Today, Jesus, full of patience, reveals God’s omnipotence. “It is proper for God to exercise mercy, and he manifests his omnipotence particularly in this way”: these Saint Thomas Aquinas’ words show that God’s mercy, rather than a sign of weakness, is the mark of his omnipotence. For this reason the liturgy, in one of its most ancient collects, has us pray: “O God, who reveal your power above all in your mercy and forgiveness…”.

God will always be the One who is present, close, provident, holy, and merciful. “Patient and merciful.” These words often go together in the Old Testament to describe God’s nature. With our eyes fixed on Jesus and his merciful gaze, we experience the love of the Most Holy Trinity. The mission Jesus received from the Father was that of revealing the mystery of divine love in its fullness. “God is love” (1Jn 4:8,16), John affirms for the first and only time in all of Holy Scripture.

—This love has now been made visible and tangible in Jesus’ entire life.