Mercy is a personality quality that is difficult to describe.
We feel its warmth with the fibers of our soul, but we put something of our own into this beneficent word. There is no doubt that mercy is the priceless treasure of humanity. Along with reason and speech, it distinguishes the human race from animals.
The word mercy contains two important symbols - “mercy” and “heart”. In essence, it is a feeling of compassion for others, generosity, goodwill and empathy coming from the very heart.
A person with a merciful heart will not hesitate to help another. He will feed a yard kitten, shelter a stray dog, give alms to an old woman, give his lunch to a homeless person, and so on.
Active charity as the basis of an ideal world
Merciful people are prone to empathy, to sympathy - they perceive someone else's misfortune as their own. They believe that they can change the world with their small but good deeds.
It is worth understanding that mercy is not just external or internal compassion, it must be effective and active.
Example:
One compassionate but weak person will see a hungry dog, mentally feel sorry for it, pat it behind the ear and walk past (he’s in a hurry!).
Another passerby may look stern and restrained, not cry at the sight of someone else’s grief, but will try to solve the problem.
In any case, he will go to the store, buy dog food and help the dog survive the hungry time. Which one of them is truly merciful?
Lucky Vera
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: Don't care about old people and children.
Where does indifference to the weak come from? Sergey Frolov from Kamensk-Uralsky, Sverdlovsk region.
I was driving past a shopping center when I saw a little girl on the roadway. The man jumped out of the car and literally snatched the child from under the wheels of a gazelle racing along the highway. After calling the police, it turned out that her mother had been looking for 3-year-old Vera for three hours now. The woman left her daughter alone on the landing for a few minutes, and she went up to the apartment with heavy bags. During this time, the baby managed to slip out of the entrance and go wherever her eyes lead. The girl walked about half a kilometer away from home. It’s surprising that none of the passers-by paid attention to the independent baby, unaccompanied by adults, and sounded the alarm about it.
Sergei Frolov was the only one...
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Unsung heroes. How “newcomers” saved children from a fire
The mercy of God and man - what are the differences?
The church's understanding of this term comes from the Bible: no one can compare in mercy, kindness and justice with the Lord himself.
God, as you know, is ready to forgive the repentant, for love lives in his heart. “He will not leave you, he will not destroy you... He will not turn his face away from you.”
True love, as stated in the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians, is long-suffering and merciful.
The mercy of a person who is not burdened with the duties of a judge at the gates of heaven can manifest itself in different forms - both small and modest, and very large-scale.
As long as human indifference is alive, there is a chance for salvation . This trait is nourished by faith and love : true Christians are always merciful, and it is precisely such people, according to the clergy, who are the salt of the earth.
Some are not indifferent to the problems of their loved ones and acquaintances: for example, third-year students donate their scholarships after learning that their friend’s father needs urgent surgery in Germany.
Others simply help various foundations by transferring small funds to their accounts, and thus constantly carry out microcharity.
Still others organize charitable foundations, volunteer communities, shelters and hospices themselves.
Selfless help to strangers who find themselves in difficult situations is the highest degree of mercy.
What is Mercy?
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Mercy is a positive quality of a person’s character, the ability to share something with other living beings, to help them, without demanding gratitude, without expecting anything in return.
The concept and manifestation of Mercy
Look at the photo, remember! This is the true manifestation of Mercy. When a beggar helps a stray cat. The basis of Mercy is sacrifice. If we sacrifice what is important and dear to us . Simply donating money is not charity! Only this means we perform a true act of Mercy. Mercy is when a person in need shares with another from the bottom of his heart , without expecting Gratitude. To sacrifice what you are passionate about is true mercy. Mercy is one of the manifestations of Love.
Mercy can manifest itself not only in the material sphere, it can be pious deeds and empathy. Moral support, sympathetic attitude towards people, kindness, care, loving attitude towards another person are also manifestations of Mercy.
At the same time, there is no pain in Mercy; it can be performed not only by Good people, but also by people in Passion and Ignorance. For example, when, based on Mercy, you give a dose of a drug to a drug addict - How to call the action? Did you act mercifully? The correct answer is Mercy in Ignorance! It is not right!
Mercy is part of a person’s great feeling of Love. Love is a broader concept. Mercy is the highest manifestation of love for one's neighbor.
Modesty in Mercy
Modesty suits Mercy. Mercy must be done unnoticed, anonymously, without expectation of praise, so that the one to whom Mercy is shown cannot thank.
True Mercy and Almsgiving
A true Merciful attitude towards people presupposes compliance with the rule - by showing Mercy, give a person an Opportunity. This involves giving the person in need the opportunity to return to society. A beggar takes lessons in the balancing forces of the Universe. What do you do when you give alms? You thereby condone Evil!!! Helping a beggar will not ensure his full and responsible return to society. A man is taking a lesson. By giving him alms, you are telling the world that he is not built fairly.
Today, if you satisfy the need of such a person, you cannot ensure the growth of a person. What will happen to this person tomorrow? Maybe we caused him Evil with our alms? True Mercy is to ensure human growth, and not to indulge Evil. A significant act of Mercy for us can be the time you spend on an ambitious act. In modern consumer society, bitterness has reached a high level, a person can die of a heart attack in a crowded place and everyone will pass by. Our hearts too often slam shut before the pleas of the poor.
Mercy is a response to everything that happens around you. You don't have to travel far, help your neighbor.
Mercy must be wise, based not only on feelings, but also on reason. What does it mean? This means you always need to calculate the consequences of your Mercy.
False Mercy
The easiest way is to give away something unnecessary, insignificant to us, or buy it off with money. False Mercy is giving away what is unnecessary. If we have an abundance of bread and throw a piece to the dog, this does not mean Mercy at all. Mercy is when you are hungry like a dog, but still share your last piece of bread with it! This is a very important point!
The easiest way for a rich person is to pay off the money and transfer money to a church, charity fund or orphanage. This is not Mercy! This can be welcomed as a good deed and is called charity.
Mercy is in the heart
Mercy is an attitude, a heartfelt response to what is happening here and now. This is a pious act without demanding gratitude, big or small, just like that, without demanding anything in return, not even a grateful look. This is the big heart and kindness of a truly strong person with a strong inner self. Do not demand gratitude, gratitude is a kind of payment, feed and praise your conscience.
What is love?
What is Evil?
Epiphany Cathedral in Yelokhov
The Apostle James writes in his Epistle: Pure and undefiled godliness before God and the Father is this: to visit and sympathize with orphans and widows in their sorrows and to keep oneself unspotted from the world (James 1:27).
John Chrysostom, in his interpretation of this Epistle, says: the only way we can become like God is through mercy and compassion. If we don’t have this, then we are deprived of everything. The Apostle James did not say: if you fast, you will be like your Father. There is nothing like this with God, God does not do this. And what? Be merciful like your Father who is in heaven. If you don't have this, then what do you have? I want mercy, not sacrifice (Matthew 9.13).
“My brothers, do not look at faces, have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory. For if a man with a gold ring, in rich clothes, comes into your congregation, and a poor man in scanty clothes also comes in, and you, looking at the man dressed in rich clothes, say to him: it would be good for you to sit here. And you will say to the poor: stand there, or sit here, at my feet (James 2.1).
Why, says the apostle, do you hesitate before helping? Or why does someone else despise you? Aren't we all, big and small, one body? When in essence we are one and members of each other, then why are you incredibly proud, why are you ashamed of your brother? As he is your member, so are you his, and therefore there is great equality.
– And don’t you over-judge within yourself and become judges with bad thoughts (2.4)? They should think the same thing about each other. A poor man has come, be attentive to him. Don't attach much importance because of wealth. In Christ there is no rich and poor. Therefore, do not be ashamed because of the external situation, but accept it out of inner faith.
– Listen, my beloved brothers: has not God chosen the poor of the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom that He promised to those who love Him? But you despised the poor (James 2:5-6).
And we, as if we have suffered a great insult, treat those who ask with such disdain, we turn away from them. If you don't give something you cause them grief. But do not consider them enemies, but admonish them as brothers. He who admonishes his brother does not do this openly, does not show arrogance, but in private, with great attention, mourning and with tears in his eyes. So, we give from a brotherly soul, we teach from a brotherly disposition, not as those who grieve for the gift, but as those who lament that he has broken the commandment, contrary to the benefit.
If by giving you insult, you spoil the pleasure of the gift. And if you don’t give and blaspheme, then what evil are you doing to that poor, unfortunate person! I came to you hoping to receive mercy. Having received a fatal blow, he left and cried harder. If someone is forced by poverty to beg, and is insulted for begging, then see what the punishment is for the offender. He insults the one who created him. If He left him in poverty for your sake so that you could help him, and you insult the poor man who exists for your benefit, then what foolishness is this, what ingratitude is this!
“Is it not the rich who oppress you, and is it not they who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who dishonor the good name by which you are called (6-7)?
Bear with courage the covetousness of others. Covetous people destroy themselves, not you. You are deprived of property, and yourself of God’s favor and help. And he who is deprived of it, even if he possessed all the wealth of the universe, is the poorest of all.
“Speak thus and act thus, as those who are to be judged according to the law of freedom.” It is better to frighten you with words so that you do not grieve in reality.
– Mercy is praised in judgment (12-13).
Charity is a wonderful deed and a protection for those who do it. It pleases God and is always close to Him. When he wants, he easily asks for mercy, as long as we don’t commit injustice. But it is unfair when we do it from something stolen, as if it were pure.
Mercy gives great boldness to those who show it. It is necessary both for the offended - such is its power - and for those who have sinned. It breaks bonds, dispels darkness, extinguishes fire, kills the worm, removes the gnashing of teeth. For him, with great confidence, the gates of Heaven open.
Mercy is the queen, making people like God. Be merciful, as is your Father who is in heaven (Luke 6.36). It is winged and light, has golden wings. His flight delights the Angels.
– You have become like a dove, whose wings are covered with silver, and whose feathers are pure gold (Ps. 67.14). Like a certain golden dove, it flies alive, having a pleasant appearance, gentle eyes. There's nothing better than those eyes. The peacock is good, but compared to the dove, the crow. Mercy always looks upward. Surrounded by the great glory of God.
The girl has golden wings and is dressed up. Has a pleasant, meek face. She is mobile and light, standing at the royal throne. When we are subject to judgment, Mercy suddenly appears and delivers us from punishment, covering us with wings. God wants her more than sacrifices.
JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. ADVICE TO THE SORDERED
JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. ABOUT SINGING
JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. ABOUT THE SINGING OF PSALM
SPIRITUAL SINGING
ABOUT PRAYER
OBLIGATION BY GOD
AN EVIL WIFE AND DOMESTIC FEUD
THE RICH CRY TOO
JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. ABOUT SADNESS AND GRIEF
ABOUT SADNESS AND GRIEF. CONTINUATION
THE POWER OF HUMILITY
