Brandie Matteo

A merciful person is forgiving.

A merciful person would do good deeds out of the kindness of their hearts, without expecting anything back.

They would set good examples, inspiring others to be merciful.

They would not outcast people who were different.

Forgive all who sin against you.

Help someone out with something they are having difficulty with, without expecting something from them in return.

When in front of those who look up to you, try to act mercifully.

Don’t be mean to someone because of their race or beliefs, or their appearance.

St. Philaret the Merciful

St. Philaret the merciful lived during the eighth century in the small village of Amneia, which is located in the province of Paphlagonia, in Asia Minor. He was a very wealthy man, with a wife and four children. This however didn’t please him. He was always bothered with the fact that he had all these riches, and there were poor people in the world. He was renowned for his love of the poor.

He always gave to the poor. There was even a time when the Arabs swept over the province of Paphlagonia where he and his family resided. They took everything from him, leaving him with just some beehives, some livestock, and a house. In such a hard time, he shared what he had. When his family ridiculed him for his merciful actions, he merely replied, “I have in caches unknown to you such wealth and such treasures, which will suffice you, even if you should live a hundred years without laboring or worrying about anything.”

Philaret is a good role model for this certain beatitude because he expressed all of the four statements above in his daily life. He never outcasted anyone for being different (the poor), he did good things for people without expecting anything back (again, the poor), and he was forgiving to others (his family and friends when they ridiculed him).