Good Thief : A Mystery Of Mercy

In The Good Thief Fr. Andre persuasively shows that the gospel is the Good News of God’s mercy for the poor and for sinners-for all people who know they have nothing by which to earn or deserve mercy. Jesus is the Savior of sinners. As He did when He reached out to Zaccheus and the woman caught in adultery, Jesus reaches out to sinners with mercy. It is a quality of mercy that finds its most eloquent expression in Jesus’ promise of salvation to the penitent thief on the cross at Calvary. In his dying moment Jesus justifies the Penitent Thief on the run. The story of the Penitent Thief stands as an example for all people who find themselves excluded, injured, abandoned, and rejected in life. In the Penitent Thief ‘s encounter with Jesus, we see the holy work of grace in which Jesus Christ takes the initiative. Among some of the most excluded people today are the prisoners of the world. Among them and us, the Penitent Thief serves as a compelling example. He leads us to welcome, in our poverty and unworthiness, the unlimited mercy of Jesus the Savior. This book is a meditation on the story of the Penitent Thief, who accepted the love and salvation of Jesus and who is an example for all people who stand before God as thieves and sinners.