ALLELUIA, Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, the Octave Day of Easter! So why do some make it so hard to accept His Mercy? Isn’t it something greater than when we cry out against heinous bombings and senseless shootings? Isn’t it more than having to beg God to stop senseless destructions like the burning down of Notre Dame Cathedral? Do we really need to plead to God to find food for the hungry and abuse to be thwarted? Mercy...what is it and why do we struggle so much with realizing it?
In the year 2000 Saint John Paul II designated the second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday. He did this at the canonization of Sister Faustina Kowalska, a polish visionary whose mission it was to proclaim God’s mercy toward every human being. St. John Paul II said: “How much the world is in need of the mercy of God today!” He and St. Faustina help remind us that “Mercy is present in our many brothers and sisters who today endure sufferings like His own… Jesus is in each of them, and, with marred features and broken voice, He asks to be looked in the eye, to be acknowledged, to be loved.” Jesus is the very incarnation of God’s Mercy. In Jesus, God embodied Mercy as he went about forgiving sins, healing the sick, siding with the outcast. By these very actions, Jesus affirmed that God’s Mercy is present and alive NOW in the world, even and most especially in those places where God’s mercy seems lacking.
Even if you aren’t aware of this devotion, most of us have seen a tender image of Jesus associated with The Divine Mercy devotion. It is a reminder of how His “Sacred Heart” has given us everything: redemption, salvation, sanctification. Saint Faustina Kowalska saw coming from His Heart two rays of light which illuminates the world. The two rays, [according to what she heard Jesus tell her], denote blood and water (Diary, 299). The blood recalls the sacrifice of Golgotha and the mystery of the Eucharist; the water, according to the rich symbolism of the Evangelist John, makes us think of Baptism and the Gift of the Holy Spirit (See Jn 3:5; 4:14). Through the mystery of His wounded and Sacred Heart, the restorative tide of God’s merciful love continues to spread over the men and women of our time. Here alone can those who long for true and lasting happiness find any hope. May the words of St. Faustina echo in our hearts during these 50 days of Easter: “Jesus, I trust in You!”
From 2:30-3:30 p.m. on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 28th, why not join the parishioners of Queen of Heaven for a holy hour at Nativity of the Lord Jesus to come and be wrapped in the merciful love of Jesus! Also, this Tuesday, pray for our eighth graders and adults who will be sealed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit as they receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. May they continue to be a witness of Jesus’ Resurrection during these Great 50 Days of Easter!
ALLELUIA, Jesus Christ is truly Risen! Fr. Bline
