July 19th. Paul shared,  “The words faithfulness and mercy often seem to come together in the bible.  To me they aren’t the same but are related. To be faithful – as we discovered in 49 years of marriage – you do need to practise mercy, quite often.  Forgive before being asked, forgive even if you don’t want to.   And one does those things because of love, a love that is strong and can endure.” They sat quietly for a while and eventually Joann shared, “  Yet, maybe the loving thing sometimes is for a couple to separate if things just don’t work.” 

Scripture:   Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passion over transgressions? You will show faithfulness to Jacob and mercy to Abraham. Micah 7:18-20 Pope Francis: Mercy is the bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to a hope of being loved forever despite our sinfulness.  FM2