Feb 19, 2026 Written by 

Merciful Justice

Jesus calls for a non-formal Justice that follows the Father's criterion: seasoned with mercy, respectful.

 

Francis was a great spiritual teacher, almost without realising it.

He was convinced, by Grace, that justice always goes hand in hand with mercy.

A justice far from legalistic rigidism, eager to express itself in the fulfilment of God's will, in respect for one's brother always.

The Franciscan Sources teach:

"If it sometimes happened that a brother missed a word capable of wounding, the remorse of conscience would not let him have peace, until he confessed his mistake, humbly throwing himself to the ground and begging the offended person to put his foot on his mouth.

If that brother refused to make that gesture, when the offender was his superior, he would command him to put his foot over his mouth; when he was a subject, he would have the person in charge order him to do so.

In this way, the brothers strove to banish all rancour and incompatibility, and to keep the exchange of love intact.

They did all they could to replace every vice with the corresponding virtue, inspired and assisted in this by the Grace of Jesus Christ" (FF 1449).

 

Justice and Mercy to be sought, to be asked of God first of all in prayer and silence, because a new heart is a gift from the Lord, a continuous exodus.

In the Rule of the Hermitages, written by Francis, we read:

"Let these [the brothers] have a cloister, in which each one has his own small cell, in which he can pray and sleep [...] and get up for matins, and first of all seek the kingdom of God and his justice" (FF 137).

In the same Praises of God Most High, Francis expresses himself thus:

«[...] You are justice,

You are temperance,

You are all our riches enough» (FF 261).

The Poverello, knowing that the Lord-Justice called for a greater justice than that of manner, worked hard for the kingdom of heaven and tried to teach his brothers to do the same.

He never forgot that mercy always prevails in judgement before God.

 

«For I tell you, unless your righteousness abounds more [than that] of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven» (Mt 5:20)

 

 

Friday 1st wk. in Lent  (Mt 5,20-26)

594 Last modified on Thursday, 19 February 2026 00:37
Teresa Girolami

Teresa Girolami è laureata in Materie letterarie e Teologia. Ha pubblicato vari testi, fra cui: "Pellegrinaggio del cuore" (Ed. Piemme); "I Fiammiferi di Maria - La Madre di Dio in prosa e poesia"; "Tenerezza Scalza - Natura di donna"; co-autrice di "Dialogo e Solstizio".

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There is the path of those who, like those two on the outbound journey, allow themselves to be paralysed by life’s disappointments and proceed sadly; and there is the path of those who do not put themselves and their problems first, but rather Jesus who visits us, and the brothers who await his visit (Pope Francis)
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So that Christians may properly carry out this mandate entrusted to them, it is indispensable that they have a personal encounter with Christ, crucified and risen, and let the power of his love transform them. When this happens, sadness changes to joy and fear gives way to missionary enthusiasm (John Paul II)
Perché i cristiani possano compiere appieno questo mandato loro affidato, è indispensabile che incontrino personalmente il Crocifisso risorto, e si lascino trasformare dalla potenza del suo amore. Quando questo avviene, la tristezza si muta in gioia, il timore cede il passo all’ardore missionario (Giovanni Paolo II)
This is the message that Christians are called to spread to the very ends of the earth. The Christian faith, as we know, is not born from the acceptance of a doctrine but from an encounter with a Person (Pope Benedict)
È questo il messaggio che i cristiani sono chiamati a diffondere sino agli estremi confini del mondo. La fede cristiana come sappiamo nasce non dall'accoglienza di una dottrina, ma dall'incontro con una Persona (Papa Benedetto)
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Dai tempi più antichi la liturgia del giorno di Pasqua comincia con le parole: Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum – sono risorto e sono sempre con te; tu hai posto su di me la tua mano. La liturgia vi vede la prima parola del Figlio rivolta al Padre dopo la risurrezione, dopo il ritorno dalla notte della morte nel mondo dei viventi. La mano del Padre lo ha sorretto anche in questa notte, e così Egli ha potuto rialzarsi, risorgere (Papa Benedetto)
The Church keeps watch. And the world keeps watch. The hour of Christ's victory over death is the greatest hour in history (John Paul II)
Veglia la Chiesa. E veglia il mondo. L’ora della vittoria di Cristo sulla morte è l’ora più grande della storia (Giovanni Paolo II)
Before the Cross of Jesus, we apprehend in a way that we can almost touch with our hands how much we are eternally loved; before the Cross we feel that we are “children” and not “things” or “objects” [Pope Francis, via Crucis at the Colosseum 2014]
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The devotional and external purifications purify man ritually but leave him as he is replaced by a new bathing (Pope Benedict)

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