We recently celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday. It reminded us of the extent to which Our Lord went to show his abiding love for us, a love that perfects itself in mercy.

He just didn't love us by creating us, endowing us with the best of things, such that we become the masterpiece in his world of creation.

In spite of our sin and infidelity to him, he continues to love us by forgiving us. He keeps loving us even if we have stopped being lovable. That's what divine mercy is all about.

It's good to point out some details of this divine mercy. God has to send his Son to become man to share our light as sinners even if he did not sin, and to show us the way to get out of that predicament.

He preached, performed miracles, did all sorts of good things to win us back to him.

Finally, he offered his life as ransom for our sins. Even if we have not asked for forgiveness, he already forgives us and as our mediator he asks for forgiveness from his Father on our behalf.

Then he tells us to follow him, offering his own self as "the way, the truth and the life."

We have to learn how to forgive others always-from our heart--because that's how God also forgives us.

We only have to say, yes, to this divine indication, and that's how we recover our dignity as children of God, meant to live not just our own life, but to share the life of God, no less.

A necessary consequence to all this is that we as sinners should try our best to ask for forgiveness. It's true that God always forgives-not only seven times, but seventy times seven, meaning always-but we should try to ask for forgiveness also.

If we truly have to follow the example of Christ, then we need to ask God our Father for pardon for the sins of all, ours and those of others. He asked pardon for our sins not only implicitly, but explicitly; not only in desire and words but also in deeds, in fact, by offering his very own life.

Thus, saying sorry to God and to others should be habit for us. Even in the human level, such practice does a lot of good. It reduces and even eliminates tension among ourselves, it dissipates conflicts and hostility, it reates a good atmosphere around, facilitating our human relations.

We can confirm these effects in our daily life. Even if we have not committed big offenses, when we are quick to say sorry, how drastically the atmosphere improves!

But when we keep quiet instead, we surely would be building up tension and resentment.

In the spiritual and supernatural level, saying sorry immediately brings us close to God, provokes great joy in heaven-"There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." (Lk 15,7)
We have to learn to say sorry often, even if the offenses we commit are minor or are more imagined than objective. We have to make use of every opportunity to say sorry to God and to others. This is good breeding, a true mark of a child of God with a most delicate conscience.

Thus, it was a big letdown when recently we learned through the media of the unchristian behavior of two leaders, one in politics and the other in the Church. Both refused to say sorry, but rather added insult to injury when their attention was called.

The political leader rationalized by saying we are not anymore in the medieval times when we have to ask pardon from kings, and anyway the one concerned is far from being a king.

I don't know, but in my book, this reasoning reeks of arrogance. Politics often distorts Christian values and maddens people, considering saying sorry as sign of weakness.

The Church leader, reckless with words, offered no apology either, because he claimed he was misquoted. But he worsened it by saying that the misquote was very understandable. And he continues to dig in, daring his complainants to bring the matter to the Vatican.

When we have leaders and arguments like these, I think we have reason to be very sad. Our future looks dark indeed! God tell me, what's happening?

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Fr. Roy Cimagala is the Chaplain of Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE) in Talamban, Cebu City. You can email him at:Email: roycimagala@boholchronicle.com