"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful"
Mercy is the image of God and the man who is merciful is, in truth, a God dwelling on earth. Just as God is merciful to all, without distinction of persons, so the man who is merciful pours out his deeds of generosity equally upon all.
My son, be merciful and extend generosity to all so as to be raised to the level of divinity… Take care not to let yourself be led astray by this thought, which you may find attractive: “It would be better for me to be merciful to the one who is a believer than to one who is outside us.” That is not the perfect mercy in imitation of God, who pours out his deeds of generosity upon all, without jealousy, “for he makes his sun rise and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike” (Mt 5,45)…
“God is love” (1Jn 4,8); his being is love, and love is his being itself. It was through his love that our Creator was compelled to bring about our creation. The man who possesses charity is God indeed amongst men.
St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori