ±× ÀÚ½ÅÀÔ´Ï´Ù. ¾ÆÁ÷µµ ±× ÀÇ»ç´Â ȯÀÚ°¡ Àڱ⸦ ¹Þ¾Æµå¸®µµ·Ï È¥½ÅÀÇ ÈûÀ» ´ÙÇÏ·Á°í ÇÕ´Ï´Ù.


¼º½ÉÀÇ °æÀ̷οòÀº ¼º»çÀε¥, ƯÈ÷ ±× ºÐÀÌ ¸ðµç °ÍÀ» ¿ë¼­ÇϽðíÀÚ ÇÏ´Â ¼º¼¼¼º»ç¿¡ ÀÖ½À´Ï´Ù. ±×¸®ÇÏ¿© ¿ì¸®°¡ õÁÖ´ÔÀÇ Àڳడ µÇ°í, º¸¼ÓÀÇ ¼º»ç·Î¼­ ¿µÈ¥ÀÇ ºÎÈ°ÀÌ µÇ°Ô²û ÀÌ ¼º»ç¸¦ Á¦Á¤Çϼ̽À´Ï´Ù: ¡°³ÊÈñµéÀÌ »ç¶÷ÀÇ Á˸¦ »ç(Þõ)ÇÑ Áï »çÇÏ¿©Áú °ÍÀÌ¿ä, »ç¶÷ÀÇ Á˸¦ ¸Ó¹«¸¥ Áï ¸Ó¹°·¯ ÀÖÀ¸¸®¶ó.¡°(¿ä¿Õ20:23)

 

±×·¯³ª ¹«¾ùº¸´Ùµµ ¼º½ÉÀÇ ³î¶ó¿òÀº ±× ºÐ »ç¶ûÀÇ ¼º»ç, ¼ºÃ¼¼º»çÀÎ µ¥ ÀÌ ¼ºÃ¼ ¾È¿¡¼­ ±× ºÐ ÀÚ½ÅÀ» ¿ì¸®¿¡°Ô ¿ÂÀüÈ÷ ÁֽʴϴÙ. ÀÌ ¼ºÃ¼ ¾È¿¡¼­ ±× ºÐÀÌ ¼ººÎ²² Á¦ÇåÇß´ø ¸ö°ú ¼ºÇ÷ÀÇ Á¦¹°À» ¿ì¸®¿¡°Ôµµ ÁÖ½Ã¾î ¿ì¸® ¿µÈ¥¿¡°Ô ¸ðµç À¯ÀÍÀÌ µÇ°Ô, ÁËÀÇ »çÇÔÀ» ¹Þ°Ô ÇÏ°í ¸ðµç ¼ºÃÑÀ» ÇÕ´çÇÏ°Ô ¹ÞÀ» ¼ö ÀÖ°Ô²û ÇØÁֽʴϴÙ. ÀÌ°ÍÀÌ ±×¸®½ºµµÀÎÀÇ ¿Ïº®ÇÑ ¼º»çÀ̸ç, ÀÌ ¼º»ç´Â ³Ê¹«³ª ¸¹Àº ¼º½ÅµéÀ» °Å·èÇÔÀÇ °æÁö¿¡ À̸£µµ·Ï ¿µ°¨À» ºÒ¾î³Ö¾ú½À´Ï´Ù.


¼º¸ð²²¼­ ¿ì¸®¸¦ ´ç½ÅÀÇ ÃµÁÖ¼ºÀÚ ¼º½ÉÀ¸·Î ÀεµÇØÁֽʻç ÇÏ°í º¹µÇ½Å µ¿Á¤¸¶¸®¾Æ²² °£Ã»ÇսôÙ. ¾Æ¸à  

   

ÇÁ¶û¼Ò¾Æ ·¹³× ½ÅºÎ (¼ººñ¿À10¼¼È¸ ¾Æ½Ã¾Æ °ü±¸ ¼Ò¼Ó »çÁ¦)  


The Mercy of God- The Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus


My dear brethren,
One day, Archbishop Lefebvre said: ¡°Mercy is the utmost of charity!¡± And indeed where St Matthew quotes our Lord Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount: ¡°Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect¡± (Mt. 5:48), the parallel passage in St Luke says: ¡°Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful¡± (Lk. 6:36). Mercy is to go down with great love to the one in misery and help him out of his misery; mercy is not to render evil for evil but to overcome evil by good! Our Lord Jesus Christ in His life on earth showed great mercy to the sick and in the history of the Church there were innumerable works of corporal mercy done by the Saints and devout people.


However there is a higher mercy: mercy towards the sinners! Now this is more difficult to understand. Indeed physical suffering, especially when undeserved, calls for mercy and compassion: for instance, sicknesses, poverty (when it is the result of causes beyond one¡¯s control), or victims of injustices: one is easily merciful towards these. But few feel any compassion and mercy towards sinners, who deliberately mess up their lives: drug addicts, gamblers, murderers, adulterers, thieves, etc. Yet sin is a much greater evil than any physical suffering.


Indeed one must appreciate the superiority of spiritual things above material things. Often we tend to forget that: people often enjoy material things and forget that they are so little, and they despise spiritual things. Yet ¡°the things which are seen, are temporal; but the things which are not seen, are eternal¡± (2 Cor. 4:18). To appreciate that superiority of spiritual things, it is useful to remember that the highest human faculty is his intelligence (and will). Indeed if we compare our bodies with the bodies of animals, we find that on every count, they do better than we do: some such as eagles see much farther than we can; many animals have much better hearing than we have; some like dogs have much better smelling than we have (they even recognise us by smelling us: we can¡¯t do that!) Many animals run faster than we can; many such as lions or bears are stronger than we are; very many swim better than we can; many fly and we can¡¯t¡¦ Yet with our intelligence we can do better on all these counts and more: we can make telescopes that see farther than any animal can, and make microscopes that can see smaller things than any of them can; we can make radars that hear waves they can¡¯t grasp; we can make guns to defend ourselves against any lion or bear; we can make cars, trains that go faster than any animal; we can make planes that fly higher and faster and further than any bird and submarines that go deeper than any fish. And we can do things such as jets that go on the moon which no animal ever attempted! All this we do with our intelligence and will. This manifests to anyone that our highest faculty is that spiritual faculty of intelligence and will.


If our intelligence is our highest faculty, then it ought to dominate in us, it ought to regulate all our life, our body with its emotions and passions. It is a deep disorder when we use our higher faculty in the service of our lower ones: when we use our spirit in the service of our flesh, as so many do in the modern world. We rather ought to use our body in the service of our soul, and orient our whole life towards that supreme activity of our highest faculty: the contemplation of the Supreme Being, God.


If physical evil, sickness etc., is already a certain evil, considering the superiority of our intelligence, of our spiritual faculties, we understand that spiritual evil is a much greater evil. In fact, mortal sin being the refusal of a spiritual creature to order itself towards God, is the greatest possible evil, being a certain refusal of the infinite Goodness of God. Yet because sin is a wilful, intentional evil, it does not call for our mercy, it is wholly repugnant. It does deserve punishment, not mercy. When a bandit, murderer or rapist thief, is arrested and punished, we all approve that justice: he got what he deserved!
God Himself detests sin, and does punish it very severely, in fact, with everlasting punishment! ¡°Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, for I was hungry and you gave not me to eat ¡¦ and these shall go into everlasting punishment¡± (Mt. 25:41, 46). Truly sin, spiritual evil, is the worst of all.
Yet God has mercy on the sinners: ¡°Is it my will that a sinner should die, saith the Lord God, and not rather that he should be converted from his ways, and live?¡± (Ez. 18:23). God wants so much that sinners be converted from their ways and live that He sent His only-begotten Son to save us: ¡°For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting¡± (Jn. 3:16). And so that man would not think that he deserved such Divine Love, Our Lord tell us: ¡°I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance¡± (Lk. 5:32). The sinner deserves Divine punishments; yet the Saviour comes and gives Mercy: first forgiveness, then sanctification and ultimately eternal life! He is truly the Saviour, ¡°called Jesus [=¡®God Saves¡¯ in Hebrew], for he shall save his people from their sins¡± (Mt. 1:21). He is the Good Shepherd, who looks for and brings back the lost sheep. Truly God does not render evil for evil, but overcomes evil by good!


The more one understands the gravity of sin, separating the soul from God and deserving ¡°everlasting torments¡± (Mt 25:46), the more one appreciates the Mercy of God, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who took pity on this most deep misery of ours and saved us from our sins.


And how did He save us? In two steps: first, He paid the debt of our sins by taking upon Himself the punishment of our sins on the Cross (¡°reconciled to God by the death of his Son¡± – Rom. 5:10), offering to His Father a perfect sacrifice which honoured the most Holy Trinity and thus pleased God more than all the sins of the world displeased Him. Thus He paid the price of our salvation, ¡°purchased us back¡± (=¡±redeemed¡± us) and acquired merits and graces for all. This first step is the ¡°acquisition¡± of grace and salvation by Christ for us.


The second step is the ¡°application¡± of grace to our souls. ¡°You, whereas you were some time alienated and enemies in mind in evil works: Yet now he hath reconciled in the body of his flesh through death [this is done for all, once], to present you holy and unspotted, and blameless before him [this is done for each one at the time of his own conversion]¡± (Col. 1:21-22). ¡°And you, when you were dead in your offences, and sins, Wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of this air, of the spirit that now worketh on the children of unbelief: In which also we all conversed in time past, in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest: But God, (who is rich in mercy,) for his exceeding charity wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ, by whose grace you are saved¡± (Eph. 2:1-5). It is quite clear that it was at the moment of their conversion that they received that grace: though Christ had died many years before the Ephesians¡¯ conversion, so long as they ¡°were walking according to the course of this world¡¦ fulfilling the will of the flesh¡¦¡± they were ¡°children of wrath¡¦¡± That conversion is even clearer in St Paul himself: ¡°For you have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion: how that, beyond measure, I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it¡¦ But when it pleased him, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me¡¦¡± (Gal. 1:13-16).


As can be seen, this application of grace in the soul is a wonderful transformation of the soul from sinner to just, from enemy of God to member of Christ, from darkness to light, from a man dedicated to worldly pursuits and ¡°works of the flesh¡± to a man detached from worldly things (¡°have crucified their flesh, with its vices and concupiscences¡± – Gal. 5:24),believing in God, loving God above all things and dedicated to good works (Eph. 2:10).


It is important to clearly distinguish both, the acquisition and the application of grace: on the one hand, ¡°Christ died for all¡± (2 Cor. 5:15), His Sacrifice having fully restored the honour of His Father and be over-sufficient for all to be saved. Hence He ¡°will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth¡± (1 Tim. 2:4). Yet on the other hand, not all men do come to that knowledge of the truth, not all men shall be saved. Indeed ¡°He came unto his own, and his own received him not¡± (Jn. 1:11).He ¡°shall set the sheep [good men, the elect] on his right hand, but the goats [bad men, the damned] on his left¡± (Mt. 25:33). Is it that God was not good enough to overcome their evil by His Goodness? Not at all. But God does not destroy that goodness which He has made: He does not destroy man¡¯s liberty; and if man rejects Him and refuses to receive the Saviour, then man won¡¯t be saved: and will have no ground to criticise God in anyway, given all that God had done for him, even to the point of sending His Only Begotten Son as Saviour to die for him on the cross and thus save him from sin. By rejecting the Saviour, by not receiving the Saviour, man himself is the cause of his own damnation.


God remains just, and will not let sin unpunished. Unless the sin is washed away in the Blood of Christ, it will be punished fully¡¦ in Hell. How evil is human pride which either despises, disregards or even rejects the Salvation of God!


There are very important consequences for each of us: First we ought to beg for mercy for ourselves because we NEED the Mercy of God. We ought to beg with confidence, since there is nothing our Lord Jesus Christ wants to give us more than His grace and mercy: He came for that purpose. But He will give more to those who asks more¡¦
Second we ought to be FAITHFUL to His grace, and detach ourselves from our former sinful ways, fully entering into the new life of Christ in us, a life of faith, of virtue, of purity, of good works, fully ¡°imitating God, as most dear children; and walking in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath delivered himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice to God for an odour of sweetness¡± (Eph. 5:1-2).


Third, we ought to be MERCIFUL towards our neighbour! ¡°Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful¡± (Lk. 6:36). ¡°And be ye kind one to another; merciful, forgiving one another, even as God hath forgiven you in Christ¡± (Eph. 4:32). Our Lord insists on this point: ¡°For if you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences. But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences¡± (Mt. 6:14-15).


All that mercy of God is manifested in the Sacred Heart of Jesus: He is the Incarnate Mercy! ¡°This is the Heart that loved men so much, and has been requited by so much ungratefulness and contempt.¡± St Augustine says that Jesus is like the medical doctor: as far as in Him lies, He came to save the sick – it is the sick himself who causes his death when he rejects the Doctor. Yet the doctor will try all his skill to make the sick person accept him.


The marvels of the Sacred Heart are the Sacraments, especially Baptism in which He forgives everything thing, and makes us children of God, and the Sacrament of penance, really instituted to be a resurrection of the soul: He instituted it on the day of His own Resurrection, saying to the Apostles: ¡°Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained¡± (Jn. 20:23). But above all, the marvel of the Sacred Heart is the Sacrament of His Love: the most Holy Eucharist, in which He gives us his own self, totally: in which He offers to His Father the Sacrifice of the Body and Blood to apply all its merits to our souls unto the remission of sin and granting of all graces. This is the Sacrament of Christian perfection, which has inspired so many saints unto the heights of holiness.


Let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary that she may introduce us into the Sacred Heart of her divine Son. Amen.


Fr. F. Laisney