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Mercy Transforms Lives

By: Father Fulgens Katende, C.S.C. September 21st, 2026

In his work “The Rule,” Saint Augustine writes, “Strict adherence to religious rules cannot save a person without the prior intervention of divine mercy.” According to Saint Augustine, the law exposes human weakness, while mercy provides the healing grace required to fulfill it. He prioritized fraternal charity and love over blind rigidity, and championed mercy as God’s greatest attribute. Jesus Searches for Us Where We Are The gospel today affirms the same teaching when Jesus welcomes Matthew to be one of his disciples. In calling Matthew, a tax collector and assumed sinner, to follow him, Jesus values mercy more than strict religious rules. Matthew responds promptly and positively by leaving his booth, where he collected taxes, to join Jesus. He leaves his old life behind right away and follows Jesus. He even goes over and beyond to invite Jesus and his disciples to a dinner, where other tax collectors and social outcasts gather. To the dismay of the Scribes and Pharisees, Jesus also accepts the invitation; he joins in with all other people considered unfit by the religious leaders to celebrate a fellowship. By doing so, Jesus highlights the fact that his ministry reaches into the messy margins of society to provide transformation.