Easter, Second Sunday, Divine Mercy Sunday, April 23, 2017

Jesus gives his disciples another beatitude in today’s Gospel: Blessed are those who have not seen and believed.  Who here is blessed? You are all blessed for believing in the Risen Lord. Today we conclude the Octave of Easter with Divine Mercy Sunday. Last week on Easter Sunday, we heard about the empty tomb. Today Jesus appears to the disciples after his resurrection.

In Jesus’ first encounter with the disciples they were together on Sunday locked away in hiding.  They just experienced the death of Jesus and were in fear for their own lives.  Suddenly Jesus appears to them ere. Now try to imagine you are at your home with family and friends after a loved one died, it’s late at night, the doors are locked, and a loved one appears out of no where to greet you.  Wouldn’t you be frightened? When they saw him alive they probably feared he was mad at them as they had all abandoned him.  What does Jesus do?  He greets them with, “Peace be with you”. Probably not what they expected, but what they really needed to hear. Jesus shows his wounds on his hands and feet so they believe it’s really him.

Jesus then does something amazing: He breathes on them saying: “Who sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained”.  He sends his disciples to do His work of extending His mercy through forgiveness of sins.   Where else do we hear about God breathing?  In the second creation story in Genesis where God breathes life into the man formed out of clay. Here we see Jesus giving the power to his disciples to restore life to those who are deadened by sin through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  

The disciple Thomas wasn’t at the first appearance of Jesus and refused to believe

unless he could touch Jesus’ wounds himself.   Thomas is very much like people in our own culture today who must experience something themselves before they believe. When Jesus appears again he offers Thomas to see and touch his wounds. We don’t know if he did, but Thomas proclaims his belief: “My Lord and My God”.  Jesus came to Thomas to experience his presence to help him believe.

The Church helps us to believe by using all our senses through the healing power of the Sacraments.  We hear about Jesus through his Word in Scripture at Mass and the homilies help to put it in context of our daily lives.  But many of us like Thomas need more to affirm our belief. We can see Jesus when the priest elevates the host where we can say silently proclaim: My Lord and my God. We get to touch Jesus when we receive him in the Eucharist. We can feel Jesus comfort in receiving oil on our hands and forehead in the anointing the sick.  We can feel Jesus’ presence, by spending time in the chapel being close to Jesus in the tabernacle.

One of the most healing ways we encounter Jesus is through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  The priest in the person of Christ extends His Mercy by saying, “I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Whenever I hear these words of the priest I feel totally renewed.  My relationship with God has been restored to the original state after Baptism as a new creation in Christ. It’s very healing.  It’s good to know that I can receive it again because I’m a sinner.  I do my best to keep from sinning, but being a fallen human being I’m going to sin again.   By admitting my faults to the priest, expressing sorrow, and being forgiven I’m remaining in a good relationship with God.  

It’s fitting today that we hear about the Lord sending the Apostle to extend his mercy through the forgiveness of sins.   Saint John Paul II decreed in May of 2000 that the Second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.  Saint John Paul II was very familiar with the message of Divine Mercy from St. Faustina, a native of his homeland of Poland.  I’d like to share some background on where this came from.

During the early part of the 20^th century there were many evils going on through expansion of Nazism and communism and a deep disrespect for the dignity of life. In the 1930s, Jesus chose a humble Polish nun, St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, to receive private revelations about Divine Mercy.

In these private revelations there were 14 time when Jesus requested that Divine Mercy Sunday be observed.  I’d like to share one of those revelations from Jesus with you:

My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the Fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. … Let no soul fear to draw near to Me. … It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. (Diary, no. 699)

Jesus also appeared to St. Faustina in a vision with his right hand raised in a blessing and his left touching his garment above his heart. Red and white rays emanate from his heart, symbolizing the blood and water that was poured out for our salvation and our sanctification.  The Lord requested this image to be painted with the words, “Jesus, I trust in You”, inscribed under his image, and that it be venerated around the world. Jesus said about this image that: “I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish” (Diary, no. 48) and “By means of this image I will grant many graces to souls” (Diary, no. 742). The image of Divine Mercy is located in front of the altar is usually located in the confessional.
         Our Lord also gave a devotional prayer to St. Faustina with this promise: “Encourage souls to say the chaplet which I have given you” (Diary, no. 1541). “Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. … Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy. I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy” (Diary, no. 687).

On Sunday at 10 am we will pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy in the Church.  Your invited to join, but if you’re not able please pick up a Divine Mercy Prayer card after Mass.  It’s easy prayer to pray and you can use your rosary to help.  The traditional time to pray the chaplet is 3 pm if possible, but you can pray it any time. Please pray this often and share with others the Good News of our Lord Resurrection and his desire to extend his Divine Mercy to anyone who comes to ask for it.

If you would like to explore more about Divine Mercy I’d recommend to look into the Marians of the Immaculate Conception Divine Mercy web site, http://thedivinemercy.org/.  If you want to pray the Divine Mercy devotion take it with you on the go and download an app to you Smartphone. http://thedivinemercy.org/apps/

           

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