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Mercy: A Bible Study Guide for Catholics
"With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept my mercy toward you." - Jeremiah 31:3
Fr. Pacwa's Bible studies for Catholics have captivated parish study groups for years. He takes vast topics like the Eucharist, Mary, and the Faith, and breaks them down into useful and accessible lessons we can carry with us always.
Now in his new book A Bible Study Guide for Catholics Fr. Pacwa leads us to a deeper understanding of mercy through the study of Israel's long, slow struggle to experience mercy. By looking carefully at their experience of turning away and returning to God, we begin to understand that God's love, shown through His mercy, is more powerful than sin.
Perfect for a parish small group study, or for personal reflection, each of the six sessions in A Bible Study Guide for Catholics will help us rediscover the incredible history of God's mercy in our own lives, which in turn will lead us to an understanding of the importance of extending God's love and mercy to the world around us.
Fr. Pacwa's Bible studies for Catholics have captivated parish study groups for years. He takes vast topics like the Eucharist, Mary, and the Faith, and breaks them down into useful and accessible lessons we can carry with us always.
Now in his new book A Bible Study Guide for Catholics Fr. Pacwa leads us to a deeper understanding of mercy through the study of Israel's long, slow struggle to experience mercy. By looking carefully at their experience of turning away and returning to God, we begin to understand that God's love, shown through His mercy, is more powerful than sin.
Perfect for a parish small group study, or for personal reflection, each of the six sessions in A Bible Study Guide for Catholics will help us rediscover the incredible history of God's mercy in our own lives, which in turn will lead us to an understanding of the importance of extending God's love and mercy to the world around us.
113 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 15, 2015
About the author
Mitch Pacwa
30 books65 followersFr. Mitchell "Mitch" Pacwa , S.J., is a Jesuit priest. He is bi-ritual, meaning that he can celebrate liturgy in both the Roman and Maronite rites. He is President and Founder of Ignatius Productions. He has taught at the University of Dallas and Loyola University and is now the Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology.
Fr. Pacwa earned his Ph.D. in Old Testament from Vanderbilt University. He also holds a Master of Divinity and S.T.B. from the Jesuit School of Theology at Loyola University. He is an accomplished linguist speaking several ancient languages, including Latin, Koine Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Ugaritic, as well as the modern languages of German, Spanish, Polish, Hebrew, Arabic, French, and Italian.
Father Pacwa is author of Catholics and the New Age: How Good People Are Being Drawn into Jungian Psychology the Enneagram and the Age of Aquarius (1992), Forgive Me Father for I Am Frustrated: Growing in Your Faith Even When It Isn’t Easy Being Catholic (1997), published by Servant Books. Holy Land Prayer Book (2004) published by Ignatius Productions and co-authored with Sean Brown, Go In Peace: Your Guide to the Purpose and Power of Confession (2007) published by Ascension Press, and Saint Paul: A Study Guide for Catholics (2008) published by Our Sunday Visitor, Saint Paul on the Power of the Cross (2008)
Fr. Pacwa earned his Ph.D. in Old Testament from Vanderbilt University. He also holds a Master of Divinity and S.T.B. from the Jesuit School of Theology at Loyola University. He is an accomplished linguist speaking several ancient languages, including Latin, Koine Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Ugaritic, as well as the modern languages of German, Spanish, Polish, Hebrew, Arabic, French, and Italian.
Father Pacwa is author of Catholics and the New Age: How Good People Are Being Drawn into Jungian Psychology the Enneagram and the Age of Aquarius (1992), Forgive Me Father for I Am Frustrated: Growing in Your Faith Even When It Isn’t Easy Being Catholic (1997), published by Servant Books. Holy Land Prayer Book (2004) published by Ignatius Productions and co-authored with Sean Brown, Go In Peace: Your Guide to the Purpose and Power of Confession (2007) published by Ascension Press, and Saint Paul: A Study Guide for Catholics (2008) published by Our Sunday Visitor, Saint Paul on the Power of the Cross (2008)
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 31, 2025
BORING! Daunting!
September 11, 2015
After reading The Face of Mercy, I recommend you turn your attention to the book Mercy: A Bible Study Guide for Catholics. The book is divided into the following six sections:
1. Human Mercy
2. Withholding and Granting Mercy
3. An Overview of God's Mercy
4. Mercy and Covenant Love
5. Lord, Have Mercy
6. Mercy as a Saving Act
The book's focus is on Israel's experience of mercy and closes with Jesus and His sacrifice as the ultimate example of mercy. Each chapter is full of Scripture to read, sections to make notes on specific Scripture verses, discussion questions, and practical ways to apply what you learned in the chapter. "Withholding and Granting Mercy" was the most interesting and enlightening chapter to me. In this chapter, we are presented with examples of God withholding mercy (primarily against nations who opposed the Israelites) and God granting mercy. One of the discussion questions dealt with the phrasing of God hardening a particular leader's heart and what we think it means. It is definitely a troubling phrase, but I have recently come to see it as human authors trying to explain a Divine Being, which is like trying to gather the ocean into a thimble. God is not responsible for making these leaders have hardened hearts. Instead, it is the leaders willfully rejecting God on their own and to their own demise.
Like the many Bible Studies from Our Sunday Visitor that Fr. Mitch Pacwa has penned before, he has once again delivered a solid Bible Study for the reader to use individually or in a small group setting. By working us through a historical view of mercy, he leads us to the importance of us extending God's mercy to everyone around us. I recommend picking up a copy and studying it either before or during The Year of Mercy!
1. Human Mercy
2. Withholding and Granting Mercy
3. An Overview of God's Mercy
4. Mercy and Covenant Love
5. Lord, Have Mercy
6. Mercy as a Saving Act
The book's focus is on Israel's experience of mercy and closes with Jesus and His sacrifice as the ultimate example of mercy. Each chapter is full of Scripture to read, sections to make notes on specific Scripture verses, discussion questions, and practical ways to apply what you learned in the chapter. "Withholding and Granting Mercy" was the most interesting and enlightening chapter to me. In this chapter, we are presented with examples of God withholding mercy (primarily against nations who opposed the Israelites) and God granting mercy. One of the discussion questions dealt with the phrasing of God hardening a particular leader's heart and what we think it means. It is definitely a troubling phrase, but I have recently come to see it as human authors trying to explain a Divine Being, which is like trying to gather the ocean into a thimble. God is not responsible for making these leaders have hardened hearts. Instead, it is the leaders willfully rejecting God on their own and to their own demise.
Like the many Bible Studies from Our Sunday Visitor that Fr. Mitch Pacwa has penned before, he has once again delivered a solid Bible Study for the reader to use individually or in a small group setting. By working us through a historical view of mercy, he leads us to the importance of us extending God's mercy to everyone around us. I recommend picking up a copy and studying it either before or during The Year of Mercy!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews