The Necessity of Mercy

"Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Peter is a practical man, and he likes to know where he stands. But his generous offer of "seven times" is multiplied by Christ to "not seven times but seventy-seven times"; in other words, a zillion is required, an impossible command without grace.

The extraordinary act of John Paul II, who visited his would-be assassin in prison to forgive him, shows that the mercy we participate in through God's grace is available to us in every situation.