Mercy and the Father

Obsecro, inquit, vos per misericordiam Dei. Rogat Paulus, immo per Paulum rogat Deus, quia plus amari vult quam timeri. Rogat Deus quia non tam Dominus esse vult quam pater. Rogat Deus per misericordia, ne vindicet per rigorem. Audi rogantem Dominum: Tota die, inquit, expandi manus meas. Nonne qui expandit manus ipso habitu rogat? Expandi manus meas. Ad quem? ad populum. Et ad quem populum? Non tantum non credentem, sed contradicentem. Expandi manus meas. Distendit membra, dilatat viscera, pectus porrigit, offert sinum, gremium pandit, ut patrem se tantae obsecrationis demonstrat affectu. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CVIII

'I beg you through the mercy of God.' 1 So Paul asks, or rather God asks through Paul, because He wishes to be loved more than feared. God asks because He wishes not so much to be Lord than Father. God asks through mercy, lest He punish through severity. Hear the Lord asking: 'All day I have spread forth my hands.' 2 To whom? To the people. And to which people? Not only to an unfaithful people, but to a contradicting one. 'I have spread forth my hands.' He opens His arms, He enlarges His heart, He gives His breast, He offers His bosom, He opens His lap, that He show Himself a father by such affectionate entreaty. Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 108 1 Rom 12.1 2 Is 65