What is Mercy

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John

     On the evening of that first day of the week,
     when the doors were locked, where the             disciples were,
     for fear of the Jews,
     Jesus came and stood in their midst
     and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
     When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
     The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
     Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
     As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
     And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
     “Receive the Holy Spirit.
     Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
     and whose sins you retain are retained.”
     Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
     was not with them when Jesus came.
     So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
     But he said to them,
     “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
     and put my finger into the nailmarks
     and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
     Now a week later his disciples were again inside
     and Thomas was with them.
     Jesus came, although the doors were locked, 
     and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
     Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
     and bring your hand and put it into my side,
     and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
     Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
     Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
     Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
     Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
     that are not written in this book.
     But these are written that you may come to believe
     that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
     and that through this belief you may have life in his name.


This spring I’ve been praying a lot for the grace to understand, in a deeper way, God’s mercy for me. 

Me, personally. 

Mercy has always been a big-picture kind of concept in my head, something meant for everyone but not necessarily me on a personal level. Oftentimes I struggle with thinking about mercy as something overarching and overwhelming for the world while at other times I think of it as something that is overwhelming and neverending for me. 

Why do I deserve endless opportunities of mercy? Surely, that mercy would be better spent given to someone else. 

But that’s the thing, isn’t it? There’s nothing we can do to make ourselves worthy of God’s Divine Mercy. We don’t deserve it. We could never earn it. Yet day in and day out God is offering us His great mercy and inviting us to peace. 

What is mercy, if not an invitation to God’s peace? 

Jesus doesn’t say things without meaning them. In this upcoming Sunday’s Gospel, do you know what we hear three times? “Peace be with you.” 

Peace be with you. He appears in front of the disciples and the very first thing He says isn’t “I’m back!” or “Did you doubt me?” or anything else - the first thing He says is an invitation to peace. He offers peace. When the disciples are rejoicing, He repeats His message of peace again and does something incredible - He gives the disciples the power to forgive sins. The power to offer, through the grace of God, mercy to you and me. 

I’ve read that Gospel passage more times than I can count.  I’ve used it in talks, quoted it in my own book, shared it with thousands of people, and yet it took me until this spring to start understanding God’s Divine Mercy on a personal level. There’s always been this distance between me knowing something is there for everyone, and knowing something is there for me. Whether that be God’s love, God’s help, God’s mercy, lots of words with beautiful meanings that just escaped my own intentional understanding, I focus so much on making sure those around me know of this personal invitation to the peace of God that I forget to accept it in my own heart. 

No longer will I avoid seeking God’s mercy for myself because I think it belongs to everyone else. His mercy is poured out over me. It will never be a chore for Him to give it to me as it is truly a joy for Him to invite me to partake in His mercy and receive His peace.  

Accept His invitation.

Peace be with you. 

Here are some questions for you to ponder over the course of your week: How has God’s mercy brought you peace? Do you struggle to know that God offers you peace, hope, and love on a personal level? Who do you most identify with from this Gospel passage? Why? 

About the Author: Catherine Stewart is a born and raised Catholic from Baton Rouge, LA. She is a self-proclaimed Catholic geek, with a love for all things theological, and is known to spend her free time pouring over works of the saints from Athanasius to JPII and everyone in-between. In high school, Catherine authored and published a book on Catholic apologetics for teenagers called How to Become a Heroic Catholic, which is endorsed by her favorite author, Jimmy Akin. After graduating from LSU in 2019, the Lord let Catherine to St. George where she loves her job as a youth minister and confirmation director. When she is not working or leveling up her Catholic geek status, Catherine enjoys reading the works of Tolkien, writing, baking, drinking copious amounts of coffee and tea and playing the Legends of Zelda. 
Coffee Order: Black, usually, sometimes with a bit of sugar and milk
Favorite Saint (at the moment): At this exact moment it’s Thomas Aquinas, because he is so intellectual, so holy and his works are just mind blowing to read. He’s an inspiration to me insofar as studying and sharing my faith goes, and his intercession has been a powerful force in my life for the last several years.
Top Three Songs You’re Listening To: Confession time. I have ZERO music on my phone. And my Spotify playlists are for youth group. My go-to is silence, whether at home, in the car, at work… just silence.
Favorite Song from the Gather Hymnal (aka your favorite traditional church song): Pange Lingua Gloriosi

Learn More About Red Stick Catholics


The Well is a weekly reflection series from Red Stick Catholics that was created to allow young adults from the Diocese of Baton Rouge to reveal how God is speaking to them through prayer and Scripture. Each reflection contains the upcoming Sunday’s Gospel, a reflection written by a young adult from the Diocese of Baton Rouge and prompts for how to pray with the Gospel and reflection during the week. If you are interested in writing a reflection, please email Nicole at [email protected] .