View from the Ambo/Mercy With Teeth
A Catholic priest's perspective on life and faith.
Sunday, October 19, 2025
29th Sunday 2025 - PRAY
Our Lord preaches a parable of a widow who is persistent in her asking for justice, speaking of the necessity of persistence in prayer. He would also include being real, active, and yielding in our prayer. https://ift.tt/gLWoyMb www.mercywithteeth.com #Catholic #homily #Scripture #GospelOfTheDay #mercywithteeth Sign up to have podcasts and blog posts emailed to you: https://ift.tt/aZ095TE Give feedback at https://forms.gle/gGhujv39g43BUxmK6 Readings are found at https://ift.tt/Ym7lCQd Great News: True Mercy Has Teeth: A Catholic Journey to Forgiveness and Healing is now available on Amazon https://ift.tt/K9WEYaV
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Thursday, October 16, 2025
St. Margaret Mary Alocoque and Mercy With Teeth
Today is the Memorial of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the humble Visitation nun through whom the Lord revealed His Sacred Heart—a heart burning with love, wounded by sin, and overflowing with mercy.
St. Margaret Mary lived in a turbulent era. The Church in 17th-century France was marked by a rigorist spirit, particularly through the rise of Jansenism—a movement that distorted the faith by emphasizing fear, severity, and human unworthiness over divine mercy. Many of the faithful were led to believe that God’s justice left little room for love. People were discouraged from approaching the Eucharist, terrified of receiving unworthily. Even some bishops and priests forbade their parishioners to receive Communion, believing it safer to stay away from Christ than risk offending Him.
Into that fear, Jesus revealed His Heart to Sr. Margaret Mary—a Heart that beats not with condemnation, but with compassion. He did not deny sin or the need for repentance; rather, He showed that mercy is stronger than fear. His Sacred Heart burns with love for sinners and longs to heal, not to harm; to invite, not to intimidate.
The Lord’s revelation to St. Margaret Mary was, in its time, a form of “mercy with teeth.” It was not sentimental or permissive—it was courageous. It confronted a distorted image of God and called the Church back to the truth: that holiness flows from love, not terror; from trust, not despair. Divine Mercy does not erase justice—it fulfills it. The Sacred Heart is both pierced and powerful, tender yet strong, embracing humanity’s wounds while calling souls to conversion and deeper intimacy with Christ.
In a world that still wrestles with both extremes—either cheap grace or paralyzing fear—the message of the Sacred Heart remains urgent. Mercy with teeth is the mercy of that Heart: love that defends, heals, and restores, but also names sin and calls the sinner home.
May St. Margaret Mary teach us to approach the Lord’s Heart with confidence and awe, trusting that in His mercy we find both strength and salvation.
“Behold this Heart which has loved men so much…” — Our Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
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My Book, True Mercy Has Teeth is available on Amazon or at www.mercywithteeth.com
Sunday, October 12, 2025
28th Sunday 2025 - Thanksgiving
By being obedient to the ordinary, Naaman and the 10 lepers find healing. Only Naaman and a samaritan return to thank the Lord. Thanksgiving is the start of stewardship - living a life of gratitude for all the Lord has done. https://ift.tt/s8cZ1b5 www.mercywithteeth.com #Catholic #homily #Scripture #GospelOfTheDay #mercywithteeth Sign up to have podcasts and blog posts emailed to you: https://ift.tt/JlRS90e Give feedback at https://forms.gle/gGhujv39g43BUxmK6 Readings are found at https://ift.tt/Gp9Wozv www.mercywithteeth.com Great News: True Mercy Has Teeth: A Catholic Journey to Forgiveness and Healing is now available on Amazon https://ift.tt/eNpyt1O
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Sunday, October 5, 2025
27th Sunday 2025 - Faith
The Lord gives us faith and the spirit of power, love and self-control. Let us us them to confront the culture of death and be true stewards of life. www.mercywithteeth.com #Catholic #homily #Scripture #GospelOfTheDay #mercywithteeth Sign up to have podcasts and blog posts emailed to you: https://ift.tt/2AD7Htk Give feedback at https://forms.gle/gGhujv39g43BUxmK6 Readings are found at https://ift.tt/NPaKhG9 Great News: True Mercy Has Teeth: A Catholic Journey to Forgiveness and Healing is now available on Amazon https://ift.tt/mYoilkS
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Sunday, September 28, 2025
26th Sunday 2025 - Blessing
Jesus shares the Parable of Lazarus and the rich man, and in doing so, invites us to reflect on the nature of stewardship - that the good things we have are also for the good of others. www.mercywithteeth.com #Catholic #homily #Scripture #GospelOfTheDay #mercywithteeth Sign up to have podcasts and blog posts emailed to you: https://ift.tt/RYETG9X Give feedback at https://forms.gle/gGhujv39g43BUxmK6 Readings are found at https://ift.tt/7aLCiKd Great News: True Mercy Has Teeth: A Catholic Journey to Forgiveness and Healing is now available on Amazon https://ift.tt/JqzEWUP
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Sunday, September 21, 2025
25th Sunday 2025 - Worldview
Jesus shares a parable of the wicked servant, and unless we understand that He is speaking of two different worldviews, we might be misled to think He is praising the steward. www.mercywithteeth.com #Catholic #homily #Scripture #GospelOfTheDay #mercywithteeth Sign up to have podcasts and blog posts emailed to you: https://ift.tt/ha9UBOf Give feedback at https://forms.gle/gGhujv39g43BUxmK6 Readings are found at https://ift.tt/aixSfmD Great News: True Mercy Has Teeth: A Catholic Journey to Forgiveness and Healing is now available on Amazon https://ift.tt/fg0EKy6
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Sunday, September 14, 2025
Exultation Of The Cross 2025 - Exalted
As we celebrate the Feast of the Exultation of the Cross, we celebrate that Christ is exalted and conquers all. www.mercywithteeth.com #Catholic #homily #Scripture #GospelOfTheDay #mercywithteeth Sign up to have podcasts and blog posts emailed to you: https://ift.tt/48DcTZo Give feedback at https://forms.gle/gGhujv39g43BUxmK6 Readings are found at https://ift.tt/WwBHeV4 Great News: True Mercy Has Teeth: A Catholic Journey to Forgiveness and Healing is now available on Amazon https://ift.tt/Q8g4MSX
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