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Filipino Christian Living

Calva, Mia Dianne Q.
Fernandez, Jmaia Czina R. August 24, 2017
Gega, Ma. Cristina Hazel M. Room# 242
Pada Christian
Requioma Aubrey

Encyclical letter “DIVES IN MISERICORDIA (On the Mercy of God) John Paul II”

I. Definition of Terms

 Dives in Misericordia – (DM) Rich in Mercy

 Constant Conversion – turning of a sinner to God.
 Mercy Revealed – characterizing God as revealed to men.
 Prodigal son – a story filled with mercy and grace.

II. Introduction

This encyclical letter was publicized in November 1980. It discusses the theological
foundation of mercy and its place in responding to the challenges of modern life. Pope John
Paul II first reviews the message of mercy preached by Jesus Christ before turning to the
role of mercy in the Old Testament. He then examines the parable of the prodigal son as
an analogy of divine mercy. The next section of the encyclical concentrates more deeply
on God's mercy revealed through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. This sets the
stage for consideration of the Church's response to contemporary evils, including its
conception of justice and witness to the reciprocal nature of mercy. Finally, John Paul
posits mercy as fundamental to interpersonal relationships and the necessary focus of the
prayers of the Church. [1]
 III. Summary

Dives in misericordia (DM), "Rich in Mercy," is properly read as a continuation of the first
encyclical, Redemptor Hominis (RH). While RH is devoted to Jesus Christ as the one who "fully
reveals man to himself," DM turns to Christ as the one who makes known the Father, who reveals
to humans "the countenance of the 'Father of mercies and God of all comfort"' (DM 1). Christ is
at once the New Adam and the icon of the Father, fully human and fully divine. The perspectives
of "anthropocentrism" and "theocentrism" are not at all antithetical; rather, "the Church, following
Christ, seeks to link them up in human history, in a deep and organic way" (DM 1). For John Paul
this connection is "perhaps the most important" of the teachings of Vatican II. And because "in the
present phase of the Church's history we put before ourselves as our primary task the
implementation of the doctrine of the great Council" (DM 1), we readily see how RH and DM,
standing together at the beginning of the pontificate, signal John Paul's intent to extend the
reception of the council.

It unfolds the revelation of divine mercy in salvation history through eight chapters,
beginning with the biblical message of compassion and moving toward the mission of the
contemporary Church to put mercy into practice. Chapter 4 is an extended reflection upon the
parable of the prodigal son, and represents perhaps the symbolic heart of the text. The younger son
"in a certain sense is the man of every period" (DM5), and the human father of the story of course
reflects the divine Father, whose "readiness to receive the prodigal children who return to His
home" is "infinite" and "inexhaustible" (DM 13). Mary the mother of Jesus represents a special
biblical manifestation of divine mercy in action, as she sings in the Magnificat of God's mercy that
is "from generation to generation." These words of hers "have a prophetic content that concerns
not only the past of Israel but also the whole future of the People of God on earth" (DM 10). Mary
and the other figures of salvation history all point to Christ, who "by becoming the incarnation of
the love that is manifested with particular force with regard to the suffering, the unfortunate, and
sinners, makes present and thus more fully reveals the Father, who is God 'rich in mercy"' (DM 3).

Following Christ, who taught, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy," the
Church is called to show that humans not only receive and experience the mercy of God but are
likewise to practice mercy toward others. It is not enough for personal and social relationships to
be governed solely by the measure of justice; "mercy becomes an indispensable element for
shaping mutual relationships between people" (DM 14). Only through the exchange of mercy and
compassion can the essential value and dignity of the person be preserved and more deeply
experienced. The very mission of the Church is to be an effective sign ("sacrament," according to
Vatican II) in the world of the compassion and love of God the Father. "The Church herself must
be constantly guided by the full consciousness that in this work it is not permissible for her, for
any reason, to withdraw into herself. The reason for her existence is, in fact, to reveal God, that
Father who allows us to 'see' Him in Christ" (DM 15). [2]

IV. Lessons and teachings

In this section are about to explain the lessons and teachings of Pope John Paul II
encyclical letter “Dives in Misericordia – Rich in Mercy” [3]

1. The Call to Constant Conversion

In examining the parable of the prodigal son, John Paul states that this parable
expresses “in a simple and profound way the reality of conversion” (DM 6). The Pope
illustrates that conversion is the most concrete expression of the working of love and the
presence of mercy in the human world (DM 6). We need to explain to our youth that mercy
must be met with continual daily conversion in our own lives.

We should encourage our young people to take a few brief moments at the end of
each day, to not only recollect failures, sins and missed opportunities to respond to grace,
but also to pray for an ever-deepening sense of conversion; conversion that orients the heart
toward Jesus Christ and mirrors him in all ways.

John Paul writes later in the encyclical that conversion to God always consists in
discovering His mercy – love which is patient and kind as only the Creator and Father can
be. Our Father is faithful to the “uttermost consequences in the history of His covenant
with man; even to the cross and to the death and resurrection of his Son” (DM 13).

John Paul calls conversion to God the fruit of the rediscovery of this Father, who is
rich in mercy. This is a great moment to remind our young people that there is nothing we
do or can do that is outside the domain of God’s reach or embrace. We approach our
Heavenly Father as sons and daughters filled with awe and wonder at the mystery of a God
that so loved each and every one of us that he sent his only Son to die the ignominious
death of the cross.

2. Mercy Revealed in the Cross of Christ

John Paul shares some of his most beautiful theological vocabulary when he
discusses the cross of Christ and its relationship to God’s unfailing mercy. When we live
our lives with the mystery of the cross in front of us, we are able to show mercy to others
and Christ “accepts it as if it were shown to Himself” (DM 14).

Christ has suffered in a terrible way in the Garden of Olives and on Calvary. The
Father does not spare Christ the terrible suffering of death on the cross (DM 7). We must
teach our young people that the mercy we show to others stems from a recognition that He
who knew not sin was crucified and died for all of humanity. Showing mercy is not an
option! It goes to the core of who we are as Catholic Christians. It allows us to help lift the
crosses that people have in their daily lives and in our own way participate once again in
the redemption Christ won for us on the wood of his cross.

In our very sophisticated age and highly technological society we sometimes can
forget the strength and power of evil. Yes, Christ conquered sin by his death on the cross,
but this does not deny that evil exists and the powerful grip it holds on humanity. We need
to teach our youth that evil is at its root only lies and illusions. Evil seeks to unlink freedom
from truth and tells our youth that whatever they wish or want should and can be good for
them.
 We need to encourage our children to speak truth to evil and that in standing up for
truth we may often be portrayed as outcasts and shunned by popular culture. Speaking truth
about the goodness of God and the dignity of man will not be without suffering. At these
moments, we need to turn toward the cross of Christ and recognize that in the cross of
Christ we have a “radical revelation of mercy, or rather of the love that goes against what
constitutes the very root of evil in the history of man: against sin and death” (DM 8).

3. The Parable of the Prodigal Son and Lost Son ship

John Paul II’s reflection on the parable of the prodigal son is deeply theological and
highly personal. George Weigel, reflecting on John Paul’s analysis in Rich in Mercy, states
that “the forgiving father, by being faithful to his paternity and going beyond the strict
norm of justice, restores to the wayward son the truth about himself, which is the lost
dignity of his son ship. True mercy does not weaken or humiliate its recipient. It confirms
the recipient in his or her human dignity” (WTH 388). We need to teach our youth that at
the heart of every broken relationship is sin.

Only when we eradicate sin from our lives and recognize that we are indeed sons
and daughters of our Heavenly Father can we attempt to heal the brokenness that is found
in our relationships. This love of the Father is able to “reach down to every prodigal son,
to every human misery and above all too every form of moral misery to sin” (DM 6). There
is no relationship, not even the most broken, that the love of Christ cannot repair.

The world at times can seem like such an unhappy place. This unhappiness and
misery stems from our failing to recognize just how high a calling we have. To live as true
sons of such a loving father demands a break with the ways of sin and living once again
within the intimate embrace of our Heavenly Father. The prodigal son returns home only
after first recognizing his sins. He then attempts to renew his relationship with his father,
not as a son, but rather as a servant. The father accepts the son back into full sonship.
 Within the body of the encyclical letter John Paul has some beautiful words about
our Blessed Mother and here too we find lessons to teach our youth. Even after being
assumed into heaven, Mary continues to obtain for us the graces of eternal salvation. “By
her maternal charity, she takes care of the brethren of her Son who still journey on earth
surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into their blessed home” (DM 9).

V. Conclusion

In conclusion to this encyclical letter of Pope John Paul II, it examines some of the
major anxieties of our time and says that God’s mercy is what is needed in the world at this
hour of history. There is a sense, he says, in which mercy constitutes the fundamental
content of the messianic message of Christ and the constitutive power of his mission.

VI. Bibliography

[1] "BERKLEY CENTER Dives in Misericordia (Rich in Mercy)," [Online]. Available:

https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/publications/dives-in-misericordia-rich-in-mercy.

[2] "Encyclopedia," [Online]. Available: http://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-

almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/dives-misericordia.

[3] "Seton Magazine," [Online]. Available:

http://www.setonmagazine.com/catholic/spirituality/rich-in-mercy-3-lessons-john-paul-iis-
encyclical.