According to St. Thomas Aquinas, God’s justice is never without His mercy and His mercy is never without His justice (see Article 4 of Question 21 in his Summa Theologica).
This should be both a bit jarring and comforting to us. It means that even when it seems God is at His angriest with us…His mercy is not too far away. But it also means that His mercy doesn’t occur without also making things right. Put another way: there is no mercy without repentance and renouncing of sin and self.
Stephen Beale
Catholic Exchange
July 10, 2017
