Meditation on Mercy by Father Girolamo Savonarola, O.P.

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy." Not according to the world's mercy, so pitifully small, but according to your own great, immense, incomprehensible mercy, far exceeding all sins put together -- according to that mercy whereby you so loved the world as to give your only Son. What greater mercy could be imagined, what greater love? Henceforth who could ever despair, who would not have confidence? God made himself a human being like ourselves, and has been crucified for us. Therefore have pity on me, O God, according to that great mercy which moved you to deliver up your own Son for us and through him to blot out all the sins of the world, enlightening the whole human family by his cross and restoring in him everything on earth and in heaven. Wash me, Lord, in his blood, enlighten me by his humility, reinstate me by his resurrection.

Have pity on me, God, not according to your lesser mercy; your lesser mercy brings alleviation to bodily ills, but your great mercy grants remission of sin and raises the penitent by grace over all that is greatest on earth. According to this great mercy have pity on me, Lord, so as to convert me to you, wiping out my sins and justifying me by your grace. Your mercy, Lord, is that abundance of pity that has always made you look on the needy with tenderness. Mary Magdalene comes to your feet, good Jesus, washes them wiith her tears, dries them with her hair; you pardon her and send her away in peace -- that, dear Lord, is one of your mercies. Peter denies you, protesting with an oath that he does not know you; one look from you and he weeps bitterly. You pardon him, confirming him as prince of the apostles -- another example, Lord, of your mercy. The thief on the cross is saved by a single word. Paul, at the time a rabid persecutor, is filled with the Holy Spirit as soon as you call him. Such, Lord, are your mercies.

Time would fail me if I tried to count them all. The number of your mercies equals the number of men, women, and children justified by your grace. No one can boast of his own achievement. Let all the just appear together, both those on earth and those in heaven, and let us ask them in your presence if it was by their own power that they were saved.

With one heart and one voice all will answer: "Not to us Lord, not to us, but to your name give the glory because of your mercy and your faithfulness."

Click to read more about Pier Giorgio's admiration for Fra Girolamo Savonarola.