Nov 2002 VOICE OF SHALOM

GOD OF INFINITE MERCY It is "God who is rich in mercy" whom Jesus Christ has revealed to us as Father: it is His very Son who, in Himself, has manifested Him and made Him known to us. Memorable in this regard is the moment when Philip, one of the twelve Apostles, turned to Christ and said: "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied"; and Jesus replied: "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know Me . . .? He who has seen Me has seen the Father." These words were spoken during the farewell discourse at the end of the paschal supper, which was followed by the events of those holy days during which confirmation was to be given once and for all of the fact that "God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ." Man cannot be manifested in the full dignity of his nature without reference to God. Man and man's lofty calling are revealed in Christ through the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love. Pope John Paul II

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