I was recently traveling with my two young daughters. After a long (read: difficult) flight we landed only to discover we had missed our connection. After an unpleasant time in the airport sorting things out, we were sent off to a hotel for the night. Arriving around 11:00, which was well passed their bedtime and well past mine, I tried to prepare for the nightly routine of pajamas, brushing teeth, setting up a crib, etc. Several times I lost my patience with my exhausted, whiny, and fussy daughters. Finally lying in bed, I said to the eldest, “I am sorry for having been impatient with you tonight. Do you forgive me?”
“Yes, Daddy” she replied quickly and added, “Dad, I ALWAYS forgive you”
Her comments reminded me of three things.
First, how often I need to be forgiven, even by my four-year-old.
Second, how quick children are to forgive. No resentment. No pondering. No conditions. 
Third, that the mercy of children is an intimation of God’s mercy.
In the first reading, we hear of God’s incredible offer of forgiveness to His people. He says,
I will heal their defection …
I will love them freely …
His splendor shall be like the olive tree…
They shall blossom like the vine,
and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
The Lord not only forgives, He restores and blesses. Israel, who had played the harlot, is not begrudgingly forgiven. Instead, the gracious Lord promises to also pour out blessing upon her.
Sometimes we think God will be stingy with us; we think that He is cheap with His mercy. Not so. He, instead, is most generous as He lavishes mercy upon us.
But there is one condition: our repentance.
We all wish to receive God’s mercy, but are we willing to first repent? In Hosea, the Lord calls his people first to repent. He asks them to turn from their sin and return to Him. It is when they do this that His abundant mercy is poured out.
Where is God inviting you to repent? What sins in your life ought to be brought to the Lord? When we open our hearts in repentance, the Lord fills them to overflowing with His mercy. When we repent, God says, “I ALWAYS forgive you”
Michael Dopp has a Licentiate in Sacred Theology focused on the New Evangelization. He travels internationally forming bishops, priests and laity alike in the theology and practice of evangelization and parish renewal. He is the founder of the New Evangelization Summit and lives with his wife and three children in Ottawa, Canada.
