Except when confessing my sins, I never understood the concept of mercy. As such, it always intrigued me. I read Pope Francis's book about mercy; and yet, I still wasn't able to get my mind around it. I used to ask, what about repentance, don't we have to first repent in order to receive mercy? But it says in the Bible that mercy is a gift, freely given--unconditionally--no strings attached. Mercy exists first. It is mercy that enables repentance, not the other way around. Repentance can occur only if mercy exists beforehand. My understanding of this only came after listening to a witness by someone who was sentenced to sixteen years in jail in North Carolina. People like Nomi Network and The Sisters of Life are agents of mercy.
