Eight days ago Christians around the world gazed with awe as they celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ. On that first Easter, Jesus had appeared to the disciples who were cloistered in the upper room. Knowing how frightened they were, Jesus greets them, “Peace be with you.” Shalom! He then said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
This was the license to celebrate reconciliation, which ever since has brought strayed sheep back into the Good Shepherd’s merciful care. Nearly 20 centuries later Pope John Paul II designated the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday in honor of God’s divine mercy. In doing so, he was fulfilling a request that our Lord had made to a Polish nun, St. Faustina Kowalska in the 1930’s.
The thought of Christ’s mercy ought to fill us with hope but it should also fill us with humility. If Christ is so eager to spread the news of his boundless mercy, its because we need that mercy. We need his mercy because sin is a reality in our lives and sin causes real damage that only Christ can mend.
When Jesus spoke to Sr. Faustina he never shied away from this uncomfortable topic, which many of us tend to avoid. He lamented that souls perished in hell despite his bitter passion because they dismissed his great mercy. Mercy is what Jesus offers us in the sacrament of reconciliation, a sacrament that many Catholics have chosen to ignore.
Simply put, sin separates us from God, who is the source of all life. The most disturbing thing about sin is that, unless a sinner seeks God’s forgiveness, which is always available and unconditional, it can lead us to hell. Certainly mortal sin, our rejection of God’s friendship, will do that. An eternal destination none of us want.
Sr. Faustina was given a vision of hell in which she saw the tortuous sufferings of the condemned. God gave her this vision she said, “So that no soul may find an excuse by saying there is no hell, or that nobody has ever been there, and so no one can say what it is like.”
Christ’s mercy is a big deal because our sins are a big deal to him but fortunately for us, his mercy is the bigger deal. Jesus wants to incinerate our sins and selfish tendencies with his love, but first we have to allow him to do so. In this world filled with many distractions, seeking his forgiveness is something not high for many of us on our list of priorities.
None of us want to spend eternity in hell; we come to Mass to insure that won’t happen, but coming to Mass is not enough. We need to ask God for mercy and the best way to do that is through the sacrament of confession. Here is what Jesus told Sr. Faustina about this sacrament: “When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I myself act in your soul.”
Just as the Father is merciful to him, Jesus is merciful to us, and he wants us to be merciful to others. We are expected to be merciful. Jesus told Sr. Faustina, “You are to show deeds of mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere.” This means doing good things for others not because they deserve it but because the Lord wants us to follow his example and demonstrate our love for him and others.
That can be challenging at times but when we completely trust in Jesus, we can find the strength to do so. If we let him, Jesus will give us the grace we need, just as he did to the apostles on that first Easter to be ambassadors of mercy. At times that may be a daunting task, but then all we need do is say the prayer Jesus gave to Sr. Faustina: “Jesus, I trust in you.”
Hanging in place of the crucifix this morning is a replica of the painting that Jesus asked Sr. Faustina to have done. The painting shows Jesus dressed in a white alb with his right hand raised in blessing and his left hand opening his heart. Out of the heart comes two beams of light; one blue, the other red. The two rays denote water and blood. The pale blue rays stand for water, namely baptism, which makes souls righteous. The pale red rays stand for blood, namely the Eucharist, which gives life to our souls.
Jesus is using this feast on the octave of Easter to remind us of the power and abundance of his mercy. This good news of his mercy should fill us with joy and confidence.
But what about our brothers and sisters who no longer practice the faith they once did? Or what about our friends, neighbors, colleagues who have never experienced Christ’s mercy or never heard about it? Jesus died for them too and he is sending us to be messengers of his mercy to them.
By our kind, truthful words, avoiding all gossip and useless criticism, we shine forth as the light of Christ’s mercy by our selfless acts of service to others, doing something as simple as bringing a donation to our 3 P’s bins, seeking no reward except the joy of following Christ. We become extentions of the red rays of Christ’s life, given up for us on the cross.
So often doubting Thomas gets our attention on this day but let us not doubt that Christ will give us the grace we need to be living images of his mercy in this world so badly wounded by sin nor doubt the beauty of this sacrament he offers us.