Possessing a big heart for others even when you are wrongly accused and persecuted by them- this is a great spiritual gift from God. You should ask God to give you the grace for a merciful heart for those who have wronged you.
Wait. What? Why would it be a spiritual benefit for you to suffer continual unjust, cruel, and false accusations?
Yes, this is true because if you suffer well, surrendering your situation completely to Jesus, He will give you many graces and increase you in holiness, too. We experience this most clearly in the reception of holy Communion when we receive the very heart of Christ.
Why?
Because the secret to mercy is possessing ‘perfect’ self-giving love. This is the kind of love that led Jesus to His death on the cross, and the love that he pours out at every Mass. It was His Divine Mercy that led Him to freely give of Himself so that we could choose to be saved by His Precious Blood. Mercy is a certain kind of love.
When we are merciful, we have compassion in our hearts for the other person’s misery. If the other person has wronged us, or has passed away and we can no longer make amends, the gift of a merciful heart will help us love them for Christ’s sake. Our hearts, in union with Christ’s, seek the good of the other’s soul as a result of this mercy.
“The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in mercy.”
Psalm 145:8
Prayer for a Merciful Heart Like Jesus
O Jesus,
I understand that Your mercy is beyond all imagining. I ask You, therefore, to make my heart so big that there will be room in it for the needs of all the souls living on this whole earthly globe.
O Jesus, my love reaches beyond the world to the souls suffering in Purgatory, and I want to exercise mercy toward them by means of indulgenced prayers. God’s mercy is unfathomable and inexhaustible, just as God Himself is unfathomable. Were I to use the strongest words for expressing this mercy of God, they are nothing in comparison with what it is in reality.
O Jesus, make my heart sensitive to all the sufferings of my neighbor whether they be of body or of soul. O my Jesus, I know that You act toward us as we act toward our neighbor. My Jesus, make my heart like unto Your merciful Heart. Jesus, help me to go through life doing good to everyone.
Amen.
If you like this prayer, you may also like our virtue meditations series. These are weekly meditations on the 35 virtues of St. Hildegard of Bingen, Doctor of the Church.
Pray the Divine Mercy
Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet prayer.
Download a PDF of the Divine Mercy Novena.
A Big Heart for Others in Suffering
“You must always humble yourself lovingly before God and before men, because God speaks only to those who are truly humble and He enriches them with His gifts.” – Saint Padre Pio
“Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.” – Saint Paul the Apostle (Romans 12:21)
“He loves, he hopes, he waits. Our Lord prefers to wait Himself for the sinner for years rather than keep us waiting an instant.” – Saint Maria Goretti
“Suffering is a great grace; through suffering the soul becomes like the Savior; in suffering love becomes crystallized; the greater the suffering, the purer the love.” – Saint Faustina
“When I see that the burden is beyond my strength, I do not consider or analyze it or probe into it, but I run like a child to the Heart of Jesus and say only one word to Him: “You can do all things.” And then I keep silent, because I know that Jesus Himself will intervene in the matter, and as for me, instead of tormenting myself, I use that time to love Him.” – Saint Faustina
“The recollection of an injury is itself wrong. It adds to our anger, nurtures our sin, and hates what is good. It is a rusty arrow and poison for the soul. It puts all virtue to flight. It is like a worm in the mind: it confuses our speech and tears to shreds our petitions to God. It is foreign to charity: it remains planted in the soul like a nail. It is wickedness that never sleeps, sin that never fails. It is indeed a daily death.” – Saint Francis of Paola
More Prayers about Mercy
