Hajja Salesjana November December 2016

24 My dearest Salesian Family, and friends of Don Bosco and his charism, and readers of the Bulletin. (…) The mercy of God is not an abstract idea, but a concrete reality in which God reveals his love like that of a father and a mother who are moved from the depths of their bowels for their child. It is really true to say that it is a "visceral" love. It comes from within as a deep natural feeling of tenderness and compassion, forbearance and forgiveness (Pope Francis) . At the same time I remember the words of Pope Francis who invites us to remember always that the Mercy of God is his identity card . This simple colloquial phrase attributed to the Pope seems to me very beautiful and touching. We must recognize that our hearts are often cynical and insensitive and become hardened more and more over time. We believewe are in searchof universal peace, but right now violence is raging in all corners of our planet. We are closing borders and building walls to stop people who are living an authentic exodus. Easily we forget that our people, our ancestors, were migrants, perhaps even our own forefathers. Our hearts are wonderful and capable of great love, but sometimes petty and fragile, so that we barricade ourselves and close our hearts. Faced with this reality, we can only raise our hands to God the Father, look to the Risen Lord and ask the Holy Spirit to grant us the gift of Mercy , the same mercy that is part of the essence of God. As Pope Francis writes: "With our eyes fixed on Jesus and his merciful gaze, we experience the love of the Most Holy Trinity. The mission Jesus received from the Father was that of revealing the mystery of divine love in its fullness. “God From the depth of the mystery of God the great river of mercy flows unceasingly. This source will never run dry because the mercy of God is without end. We ought to be strong and convincing missionaries of this mercy. MERCY IS THE IDENTITY CARD OF OUR GOD by Rev. Fr. Angel Fernandez Artime SDB, Rector Major