This carved relief of a remorseful King David is inspired by Psalm 51 at its theme of heartfelt contrition .
Image courtesy of Wiki Commons . abundant mercy ( rahamim ), asking that his sin be blotted out , washed , and cleansed ( Ps 51:1-2 ). The psalm employs three different words for sin to cover every kind and degree of wrongdoing — a fact that helps everyone apply this psalm to his or her own life . The word translated as “ iniquity ” is a broad term that refers to any kind of evil act . “ Transgression ,” which means to cross the line , refers to acts that are contrary to any of God ’ s commandments and is the most serious kind of sin .
Interestingly , the words translated “ sin ” from both Hebrew ( hata ’ t ) and Greek ( hamartia ) are drawn from the vocabulary of archery , where they mean to “ miss the target .” Now that is a broad term !
How many ways we miss the mark , in our speech , in our thoughts , in our use of time and money , in our treatment of others , in our prayer ! Learning that sin means missing the target helps us prepare to receive mercy in confession . We begin by considering any commandments we may have broken , but then we go on to ask in what ways we have missed the mark , the bullseye , that the Lord intends us to hit , for instance , in loving our neighbor as ourselves .
I discovered I had a lot more to confess ! passion and death . . . . Knowing that Jesus himself prayed this psalm makes it even more important for us as Christians , challenging us to take up the refrain in our daily lives by praying these words of praise : ‘ for his mercy endures forever .’”
The Holy Father then goes on to discuss mercy in the life of Christ , the parables , and the teaching of the prophets .
Many other psalms focus on God ’ s mercy besides those mentioned by Pope Francis . The Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization has published a little book , The Psalms of Mercy ( Our Sunday Visitor , 2015 ), that offers helpful commentary on ten “ psalms of mercy ” ( 25 , 41 , 42-
43 , 51 , 57 , 92 , 103 , 119:81-88 , 136 ).
I will conclude this article with comments on the most famous of those , Psalm 51 , whose Latin title is “ Miserere ”—“ Have mercy !” It is a psalm of repentance that is prayed in the Liturgy of the Hours every Friday morning . According to the ancient title at the beginning , this is the psalm David prayed after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan about his adultery with Bathsheba ( 2 Sam 11-12 ).
Sin = Missing the Mark
Despite the gravity of his wrongdoing , in Psalm 51 David appeals in confident hope to God ’ s merciful love ( hesed ) and to his
Becoming a Missionary of Mercy In the rest of Psalm 51 , David acknowledges his sinful condition and his absolute dependence on God to teach wisdom to his inner self or “ secret heart ,” to cleanse him , even to create a new heart in him , and to restore his joy . He prays that God will not cast him off or take away his Holy Spirit ( Ps 51:6-12 ).
David promises to teach transgressors God ’ s ways once he , himself , is restored . He asks for mercy so that he can become a messenger of mercy . He is confident he will praise and worship God again , since he knows that “ the sacrifice acceptable to God is . . . a broken and contrite heart ” ( Ps 51:17 ).
What was true for David is true for us . We need God ’ s mercy to cleanse , heal , and restore us . Only if we receive mercy , only if we experience it , can we become missionaries of mercy .
Dr . Peter Williamson holds the Adam Cardinal Maida Chair of Sacred Scripture at Sacred Heart .
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