By Veronica Mary Lawson. Published by Morning Star Publishing, 2015. Reviewed by Kathleen Rushton. 

I once read that “mercy” is a one-word summary for God. After reading Veronica Lawson’s book, The Blessing of Mercy, I am even more convinced this is so. Australian Sister of Mercy and biblical scholar, Veronica Lawson, takes her readers into the rich, multi-faceted seams of mercy in the Scriptures. Her insights have been distilled from over 50 years of receiving and living the blessing of mercy in her life and ministry and deepened by her enthusiasm and 40 years of biblical scholarship.

Veronica’s timely book connects with two of Pope Francis’s recent initiatives — Misericordiae Vultus (MV), the proclamation of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, December 2015 to November 2016, and his encyclical Laudato Si’. She assists readers to “gaze even more attentively on mercy” in response to the Year of Mercy. And she raises ecological perspectives on mercy in the biblical texts. Both help readers to hear the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor.

While Veronica makes clear that the notions of “mercy” in the Bible go beyond the vocabulary or language of mercy, she begins by surveying the use of the word “mercy”. The first chapter explores the five main word groups used to express “mercy” in the Hebrew Scriptures. Special attention is given to mercy as “steadfast love” or “loving kindness” and as “womb-compassion”.

Chapters two and three show how the language of mercy in the Hebrew Scriptures informs the mercy word-groups in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke and in Acts.

This small book provides an accessible resource for individuals and for prayer and study groups in parishes, schools and dioceses. It is a particularly appropriate book for reading during the Year of Mercy. It’s the kind of book you can dip into repeatedly for ongoing reflection and prayer. It could be an aid to hearing the cry of Earth and the cry of the poor.

The book is also a resource for the future for, as Pope Francis says in the 

“many uncertain and painful situations there are in the world today” readers will rediscover that “from the depths of the mystery of God, the great river of mercy wells up and overflows unceasingly” (MV par 15, 25).