Today's Entrance Antiphon uses the words of Psalm 25 to remind us that, besides the grace of repentance, there is another important grace to pray for during Lent, namely the mercy of God. Some translations may speak of God's kindness rather than mercy but that is more a question of terminology rather than doctrine, for God's love is infinite and so from a human point of view it has many different aspects or manifestations.

Mercy is God's love going beyond the demands of justice to accept us who are sinners without condoning or trivializing our sinfulness. The story of Jonah, the reluctant prophet, illustrates another aspect of God's love and mercy, namely its gratuity. Jonah's attitudes suggest that he wanted to control God's mercy.

Perhaps Jonah only wanted to hold God to his word, but Scripture reveals what may seem to be a paradox: though God is eternally faithful to his word, he is not bound by it in any way which would limit either his freedom or his generosity. God demanded that Jonah warn the Ninevites of punishment if they did not repent. But God did not say he would be ungenerous with his mercy if the Ninevites did in fact repent.