Fr. Hampsch, a popular conference speaker, retreat leader, and spiritual director, sets out in this work to demonstrate the quality and quantity of God's mercy. He writes, "The prolixity of the scripture on the topic of God's mercy is amazing; it would be difficult to find any other topic treated so extensively in God's Word." We see the steadfast love of the Lord and mercies that never end in Lamentations; Surely goodness and mercy shall follow you in Psalm 23; and "I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more" in Hebrews.
Hampsch points out that God's "divine forgetting" is mentioned eight times in the bible. "God simply refuses to harbor thoughts of our past failings." He reports that God's offer of mercy in response to our repentance is mentioned directly more than four hundred times in Scripture. To illustrate, he compares sincere repentance to the "delete button on the keyboard of the soul" and a windshield wiper that cleanses repeatedly. His message that God wants everyone to be saved is reinforced with stories, reflections, and quotations from a variety of sources ranging from St. Augustine to Oprah Winfrey.
Hampsch's emphasis on God's infinite mercy and the meaning of sincere repentance offer hope and guidance to all.