Divine mercy or God's mercy refers to the compassionate love, forgiveness, and forbearance of God toward creation, especially humankind. It is an essential attribute of

God in Christianity In Christianity, God is the God and eternity, eternal, supreme being who Creator god, created and God the Sustainer, preserves all things. Christians believe in a Monotheism, monotheistic conception of God, which is both Transcendence (religio ...

, in Judaism, and in Islam. It has also inspired particular forms of devotion, such as the Divine Mercy devotion in the Catholic Church, rooted in the mystical experiences of Saint Faustina Kowalska, which was made a liturgical feast by St.

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

for the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church, especially through

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

, emphasized that mercy is the central truth of God and thus the entire Church and all human beings are called to be merciful like God.

Mercy as an Attribute of God

The idea that God is merciful is central to Abrahamic religions, and is often viewed as intertwined with justice, love, and holiness. Mercy involves God's willingness to forgive sins, heal suffering, and show patience toward human frailty. The words used in the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

to designate mercy, including divine mercy, are ''rakham'' ( Exodus 34:6; Isaiah 55:7), ''khanan'' ( Deut. 4:31) and ''khesed'' ( Nehemiah 9:32). In the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

of the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

and of the

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

, the word most commonly used to designate mercy, including divine mercy, is ''eleos''. The

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

word used in

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

to refer to divine mercy is ''raḥma''.

Judaism

In Judaism, divine mercy is a frequent theme in the Hebrew Scriptures. God reveals Himself as "rachum ve-chanun" (merciful and gracious) in Exodus 34:6. The Hebrew word "chesed" (steadfast love or loving-kindness) often expresses God’s covenantal mercy toward Israel. Mercy is expressed in the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy recited during Jewish prayers, particularly on Yom Kippur. God’s mercy allows for teshuvah (repentance), a central theme in Jewish spirituality.

Christianity

In Christianity, it is believed that it is through his action that

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

reveals his mercy. Divine mercy is appealed to in Christian

repentance Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past or present wrongdoings, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen ...

s. In the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, God's mercy is seen as the "universal root" of all of God's acts: divine mercy is the cause of all actions God accomplishes outside of himself. John Paul II had a strong love for the Divine Mercy devotion, inspired by his fellow Pole,

Faustina Kowalska Maria Faustyna Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament, Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, OLM (born Helena Kowalska; 25 August 1905 – 5 October 1938) was a Catholic Church in Poland, Polish Catholic religious sister and Christia ...

(b. 1905 - d.1938), a devotion that he later instituted for the entire Catholic Church in 2000 as

Divine Mercy Sunday Divine Mercy Sunday (also known as the Feast of the Divine Mercy) is a feast day that is observed in the Roman Rite calendar, as well as some Anglo-Catholics of the Church of England (it is not an official Anglican feast). It is celebrated on th ...

and during which vigil, in 2005, he died. His second encyclical as Pope is entitled ''Dives in misericordia'' (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Rich in Mercy''), referring to God the Father. It is a modern examination of the role of

mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French , from Medieval Latin , "price paid, wages", from Latin , "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social, and legal contexts. In the social and le ...

—both God's mercy, and also the need for human mercy—introducing the biblical

parable of the Prodigal Son The Parable of the Prodigal Son (also known as the parable of the Two Brothers, Lost Son, Loving Father, or of the Forgiving Father; ) is one of the parables of Jesus in the Bible, appearing in Luke 15:11–32. In Luke 15, Jesus tells this sto ...

as a central theme. The ''

Catechism of the Catholic Church The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' (; commonly called the ''Catechism'' or the ''CCC'') is a reference work that summarizes the Catholic Church's doctrine. It was Promulgation (Catholic canon law), promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1992 ...

'' states that " e

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

is the revelation in

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

of God's mercy to sinners", and that " ere are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit". Pope Francis was known at the Pope of Mercy, who produced a deep and thoroughgoing theology and pastoral approach based on mercy. He taught about its central importance in the theology of God and in the Church. He taught that Mercy is God's identity and his name. Mercy is the central truth about God. And that Jesus is "the face of the Father’s mercy. These words might well sum up the mystery of the Christian faith. Mercy has become living and visible in Jesus of Nazareth.” One of his greatest achievements was to show that this central truth has implications in the entire operations of the Church. He taught: "“Mercy is the very foundation of the Church’s life. All of her pastoral activity should be caught up in the tenderness she makes present to believers; nothing in her preaching and in her witness to the world can be lacking in mercy. The Church’s very credibility is seen in how she shows merciful and compassionate love.”https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/bulls/documents/papa-francesco_bolla_20150411_misericordiae-vultus.html

Islam

, God's mercy is designated by the

term ''raḥma.'' One of the

names of God in Islam Names of God in Islam () are 99 names that each contain Attributes of God in Islam, which are implied by the respective names. These names usually denote his praise, gratitude, commendation, glorification, magnification, perfect attributes, ...

is '' al-raḥmān'' and '' al-raḥīm'' ("the Compassionate" and "the Merciful"). In Islam, portions of God's mercy are considered as being within all the world (and not only in humanity).

References

{{Reflist Christian terminology Islamic theology Jewish theology Divinity

Mercy as an Attribute of God

Judaism

Christianity

Islam

See also

References