In the opening greeting of his Second Letter to Timothy, we have heard Paul wish grace, mercy, and peace for this beloved disciple and fellow worker. And this order is neither incidental nor unintentional; for mercy stands as a bridge between grace and peace. For the grace whereby we are redeemed and saved in Christ flows forth from the heart of the Savior because of mercy. And it is the experience of grace mediated through mercy that, in turn, gives birth to peace. However, this peace would be insecure and constantly threatened if the mercy through which peace came to birth were not an abiding and unfailing mercy. And so, peace of heart is, in part, due to our confidence in this mercy that repeatedly extends forgiveness and healing to our troubled and wayward hearts. Nevertheless, this unfailing mercy can never be an encouragement to complacency and even less a reason to persist in sin; and thus Paul tells Timothy that God saved us and called us to a holy life. And since with Saint Paul we too know in whom we have believed, let us cling to God’s mercy and stir into flame the gift of God bestowed on us in baptism, confirmation, and monastic consecration, so that we may praise God for his unfailing grace and remain in that sacred and unshakeable peace that is its abiding fruit.
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