Today we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. If you have listened carefully to the readings, you will realize why the Second Sunday of Easter has that title. The opening prayer addresses the Father as “God of Mercy.” Besides mentioning the word, our readings illustrate mercy in action. We do need to ask a couple of questions. The first is: What does “mercy” mean?

To understand the meaning of mercy, it will help if we examine its origin. Our English word, mercy, goes back to the Latin: Misericordia, which is composed of two words. “Cordia” is familiar to us from such words as “cardiologist” and “cardiac.” It means heart. The first part, “miseri” refers to suffering. Mercy, then, means to have a heart for those who suffer or, more precisely, to have a heart willing to suffer for others.

The next couple are: What is Divine Mercy and Why today?

We find these answers in the words Jesus spoke to Saint Faustina.

“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. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. 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.” (Excerpted from Diary of Sr. M. Faustina Kowalska)
Today’s readings reveal that kind of heart in Christ and his followers. When Jesus appeared to his disciples that first Easter, he said, “Peace be with you.” As you can imagine, that greeting meant more than “hello” or “good morning.” Jesus, in fact, desired to communicate to them something of enormous value. The peace which Jesus won for us had cost him his blood, his very life. What that peace involved, Jesus tells us plainly: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them…” To his apostles, Jesus communicates the Holy Spirit with the power to free men from their sins. That freedom or absolution comes through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We then gain the Peace of Christ knowing has forgiven our transgressions.

Through that sacrament, we are forgiven our sins, but an additional action that would be good to carry out would be to also forgive others for their sins against us. This will not only help the healing process begin between people and nations but may also allow for a more compelling aspect for us to feel better as well. When we carry around past hurts we have incurred from others it makes it harder to heal from them. We see this where families cannot talk with each other because of some slight that happened that has placed a wedge between family members.

From the Acts of the Apostles, we glimpse mercy in action. The early Christians were so filled with the Holy Spirit that “All who believed were together and had all things in common.” they “distributed to each according to his need.” It was not Karl Marx who invented the principle: “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” Marx lifted it from the New Testament but made the mistake of thinking that it could happen by political coercion. His followers created a human inferno, but their failure should not cause us to reject the ideal. Part of mercy involves the effort to provide every human being with access to this world’s blessings.

The reading from Acts, then, calls our attention to the corporal works of mercy: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, give water to the thirsty, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead. We are all called to participate in these corporal works of mercy. While we may not be able to do all these, we should at least consider how we can contribute to these works.

St. Peter’s letter, on the other hand, reminds us that we are not immune from suffering. He then focuses on what are called the spiritual works of mercy such as: convert the sinner, counsel the doubtful and bear wrongs patiently, forgive offenses, console the afflicted, pray for the living and the dead and instruct those who do not know Jesus. By doing those things we fulfill Christ’s commandments and help to extend his victory. “Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

Even though this did not work as a political system, when we do this voluntarily we learn as much or more from those around us. I recently ran into a gentleman who is the committee chair of a parish cemetery here in Virginia. He took me over and showed me his daughters grave. She lived to be 26 years old, but never once rolled over, said a word or weighed more than 25 pounds. She showed his entire family what it was like to express Love without expecting anything in return. He shared with me that even beyond his family this response was universal to all who were introduced to her.
When we give our love to others with no expectation of return, we will all be showing Christ’s Love to others. This mercy and love will go a long way to working through problems and make it easier for us to discuss differences. We can begin to work so that all people have what they need voluntarily. We are starting to work toward the ideal. Each step, each work of mercy we do helps society move closer to Christ. It is why we as Christians should radiate Joy in all situations even in suffering. Showing joy in our suffering unites us to Christ’s suffering as well as others. This helps us to see the Divine Mercy which Christ wants to share with each one of us.

Homily for Palm Sunday Year A Readings; MT 21:1-11, IS 50:4-7, PHIL 2:6-11, MT 26:14—27:66

We see today in the Passion of Christ the humility of God. The scenario unfolds where an all powerful God would have been able to stop whatever happened to Christ that we will hear not only today but at the services of Holy Week.

 

Jesus humbly submits himself to the secular authority that was in Jerusalem in order for us to be forgiven our sins. These included Caiaphas, Pilate and all of those present who called for him to be crucified. The humility was in sharp contrast to the pride which was shown by the authorities. This ultimate humility also shows a difference between how humans act in comparison to God.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI once said: “A key point in which God and man differ is pride: in God, there is no pride, for he is wholly fullness and is wholly oriented to loving and giving life instead in we human beings pride is deeply rooted and requires constant vigilance and purification. We, who are small, aspire to appear great, to be among the first, whereas God who is truly great is not afraid of humbling himself and putting himself last” (Angelus, September 23, 2012)

This pride shows up in the divisions that we see in society today. The thought from one side is they are right, and no one on the opposite side can convince them otherwise. Logic and facts have no bearing on the conversations. There is also no difference based on which side of the conversation we discuss. This requires us to rekindle our faith in Christ.

Saint Pope John Paul II once wrote: “It is urgent to rediscover and to set forth once more the authentic reality of the Christian faith, which is not simply a set of propositions to be accepted with intellectual assent.  Rather, faith is a lived knowledge of Christ, a living remembrance of his commandments and a truth to be lived out.  A word, in any event, is not truly received until it is put into practice.  Faith is a decision involving one’s whole existence.  It is an encounter, a dialogue, a communion of love and of life between the believer and Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life.  It entails an act of trusting abandonment to Christ, which enables us to live as he lived, in profound love of God and of our brothers and sisters” (Veritatis Splendor, 88).

If we live in this way, we can show the humility of Christ and show our love for one another and be able to listen to those of opposing views and find out the basis of their beliefs. When we do this, we may find that their actual needs and wants are little different than our own. There is simply a difference in how we would like to obtain the desired outcome.

When we listen with an open heart and open mind, we get to listen with the humility that is required for us to believe in one another as Christ believes in each of us. We need to be vigilant in our faith so as not to shut out those who may be trying to tell us we are wrong. To be vigilant we need strength and that strength can be found in the Eucharist we will soon consume.

When we use this power to show the humility which Christ shows is to allow others to see what the world would be like if we all spoke freely, openly and honestly about our differences. This could lead to an entirely new conversation that may lead to a more warm and welcoming society.

We have seen the Pharisees were not willing to engage in this type of conversation. Christ and his teachings did not fit their narrative so it was wrong and they would justify their view using any argument they could come up with to fit their narrative. We can all fall into that trap at one time or another. Christ’s humility shows us the way in which we can avoid that trap.

With this strength and knowledge let us go forth showing the Christian way of life and what it truly means. Let it help us to overcome our pride and accept our current circumstances, whether they be good or bad, with humility and grace.