The Mercy of God [antikvár]

by the Very Rev. Monsignor Canon C. Collingwood Foreword Pope John XXIII wrote these notes on his meditations while in retreat at the beginning of his sixtieth year, when he was Papal Representative in Turkey and Greece. He had entered retreat united in spirit with Pope Pius XII who was making his annual retreat in the Vatican at the same time. When they were being written in November 1940, the Second World War was being waged fiercely in Europe and beyond. Archbishop Roncalli (as Pope John then was) chose as the subject of his five-day retreat the penetential Psalm, the Miserere, basing his meditations on an exposition of the Psalm written by a Father Segneri about a century before. In the words of A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, the Miserere is 'an act of contrition, confession and supplication uttered by a repentant sinner. According to the title he is David, who had committed adultery with Bethsabee. As satisfaction for his sin he promises to strive to lead sinners back to God, by preaching divine justice. Instead of a merely external sacrifice, he offers the tribute of a contrite and humble heart'. 3