James Conley, Mercy and Conscience

There is an excellent article at First Things by Bishop James Conley.  He opens by citing a portion of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.

After quoting from Portia's monologue on Mercy he says :

Shakespeare’s Portia says that mercy can never be forced; instead, it drops freely, as a gentle rain from heaven. Mercy blesses both the giver and the receiver, and makes the merciful like God himself.

He refers to and quotes from St Anselm and John Milton, and discusses a couple of false ideas concerning Conscience.  He writes:

The first false idea is that conscience is an absolute source of moral truth. This idea suggests that if we want to act rightly, we only need to “listen to our conscience.” But our conscience is only effective when it is formed correctly, when it strengthens us and guides us to live according to reality and moral truth. The conscience offers no escape from natural law, or from God’s revelation.

 It is an excellent article and you should read it in its' entirety.