4 Gives

Here in the Philippines, when people say "2-gives", "3-gives", "4-gives", or "whatever-number-gives", it would mean something about the number of times one would pay his or her debt or anything that is unpaid. Like, if someone owed me Php 1,000.00, and planned to pay me in "2-gives", that would be giving me Php 500.00 on two different occasions; or it could be like one Php 600, then another Php 400.00, as long as it equals the to-be-paid amount and settled on two different times, depending on the agreement.

Well anyway, the Reading, the Psalms, and the Gospel today, talks about sin and mercy. Our sins: yours and mine. And the unfathomable mercy of our God.

4 GIVE'S
Not that we'd be dividing into 4 parts our reparation of our sins and our giving back to God. But that we are tackling into 4 notes the mercy God has shown to us.

1. Give Mercy
We have sinned; that's true. We rebelled against God. We did not listen to Him nor to His servants and prophets. We have not obeyed and have done evil. We are unfaithful to our covenant with Him. And our sins lead us to shamefulness (cf. Dn. 9:7). So, we prayed: "Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins" (cf. Ps. 79) and "we hope for pardon and mercy from the Lord, because we have rebelled against him" (Dn. 9:9, CCB).

Yes, our God has shown his mercy on us because He is a merciful Father. And in showing us His Mercy, God wants us to be merciful just as He is (cf. Lk. 6:36). That is why God first gave us His mercy, that we become merciful to others. How? The Gospel teaches us:

[Jesus said to his disciples:] "Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you (cf. Lk. 6:37-38)

2. Give Your All
If you cannot give you cannot receive either. The measure you give is the measure you are capable of receiving [1]. But before we could ever give, we must first receive; for we could not give what we don't have, what we have not received.

[Jesus said to his disciples:] "Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you." (Lk. 6:38)

We are to give our all: pressed down, full, and running over (cf. Lk. 6:38, CCB). In Filipino: "Siksik, Liglig, at Umaapaw". To receive in abundance, is to give our all until we are empty, that God may fill us to the fullest. We have received mercy over and over, so should we also be merciful. This is the reason why God allowed us to experience first the gift of His Mercy, that we may be merciful and be able to share not our own mercies, but that of the Mercy of God.


3. Give Radically
Our sins lead us to shame. But God took away that shame in us, He forgives us. Therefore, there should be no shame in us anymore. There should be no shame in sharing and giving mercy to others, that they may also experience the Mercy of God in its fullness.

We have to give mercy and forgiveness radically. Though we are nothing but dust, yet we can still live radically, if we live like Jesus: full of mercy and compassion. Give it to anyone; everyone deserves to know and experience God's Mercy.


4. For-give-n
Yes, we are FORGIVEN. This should be our very reason why we share God's mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. God loved us first. God forgave us first. God showed us His mercy first. So that His very being of love, forgiveness, and mercy may (and should) urge and compel us to love and to forgive and to be merciful: sharing not our own love, forgiveness, and mercy, but God's love and forgiveness and mercy that can be found within us.

We are forgiven, and not forgotten, by God.
So, we must forgive and remember our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Our sins are our debt to God. And God wants to forgive us of our sins.
He wants us to bask in His immeasurable Divine Mercy.

JESUS, KING OF MERCY, WE TRUST IN YOU!

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The Divine Mercy Prayer (Every 3PM)
You died, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls,
and the ocean of Mercy opened up for the whole world.
O, Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy,
envelop the whole world, and empty Yourself out upon us.
O, Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus,
as a Fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You.
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One,
have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One,
have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One,
have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Jesus, King of Mercy, we trust in You.
St. Faustina, pray for us.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Most Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
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Click to know more about Jesus, the Divine Mercy.

[1] Bible Diary (R) 2012, Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc., Quezon City, Philippines