Mercy

St. Augustine (De Civ. Dei, ix) says:“Mercy is heartfelt sympathy for another’s distress,impelling us to help him if we can.” Hence, the distress of another, that is, the evil suffered by another, is the motive of mercy.

Pity is a kind of sorrow for some defect. We feel pity for others in so far as we look upon their defect or deficiency as though it were our own. And pity stirs us to deeds of mercy. The terms mercy and pity are frequently used interchangeably.

Mercy is a name sometimes applied to a feeling or sentiment; so also is pity. But when mercy or pity is more than a sentiment; when it is the habitual and regulated movement of the soul, acting in the light of reason, it is a virtue.

Indeed, mercy is in itself the greatest of virtues, and it is said of God that “his mercies are above all his works.” But among creatures mercy is not so great a virtue as charity, and, without charity, would be wholly ineffective. However, mercy ranks next to charity itself, and, ofthe purely social virtues, mercy is the greatest.