Pope to Fountain of Mercy Association: You can become witnesses of mercy

By Christopher Wells

On Saturday, Pope Francis received members of a Swiss association dedicated to contemplating mercy, while invoking it in the world and living it in fraternal love.

The Association “Fontaine de la Miséricorde” (The “Fountain of Mercy” Association) is composed of members from four French-speaking Swiss cantons, and nearby regions of France. Its purpose is to foster the spiritual life, and a life of authentic prayer in mercy, in Geneva and the surrounding areas of francophone Switzerland.

Mercy rooted in the heart
 

Addressing the community, Pope Francis said, “With you I give thanks to the Lord, who has permitted you to experience His mercy, and has led you to seek and propose means so that it might be well-rooted in your hearts and so help you to look always with serenity on daily life.” 

Witnesses of the mercy of God
 

He encouraged them to persevere in prayer, in the knowledge that it is through the “heart-to-heart encounter with the Lord” that we are “reborn in the living water of His mercy.” Through the sacramental life, he continued, “you too can become witnesses of the mercy of God, which is a call for everyone to recognize the beauty and the joy of being loved by Him.”

Pope Francis concluded his address by encouraging members of the association “to promote a culture of mercy,” – a culture, he said, “in which no one looks at another with indifference, or turns away from the suffering of our brothers and sisters.”