God is rich in mercy! When the Son of God became man and dwelt among us, he was demonstrating his great mercy for us. In its root the word mercy means to have compassion for those in misery. We were in a state of eternal misery, both because of the Original Sin of Adam and Eve, which alienated us from God, but also because of all our own personal sins. Imperfect and broken as we were, we could not atone for our sins. No merely human being could. God the Son, in his infinite mercy, chose out of love to become one like us in all things but sin, in order to offer the perfect sacrifice to the Father. This act in itself would have been sufficient to atone for our sins. But God wanted to show the depth of his mercy for us. He chose to suffer and die the cruel death of crucifixion, offering himself as the perfect sacrifice of love and obedience. It is hard for us to comprehend these great mysteries. All we can do is acknowledge, give thanks and choose to respond by living a life worthy of the grace we have received. Alleluia! He is lives and because of him, I live. Alleluia!