DIVINE MERCY: GOD’S EASTER GIFT
Aside from the fact that it is the Second Sunday of Easter, we are also celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday. The Scripture readings that we have this Sunday put into the right context those celebrations that I’ve just mentioned. "Peace be with you" - these are the very first words that Jesus spoke when he first appeared to his disciples after the Resurrection in the Gospel for this Sunday.  We hear these words at every Mass, and because we hear it so
regularly, its significance and power are sometimes lost. These words of Jesus shook the apostles - it changed their atmosphere of fear, loss and despair into an occasion of joy and hope. It’s not a mere co-incidence that Divine Mercy Sunday falls on the Second Sunday of Easter since the joy of the resurrection is actually the triumph of the redeeming mercy of God. What we celebrate today is not a separate reality from the Resurrection of Christ – as if the Feast of the Divine Mercy is only inserted during the Easter season — but rather, this feast springs forth from the fact that because Christ has triumphed over death and sin that we have a greater reason to trust in the mercy of God.  The death and resurrection of Jesus happened primarily because our God is a merciful God who really wants us back to the embrace of the Father.  Jesus said to Sr. Faustina one day: "Humankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy" (Diary, 300). Divine Mercy! And, this message was emphasized again by St. John Paul II, who was beatified and canonized during Divine Mercy Sunday: “There is nothing that man needs more than Divine Mercy -- that love which is benevolent, which is compassionate, which raises man above his weakness to the infinite heights of the holiness of God.” And how can we avail of that mercy that humankind so badly needs?  First is to approach the sacrament of reconciliation.  When was the last time we celebrated and availed the love, forgiveness and mercy of God through the sacrament of confession? To live in sin is bad, but not to trust in God’s mercy is even worst. Before we even come to confession, God already knows what’s in our hearts; in fact, he knows better than ourselves of all the things that we have done.  We have probably forgotten those sins that we have done several years ago, but that isn’t really the whole point of confession. To avail the liberating mercy of God in the sacrament of confession is not to look at it as if we are in a courtroom defending ourselves before a judge or jury in order to change the mind of God about us, but rather the sacrament of confession is God’s initiative for us to be convinced to change our minds about him so that when we see him as a loving and merciful God, then we also become inspired to change our lives for the better. As Jesus presents himself to us as the Divine Mercy, he is equally asking us to model or pattern our lives on Him; therefore, he is asking us to be agents and instruments of his mercy as well. Who are those people in my life right now that I need to extend mercy and forgiveness? Who are those people in my life right now that I have to show the loving mercy of this Jesus that I honor today as the Divine Mercy? What we celebrate today is not just a religious ritual, it is not just an idea or a lofty theological concept, but is really something that is deeply connected to who we are— because, if we truly
believe that we share in the image and likeness of God, who is Most Merciful, then mercy is something that is also innate in us.  It’s not something that we add to ourselves, but rather something that deeply defines who we are as persons created in God’s image and likeness, who is Mercy Incarnate.  That is why it makes great sense that in the Mass for today, the Gospel talks about the peace that Christ brings. The first greeting that Christ utters right after his resurrection, in his appearance to his disciples, is this:  “Peace be with you.”  Peace is impossible without mercy. The peace in our hearts is impossible to attain if we are still carrying lots of baggage – things that weigh us down, things that bother us in our sleep, things that separate us from other people.  The solution to this is to be convinced of God’s mercy and to allow the mercy of God to heal those relationships that keep us from experiencing the
liberating peace of Christ. Let this powerful Easter greeting of the Resurrected Jesus move us —“Peace be with you” — he really wants us to experience that authentic peace that we are longing for by casting away all our doubts about him just like Thomas did. There is some kind of Thomas in each and every one of us. There is that tendency to demand proof of God’s presence and his love when things get dark and difficult for us, like in the face of natural disasters or family tragedy.  But, in the end, no amount of external proof will really convince us who Jesus is unless we have that personal encounter with him. Faith is not necessarily born by seeing Jesus physically, like Thomas experienced, but by personally experiencing God’s love and presence in our own lives. Often times there are no proofs given other than the invitation for a leap of faith to embrace God in the realm of the unknown. The response of Thomas after personally encountering the Risen Lord is quite powerful: “My Lord, and my God”, a great summary of who Jesus truly is, capturing his humanity and divinity.  The title “Lord” expresses Jesus’ humanity, and the title “God” expresses his full divinity.  How convinced are you of God’s loving mercy? – Fr. Cary