Chapter 9, v. 9 in today's first reading from the Book of Daniel, "But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness,” sets the tone for Jesus' opening instructions in the Gospel. There he tells his disciples, and us today, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

But we are not God, so how can we be as merciful as God? As Daniel states, compassion and forgiveness are in God's nature, not ours. How can Jesus expect such behavior from us?

Jesus goes on to offer some specific steps that we can take that will result in showing mercy: Stop judging. Stop condemning. Forgive. Give without limits. If we do these actions, we will automatically grow in the mercy we offer to others.

Having this blueprint is helpful, but still, it is not easy to do these things. We see injustice all around us. We hear remarks made by friends, co-workers, politicians, and others that we disagree with, that we deeply feel are wrong. How can we not judge them? How can we give to those who are not appreciative, who maybe don’t even like us?

The fact is, we can't do the merciful actions Jesus tells us to without God's grace. But we can start, we can try. And the more we intend to stop judging and condemning, and to forgive and give without expecting any return, and then try, and then do it again, we will succeed more and more because that is God's will for us and God will help us.

While it may seem like a burden to not judge, condemn, and hold grudges, Jesus’ directive to us is actually freeing. It frees us from those inclinations that hold us back and hold us down, that keep us from fully experiencing God's love and God's kingdom. By learning to refuse to give in to our gut reactions, we will become truly merciful and ever closer to God, just as the saints did, and do. And, we must not forget, as Jesus promises, “For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."

St. Patrick, whose feast day is today (some liturgies will use optional readings for the Memorial of St. Patrick), is an example of someone who had to overcome his initial misgivings in order to go on to do remarkable things for God among the people of Ireland.

After initially being captured and kept as a slave in Ireland for years, he finally returned to Britain only to experience more hardships before eventually being reunited with his family. Only later did feel he was being called back to Ireland to minister to the people.

But he was reluctant for a long time to respond to the call. He doubted that he could do the job, just as we may doubt we can do what Jesus calls us to in today’s Gospel. But St. Patrick eventually did it anyway, and once he started, his misgivings disappeared and his confidence in doing the Lord’s work soared. And the rest is history, as his good works and miracles in Ireland have been celebrated for centuries.