Introduction: The readings for this Sunday show us our need for God’s Divine Mercy, which is offered to us through the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the forgiveness of our sins, and through each celebration of the Sacraments (all instituted to sanctify us), when we receive them in trusting Faith.
The opening prayer addresses the Father as “God of everlasting Mercy.” In first section of the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 118), we repeat three times, “His mercy endures forever!” God revealed His mercy, first and foremost, by sending His only begotten Son to become our Savior and Lord by His suffering, death, and Resurrection.
Scripture lessons: The first reading (Acts 2:42-47) tells us how the early Church grew every day because of the acts of mercy — sharing, sacrificial agápe love — practiced by the early Christians. In the second reading (1 Pt 1:3-9), St. Peter glorifies God, the Father of Jesus Christ, for showing us His mercy by granting His Son Jesus Resurrection from the dead and a glorious Ascension into Heaven, thus giving us the assurance of our own resurrection.Today’s Gospel vividly reminds us of how Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a sacrament of Divine Mercy. The risen Lord gave his Apostles the power to forgive sins with the words, “Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain, they are retained” (Jn 20:19-23). Presenting the doubting Thomas’ famous profession of Faith, “My Lord and my God,” the Gospel illustrates how Jesus showed his mercy to the doubting apostle and emphasizes the importance of Faith for everyone.
Life messages: 1) We need to accept God’s invitation to celebrate and practice mercy in our Christian lives: One way the Church celebrates God’s mercy throughout the year is through the Holy Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Finding time for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is another good way to receive and give thanks for Divine Mercy. But it is mainly through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy that we practice in our daily lives the Mercy we have already received and become eligible for God’s merciful judgment.
2) Let us ask God for the Faith that culminates in self-surrender to God and leads us to serve those we encounter with agape love. Living Faith enables us to see the risen Lord in everyone and gives us the willingness to render to each other our loving service. The Spiritual Fathers prescribe the following traditional means to grow in the living, dynamic Faith of St. Thomas the Apostle: a) First, we must come to know Jesus personally and intimately by our daily and meditative reading of the Bible. b) Next, we must strengthen our Faith through our personal and communal prayer. c) Third, we must share in the Divine Life of Jesus by frequenting the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist. St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) presents it this way: “If we pray, we will believe; if we believe, we will love; if we love, we will serve. Only then we put our love of God into action.”
Homily starter anecdote #1: # 1: St. Faustina Kowalska and the Image of Divine Mercy: St. Faustina of Poland is the well-known apostle of Divine Mercy. On the 30th of April, 2000, at 10:00 AM on the Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday, the Feast requested by Jesus of St. Faustina), His Holiness Pope St. John Paul II celebrated the Eucharist in Saint Peter’s Square and proceeded to the canonization of Blessed Sister Faustina Kowalska. [John Paul himself would be canonized on this same Feast Day – April 27 in 2014 – by Pope Francis.] Saint Faustina invites us by the witness of her life to keep our Faith and Hope fixed on God the Father, rich in mercy, Who saved us by the precious Blood of His Son. During her short life, the Lord Jesus assigned to St. Faustina three basic tasks: 1. to pray for souls, entrusting them to God’s incomprehensible Mercy; 2. to tell the world about God’s generous Mercy; 3. to start a new movement in the Church focusing on God’s Mercy. At the canonization of St. Faustina, Pope St. John Paul II said: “The cross, even after the Resurrection of the Son of God, speaks, and never ceases to speak, of God the Father, Who is absolutely faithful to His eternal love for man. … Believing in this love means believing in mercy.” The Lord of Divine Mercy, a painting of Jesus based on the vision given to St. Faustina Kowalska, shows Jesus raising his right hand in a gesture of blessing, with His left hand on his heart from which gush forth two rays, one red and one white. The picture contains the message, “Jesus, I trust in You!” (Jezu ufam Tobie). The rays streaming out have symbolic meaning: red for the Blood of Jesus, which is the life of souls and white for the water of Baptism which justifies souls. — The whole image is symbolic of the mercy, forgiveness, and love of God. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
# 2: Divine Mercy in action: A TIME magazine issue in 1984 presented a startling cover. It pictured a prison cell where two men sat on metal folding chairs. The young man wore a blue turtleneck sweater, blue jeans and white running shoes. The older man was dressed in a white robe and had a white skullcap on his head. They sat facing one another, up-close and personal. They spoke quietly so as to keep others from hearing the conversation. The young man was Mehmet Ali Agca, the pope’s would-be assassin (he shot and wounded the Pope on May 13, 1981); the other man was Pope St. John Paul II, the intended victim. The Pope held the hand that had held the gun whose bullet tore into the Pope’s body. This was a living icon of mercy. John Paul’s forgiveness was deeply Christian. His deed with Ali Agca spoke a thousand words. He embraced his enemy and pardoned him. At the end of their 20-minute meeting, Ali Agca raised the Pope’s hand to his forehead as a sign of respect. John Paul shook Ali Agca’s hand tenderly. When the Pope left the cell he said, “What we talked about must remain a secret between us. I spoke to him as a brother whom I have pardoned and who has my complete trust.” — This is an example of God’s Divine Mercy, the same Divine Mercy whose message St. Faustina witnessed. (http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0308.asp) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
# 3: Edith Zierer, the Jewish holocaust survivor: “The Pope saved me from death:” Edith Zierer, a Holocaust survivor now living in Israel, recalls how Karol Wojtyla, who later became Pope John Paul II, carried her to safety after she fled a Nazi concentration camp when she was 13 years old. Polish-born Zierer was 13 when she ran away from the Nazi camp at Czestochowa in Poland after the Soviet army liberated it in January 1945, five months before World War II ended in Europe. She was heading towards her hometown in Poland to find her parents, who, she would later learn, had died in the Holocaust. Exhausted, she reached a train station and sat there for two days without food or water while people ignored her. “Suddenly, there he was,” Zierer said, referring to Wojtyla, the seminarian, in his priestly robe. “He brought me some tea and two pieces of bread with cheese and then carried me to a train carriage. He sat with me and put his cloak on me because it was freezing. We came to Krakow and then I ran away because people started to ask why a priest was walking with a Jewish girl.” After spending, a few years in orphanages in Poland and France, Zierer emigrated from Europe to British-mandated Palestine, where she later married and bore a son and daughter in what became Israel. She now has five grandchildren. She wrote to Wojtyla after he became Pope in 1979, saying she was the little girl he had saved at the train station in Poland decades ago. After a correspondence ensued, the Pontiff invited her to the Vatican in 1998. She last met him in 2000, when he visited Israel on a millennium pilgrimage and met several survivors at the Vad Vashem Holocaust Museum. She said she and the Pope kept up their correspondence, writing mostly during Christmas and before birthdays. “I received a letter from him last year and I knew it was the last,” she said. “He included a picture from his private collection and his handwriting was very shaky. I wrote to thank him for the memory that never left.” Edith Zierer, 84, mourned the death of her former savior, and remembered the warm look in the seminarian Karol Wojtyla’s eyes in the railway station years ago and God’s mercy expressed in his actions. “He was a kindred spirit in the greatest sense — a man who could save a girl in such a state, freezing, starving, and full of lice, and carry her to safety,” she told Reuters. “I would not have survived had it not been for him.” (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3067156,00.html). — Pope John Paul made mercy the core of his priesthood. He saw mercy as a light against darkness. And has the world known darker times than when the Nazis and Communists oppressed millions of people? On April 27, 2014, Divine Mercy Sunday, John Paul II and Pope John XXIII, were officially recognized as Saints by Pope Francis. It is no accident that Pope St. John Paul II who was instrumental in spreading the observance of Divine Mercy Sunday was canonized on that Feast.
Introduction: The readings for this Sunday are about God’s Divine Mercy, the necessity for trusting Faith, and our need for God’s forgiveness of sins. The opening prayer addresses the Father as “God of Mercy.” The Response for today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 118), is “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His Love [mercy] is everlasting!” In the first section of that Psalm, we repeat three times, “His mercy endures forever.” God revealed His mercy to the world, first and foremost, by sending His only begotten Son to become our Savior and Lord by His suffering, death, and Resurrection. Divine Mercy is offered to us in the Holy Mass, the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the celebration of each of the Sacraments.
Scripture readings summarized: The first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, stresses the corporal acts of mercy practiced by the early Christian community before the Jews and the Romans started their persecutions. Practicing the sharing love, compassion, and the mercy of God which Jesus taught, this witnessing community derived its strength from community prayer, “the Breaking of the Bread,” and the apostles’ teaching, read at the worship service. The second reading, taken from John’s first Letter, deals with practicing both corporal and spiritual works of mercy by obeying God’s Old Testament Ten Commandments and focusing on Jesus’ commandment of loving others as He loves us with selfless, sacrificial, agape love. Loving others as Jesus loves us also demands that we treat others with God’s mercy and compassion. In today’s Gospel, as we recall Jesus’ appearance to the Apostles on that first Easter evening, we are vividly reminded of the Sacrament of Reconciliation – the power to forgive sins which Our Lord gave to His Apostles — “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (Jn 20:23). [Bishop Robert E. Barron: “Our magnificent Gospel today declares that there is no greater manifestation of the Divine mercy than the forgiveness of sins. The risen Lord appears to his disciples and greet them with “Shalom,” peace. And then the extraordinary commission: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Jesus’ mercy is communicated to his disciples, who in turn are sent to communicate it to the world. This is the foundation for the Sacrament of Penance, which has existed in the Church from that moment to the present day as the privileged vehicle of the Divine mercy.”] Today’s Gospel also emphasizes the importance of Faith in the all-pervading Presence of the Risen Lord of Mercy. To believe without having seen is every later Christian’s experience. We are invited to receive liberation from doubts and hesitation by surrendering our lives to the Risen Lord of Mercy. Let us ask God our Father to open our hearts so that we may receive His Mercy in the form of the Holy Spirit. [The Divine Mercy message is one we can call to mind simply by remembering ABC: A – Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon the whole world. B – Be merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does to us. C – Completely trust in Jesus. God wants us to know that our reception of the graces of His mercy are dependent upon our trust. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will be able to receive. From http://www.thedivinemercy.org/message/]
The first reading: Acts 4:32-35 explained: St. Luke’s Acts of the Apostles gives us a summary of the life of the early Christian community before the Jews and the Romans began their persecutions. We get a glimpse of Divine Mercy in action in today’s selection. The early Christians were so filled with the Holy Spirit that, “no one claimed any of his possessions as his own.” Rather, they “distributed to each according to his need.” This was a community which practiced the sharing love, compassion, and mercy taught by Jesus. It was a witnessing community of “one heart and one mind,” bearing witness to the continued presence of the Risen Lord in their hearts and lives by holding everything in common and distributing to each one according to his or her needs. In a later portion of the Acts, we learn that the early Christian community derived its strength from community prayer, from “the Breaking of the Bread,” and from listening to the teaching of the apostles. Owners of property were few among the early Christians, and the fact that they mixed lovingly at this level with the mass of common folk was astonishing. This passage implies that the Christian community was assuming the nature of a family and beginning to overcome distinctions based on wealth. Also, the authority accorded to the apostles is worthy of note. They were beginning to take on the authority formerly held by Jewish priests.
The second reading (1 John 5:1-6) explained: While the first reading from Acts, calls our attention to the corporal works of mercy, the second reading, taken from St. John’s first letter, focuses on both corporal and spiritual works of mercy. John urges our obedience to the commandments given by God, especially the commandment of love as clarified by Jesus. Loving others as Jesus loves us demands that we treat others with Jesus’ mercy and compassion. John reminds us that everyone who claims to love God, especially one who believes that Jesus is the Christ, has to love all the others whom God has created. We are to conquer the world by putting our Faith in Jesus and in the Sacraments of Baptism the Holy Eucharist, and Reconciliation, the three sacraments of Divine Mercy that Jesus instituted. The “water” in the Painting, and refers to Jesus’ baptism at the beginning of his ministry, and is expressed in our Sacrament of Baptism. The “blood” of the painting refers to Jesus’ bloody death at the end of his ministry and finds expression in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. And it is through Sacramental Confession and Absolution, that Divine Mercy is applied directly to us one at a time.
Gospel exegesis: Today’s Gospel: The first part of today’s Gospel (verses 19-23), describes how Jesus entrusted to the apostles His mission of preaching the “Good News” of God’s love, mercy, forgiveness, and salvation. This portion of the reading teaches us that Jesus uses the Church as the earthly means of continuing His mission. It also teaches us that the Church needs Jesus as its source of power and authority, and that it becomes Christ’s true messenger only when it perfectly loves and obeys Him. The risen Lord gives the apostles the authority to forgive sins in His Name, together with the power of imparting God’s mercy to the sinner, through the gift of forgiving sins from God’s treasury of mercy. In the liturgy, the Church has proclaimed the mercy of God for centuries through the Word of God and the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ. The Gospel text also reminds us that the clearest way of expressing our belief in the presence of the risen Jesus among us is through our own forgiveness of others. We can’t form a lasting Christian community without such forgiveness. Unless we forgive others, our celebration of the Eucharist is just an exercise in liturgical rubrics.
The second part of the Gospel (verses 24-29), presents the fearless apostle St. Thomas, in his uncompromising honesty, demanding a personal vision of, and physical contact with, the risen Jesus as a condition for his belief. Thomas had not been with the Apostles when Jesus first appeared to them. As a result, he refused to believe. This should serve as a warning to us. It is difficult for us to believe when we do not strengthen ourselves with the fellowship of other believers. When the Lord appeared to Thomas a week later, He said: “Blessed are those who have not seen but have believed.” Thomas was able to overcome his doubts by seeing and touching the risen Jesus, just as the rest had done a week earlier. Modern Christians, who are no longer able to “see” Jesus with their eyes, must believe what they hear. That is why Paul reminds us that “Faith comes from hearing” (Rom 10:17).
The unique profession of Faith: Thomas, the “doubting” apostle, makes the great profession of Faith: “My Lord and my God.” Here, the most outrageous doubter of the Resurrection of Jesus utters the greatest confession of belief in the Lord Who rose from the dead. This declaration by the “doubting” Thomas in today’s Gospel is very significant for two reasons. 1) It is the foundation of our Christian Faith which is based on the Divinity of Jesus as demonstrated in His miracles, especially by the supreme miracle of His Resurrection from the dead. Thomas’ profession of Faith is the strongest evidence we have for the Resurrection of Jesus. 2) Thomas’ faith culminated in his self-surrender to Jesus, his heroic missionary expedition to India in A.D. 52, his fearless preaching, and the powerful testimony given by his martyrdom in A.D. 72.
Life messages: 1) We need to accept God’s invitation to celebrate and practice mercy. One way the Church celebrates God’s mercy throughout the year is through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” So, we see that all of us are to be reconcilers and mediators, becoming channels to one another of the Risen Lord’s peace and forgiveness. Finding time for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is another good way to receive Divine Mercy. The Gospel command, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful,” requires that we show mercy to our fellow human beings always and everywhere. We radiate God’s mercy to others by our corporal and spiritual works of mercy, by our kind and supportive words, and by our prayers for all our brothers and sisters.
2) We need to ask God for the Faith that culminates in self-surrender to Him and leads us to serve those we encounter with love. Living Faith enables us to see the risen Lord in everyone and gives us the willingness to render to each one our loving service. It was this Faith in the Lord and obedience to His missionary command that prompted St. Thomas to travel to India to preach the Gospel among the Hindus, to establish seven Christian communities (known later as “St. Thomas Christians”), and eventually to suffer martyrdom. The Fathers of the Church prescribe the following traditional means to grow in the living, dynamic Faith of St. Thomas the Apostle. a) We must come to know Jesus personally and intimately by our daily, meditative reading of the Bible. b) We must strengthen our Faith by the power of the Holy Spirit through our personal and communal prayer. c) We must share in the Divine life of Jesus by frequenting the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist. St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) presents it this way: “If we pray, we will believe; if we believe, we will love; if we love, we will serve. Only then we put our love of God into action.”
3) We need to meet the challenge for a transparent Christian life — “I will not believe unless I see.” This “seeing” is what others demand of us. They ask that we reflect Jesus, the risen Lord in our lives by our selfless love, unconditional forgiveness, and humble service. The integrity of our lives bears a fundamental witness to others who want to see the risen Lord alive and active, working in us. Christ’s mercy shines forth from us whenever we reach out to the poor, the needy and the marginalized, as St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) did. His mercy shines forth when we remain open to those who struggle in Faith, as did the Apostle Thomas in today’s Gospel. We should be able to appreciate the presence of Jesus, crucified and raised, in our own suffering and in the sufferings of our brothers and sisters, thus recognizing those same now-glorified wounds of the risen Lord in the suffering of those around us.
4) Like St. Thomas, let us use our skepticism to help us grow in Faith. It is our genuine doubts about the doctrines of our religion that encourage us to study these doctrines more closely and thus to grow in our Faith. This will naturally lead us to a personal encounter with Jesus through our prayer, study of the Word of God, and frequenting of the Sacraments. However, we must never forget the fact that our Faith is not our own doing but is a gift from God. Hence, we need to augment our Faith every day by prayer so that we may join St. Thomas in his proclamation: “My Lord and my God.”
5) Let us have the courage of our Christian convictions to share our Faith as St. Thomas did, and to recognize the “nail marks.” We are not to keep the gift of Faith locked in our hearts, but to share it with our children, our families and our neighbors, always remembering the words,: “Every believer in this world must become a spark of Christ’s light,” spoken by Pope St. John XXIII. “We all have scars from our own Good Fridays that remain, long after our own experiences of resurrection. Our ‘nail marks’ remind us that all pain and grief, all ridicule and suffering, are transformed into healing and peace in the love of God that we receive from, and extend to. others. The “nail marks” of Jesus are all around us in the lives of those living out their own Calvarys. Jesus calls us to be willing to place ourselves in the pain and struggle of others and bring the joy and peace of Easter into hearts, entombed in winter cold and darkness.” (Connections).
JOKES OF THE WEEK: 1) Traffic cop’s mercy: A priest was forced by a police officer to pull over for speeding. As the officer was about to write the ticket, the priest said to him, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” The police officer handed the priest the ticket, and said, “Go, and sin no more.”
2) Photographer’s mercy: The story is told of a politician who, after receiving the proofs of a picture, was very angry with the photographer. He stormed back to the man’s studio and screamed at him: “This picture does not do me justice!” The photographer replied, “Sir, with a face like yours, what you need is mercy, not justice!”
3) “Law v Mercy” In Reader’s Digest, Jim Williams of Montana, writes: “I was driving too fast late one night when I saw the flashing lights of a police car in my rearview mirror. As I pulled over and rolled down my window of my station wagon, I tried to dream up an excuse for my haste. But when the patrolman reached the car, he said nothing. Instead, he merely shined his flashlight in my face, then on my seven-month-old in his car seat, then on our three other children, who were asleep, and lastly on the two dogs in the very back of the car. Returning the beam of light to my face, he then uttered the only words of the encounter. ‘Son,’ he said, ‘you can’t afford a ticket. Slow down.’ And with that, he returned to his car and drove away.” — Sometimes mercy triumphs over law. So it is for sinners who call out to Jesus.” (Sent by Fr. pgolden@richmondcathedral.org on March 1, 2013)L/24
25 Additional anecdotes:
1: “Law vs Mercy” In Reader’s Digest, Jim Williams of Montana, writes: “I was driving too fast late one night when I saw the flashing lights of a police car in my rearview mirror. As I pulled over and rolled down my window of my station wagon, I tried to dream up an excuse for my haste. But when the patrolman reached the car, he said nothing. Instead, he merely shined his flashlight in my face, then on my seven-month-old in his car seat, then on our three other children, who were asleep, and lastly on the two dogs in the very back of the car. Returning the beam of light to my face, he then uttered the only words of the encounter. “’Son,’ he said, ‘you can’t afford a ticket. Slow down.’” And with that, he returned to his car and drove away.” — Sometimes mercy triumphs over law. So it is for sinners who call out to Jesus.” (Sent by Fr. pgolden@richmondcathedral.org on March 1, 2013). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
2) Baseball player experiences Divine Mercy: During Babe Ruth’s baseball career, he drifted away from his Faith. One night he was very ill in a New York hospital, and a friend suggested he makes his peace with God. As a result, Babe Ruth asked to see a priest. After celebrating the sacrament of Reconciliation, Babe Ruth wrote:
“As I lay in bed that evening, I thought to myself – what a comfortable feeling to be free from fear and worries. I could simply turn them over to God.” — Wow! What an expression of Trust in God’s Love and Mercy. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
3) “Everybody is somebody” because of Divine Mercy: On 11th April 2009, the woman ruling the British Empire wasn’t Queen Elizabeth. It was a 47-year-old unemployed spinster named Susan Boyle. A lot of you probably know her story. Susan grew up in a small town in Scotland, a devout Catholic, the youngest of nine children. She had learning difficulties when she was a child, and the other children often made fun of her. She lived at home all her life, never married — “never been kissed,” as she puts it – and she spent her time caring for her mother and father and attending Mass every day. She also liked to sing in her church choir. As she grew up, and grew older, she put up with taunts from local school children, who made fun of her eccentric ways and her frizzy hair and frumpy clothes. But Susan’s mother knew that her daughter had something special to give. Susan had a powerful singing voice, and her mother always encouraged her to do something with it. After her mother died, Susan grieved for almost two years, before finally summoning the courage to do what her mother had always wanted her to do. Susan won a slot on a British TV talent show. Last Saturday night, the night before Easter, millions of Britons watched as she shuffled awkwardly onto the stage — this middle-aged out-of-work woman with uncombed hair and an unglamorous face. The audience laughed and some rolled their eyes.
But then she opened her mouth to sing. “I Dreamed A Dream,” she sang. Watch her performance: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnn6mShs1P8). And she did it in a voice that was powerful, and clear, and even thrilling. After the first few bars, the audience was on its feet, cheering. It was, literally, the performance of a lifetime. Susan Boyle became an overnight sensation. In just one week, the video of her appearance has been viewed nearly 20 million times around the world on YouTube. She’s appeared on talk shows, been interviewed by papers and magazines. Oprah has invited her on to be a guest. “I did this,“ Susan told a reporter, “for my late mother. I wanted to show her I could do something with my life.” — I thought of Susan Boyle on Wednesday, when Archbishop Timothy Dolan climbed the pulpit at St. Patrick’s at his installation Mass and declared in his first homily: “Everybody is somebody.” Susan Boyle certainly proved that. No matter what others may think, the beautiful truth is that everyone carries the spark of the Divine. Every life has meaning and dignity. Everybody is somebody. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
4) Divine Mercy experience of Rev. Fr. James Alberione. The founder of the religious congregation to which I belong is Rev. Fr. James Alberione. A holy man with a prophetic vision, he harnessed the pastoral potentiality of the modern means of communication at the service of evangelization. The Holy Father [Pope St. John Paul II] will beatify him today – April 27, 2003 – in Rome. Fr. Alberione founded five religious congregations, four aggregated Institutes, and the Association of Pauline Cooperators, all of which comprise the “Pauline Family.” In 1923, he was struck down with a serious illness that led him into a kind of crisis about the future of the religious family launched just a few years earlier. He needed some kind of assurance in the midst of uncertainties. He looked for confirmation in the most difficult moment of his life. The Divine Master kindheartedly obliged by appearing to him in a dream, assuring him of His Divine assistance and presence. Here is Fr. Alberione’s personal account of that awesome experience. In a particularly difficult moment, reexamining all his ways of doing things to see if there might perhaps be impediments to the action of grace on his part, it seems that the Divine Master may have wanted to reassure the Institute that had only gotten underway a few years before. In a subsequent dream, he had what seemed to him to be a reply. Jesus, the Master, in fact, said to him: “Fear not. I am with you. From here I will enlighten. Have a contrite heart.” The “from here” came forth from the tabernacle, and with power, such as to make one understand that from Him, the Master, must one receive all enlightenment. Alberione spoke of this with his spiritual director, noting in what light the figure of the Master had been enveloped. His reply to me was: “Be at peace; dream or otherwise, what was said is holy; make it a practical program of life and of light for yourself and for all members.” From that point on he became more and more oriented to, and received all from, the tabernacle. (Cf. Abundantes Divitiae, n. 151-155). — Indeed, the experience of Blessed James Alberione, a “true missionary of the Church” and a modern apostle for our times, is similar to that of the apostle Thomas, who experienced the special, loving compassion of his saving and merciful Lord and Master. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
5) Iranian mother saves son’s killer from hanging, with a slap of mercy and forgiveness: Tehran: An Iranian mother spared the life of her son’s convicted murderer with an emotional slap in the face as he awaited execution with the noose around his neck, a newspaper reported on Thursday. The dramatic climax followed a rare public campaign to save the life of Balal, who at 19 killed another young man, Abdollah Hosseinzadeh, in a street fight with a knife in 2007. Shargh (a newspaper), said police officers led Balal to a public execution site in the northern city of Nowshahr as a large crowd gathered on Tuesday morning. Samereh Alinejad, mother of the victim, who had lost another son in a motorbike accident four years ago, asked the onlookers whether they knew “how difficult it is to live in an empty house.” Advertisement
Balal, black-hooded and standing on a chair before a makeshift gallows, had the noose around his neck when Ms Alinejad approached. She slapped him in the face and removed the rope from his neck, assisted by her husband, Abdolghani Hosseinzadeh, a former professional footballer. “I am a believer. I had a dream in which my son told me that he was at peace and in a good place … After that, all my relatives, even my mother, put pressure on me to pardon the killer,” Ms Alinejad told Shargh. “The murderer was crying, asking for forgiveness. I slapped him in the face. That slap helped to calm me down. Now that I’ve forgiven him, I feel relieved.” Balal said the “slap was the space between revenge and forgiveness. I’ve asked my friends not to carry knives … I wish someone had slapped me in the face when I wanted to carry one,” he said. A high-profile campaign was launched by public figures – including popular football commentato and TV show host Adel Ferdosipour and former international footballer Ali Daei – appealing for the victim’s family to forgive the killer. See the video commentary below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=cwh17osBCNI
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/iranian-mother-saves-sons-killer-from-hanging-with-a-slap-20140418-zqw3f.html#ixzz300Il5O32. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
6) “Well, then, I will have mercy.” Emperor Napoleon was moved by a mother’s plea for pardon for her soldier son. However, the Emperor said that since it was the man’s second major offense, justice demanded death. “I do not ask for justice,” implored the mother, “I plead for mercy.” “But,” said the Emperor, “he does not deserve mercy.” “Sir,” cried the mother, “it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for.” The compassion and clarity of the mother’s logic prompted Napoleon to respond, “Well, then, I will have mercy.” — The Second Sunday of the Easter season invites us to reflect on God’s infinite love and mercy for His people, as detailed in the Bible and as lived and taught by Jesus, and to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
7) Divine Mercy and Zacharias Moussaoui. Zacharias Moussaoui was sentenced for a role in the devastating 9/11 tragedy. The Frederick News Post (Apr 14: Good Friday) reported it with the headline: “Suspect wishes pain for victims.” Wow. “‘So you would be happy to see 9/11 again,’ the prosecutor asked. Moussaoui said: ‘Every day until we get you.’ He told jurors that he has ‘no regret, no remorse,’ and was disgusted by the heart-rending testimony of victims and relatives and only wished they had ‘suffered more.’” — Have you read any more tragic thoughts and wishes? When this Chaplain describes the words and actions as objectively “evil,” he means that, objectively, wanting to murder people, and to plague them with more harm and rub it into their lives is an evil thing. Subjectively, perhaps Zacharias Moussaoui is mentally deranged and not totally culpable for his words and actions. We don’t and can’t know this as a literal matter of fact. Indeed, the question was raised by both defense and prosecution in his sentencing. ‘– Point: Mercy is the free offer from God of forgiveness and reconciliation to even the harshest of offenders (like Moussaoui), if he chooses to accept it. We need to pray for Moussaoui that he may ask for and receive God’s pardon and love. This man and his sentiments are just one more reason why Jesus came to Earth-to save souls, even the most overtly plagued ones. (Fr. John J. Lombardi) http://www.emmitsburg.net/grotto/father_jack/2006/mercy_sunday.htm. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
8) Mayor’s mercy: One night in 1935, Fiorello H. La Guardia, Mayor of New York City, showed up at Night Court in the poorest ward of the city. He dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench. One case involved an elderly woman who was caught stealing bread to feed her grandchildren. La Guardia said, “I’ve got to punish you. Ten dollars or ten days in jail.” As he spoke, he threw $10 into his hat. He then fined everyone in the courtroom 50 cents for living in a city “where an old woman had to steal bread so that her grandchildren should not starve.” –The hat was passed around, and the woman left the courtroom with her fine paid and an additional $47.50. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
9) Mary Duray, Connecticut: Mary and her husband suffered the tragic loss of their son, and it was her understanding of Divine Mercy that helped her and her family forgive those that took his life during a robbery.– Mary tells us how her attendance at a Mother of Mercy Messengers (MOMM) Divine Mercy Program helped her overcome great obstacles and allowed her to forgive and even to pray for them. Knowing that as long as there is life, there is hope, the family did not seek the death penalty for his murderers. How differently does the person filled with God’s mercy see and react to the world! (http://mercyimages.com/video_MaryDuray.php). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
10) “What I don’t know is where I am going.” The story is told about Albert Einstein, the brilliant physicist of Princeton University in the early 20th century. Einstein was traveling from Princeton on a train, and when the conductor came down the aisle to punch the passengers’ tickets, Einstein couldn’t find his. He looked in his vest pocket, he looked in his pants pocket, he looked in his briefcase, but there was no ticket. The conductor was gracious; “Not to worry, Dr. Einstein, I know who you are, we all know who you are, and I’m sure you bought a ticket.” As the conductor moved down the aisle, he looked back and noticed Einstein on his hands and knees, searching under the seat for his ticket. The conductor returned to Einstein; “Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry. I know who you are. You don’t need a ticket, I’m sure you bought one.” Einstein arose and said, “Young man, I, too, know who I am; what I don’t know is where I am going!.” –– And that is the Good News of Easter; that we know where we are going. We have been told by the Savior that his life and death has promised us life eternal. (Steven Molin, Elated….Deflated. Quoted by Fr. Kyala) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
11) Ask for Mercy: In order to receive mercy we must ask for it and be ready to accept it. If we do not accept it sincerely we will not change our attitude towards our past life. We read in history that in 1829 George Wilson was condemned to death for robbing the mail and killing the policeman who was on the way to arrest him. President Andrew Jackson granted him a pardon but George Wilson refused to accept it. The judge said “Pardon is a pardon only when one accepts it. George must die.”— Mercy is mercy only when we accept it. We read in the life of Voltaire that he wanted to live six weeks to repent for his sins. The doctor told him he would not live six days. He died unrepentant. Having mercy at his door he apparently refused to accept it. (Elias Dias in Divine Stories for Families; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
12) “The miracle over Hudson River:” A banker on a business trip in New York City, Fred Berretta had just checked into his hotel room. He had about 20 minutes downtime before he had to meet his colleagues. For some reason he decided to clean out his briefcase, something he hadn’t done in a long time. As he emptied it out, he came across a booklet he had stuffed into a pocket years ago on praying the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy. He recalls having prayed it a few times years ago. Only two weeks prior, Fred had made a New Year’s resolution to try to get into better spiritual shape. Here in this hotel room was an opportunity to fulfill it. So he followed along in the booklet and prayed the chaplet, a prayer our Lord gave to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s, during a series of revelations that has sparked the modern Divine Mercy movement. He would be among the 155 people to board a jet airliner at LaGuardia Airport bound for Charlotte, N.C., his hometown. Ninety seconds after takeoff, the jet would apparently hit a flock of geese, the engines would explode, and the plane would lose power at 3,200 feet. The aircraft would be out of reach from any airfield. It would lose thrust and altitude. Everything would become eerily quiet. Fred would cinch his seatbelt. His left hand would clutch the armrest, his heart would race, his face would be flushed. “Prepare for impact,” the pilot would say over the PA system. As the ground surged into view, Fred would look at his watch. It would be 3:30, the Hour of Great Mercy! “I prayed with every fiber of emotion and sincerity I could muster, ‘God, please be merciful to us,'” Fred would recall two weeks later. — You’ve probably heard about the crash landing of Flight 1549 in the Hudson River on Jan. 15, 2009. No one was seriously injured. Then, there were the news images of a US Airways Airbus floating gently down the frigid Hudson, like some sort of breaching, people-friendly, aquatic creature. The passengers stood on its wings, calmly awaiting rescue. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
13) Seven Secrets of the Eucharist: We might never have learned Fred Berretta’s story if it weren’t for Vinny Flynn. Following the crash, Fred felt compelled to send an email of thanks to Vinny, the former executive editor at the Marian Helpers Center, in Stockbridge, Mass. Fred had never heard of Vinny until about two hours before he boarded Flight 1549. Following morning meetings on Jan. 15, Fred had found himself in the unusual position of having some free time on a business trip. It was noon. He had stepped inside Manhattan’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral. He had stayed for the 12 p.m. Mass. Afterwards, he had gone into St. Patrick’s gift shop. A book had caught his eye — Vinny’s Seven Secrets of the Eucharist (Mercy Song, Ignatius Press, 2006) — which, with citations from St. Faustina’s Diary, gives a greater understanding of the mystery of the Eucharist. Fred also purchased a St. Michael’s scapular. In an interview with thedivinemercy.org this week, Fred explained what happened next: “I got into a cab and went to the airport [LaGuardia],” he said. “My flight was delayed about 15 minutes, so I sat there and started reading Vinny’s book. I was really taken by it. I boarded the plane and continued to read. Just as we were rolling out for takeoff, I put the book away and closed my eyes and began to reflect on what I had been reading. “Some of us looked at each other,” he said. “There was nothing to be said. I knew that the only thing I could do was pray.” Which is exactly what Fred did when he suddenly realized it was the Hour of Great Mercy and he would probably be dead in a matter of seconds. He trusted, truly, for the first time. All these fragments of thought seemed to piece themselves into place. The plane was going down, yet everything was making sense. He admits he was in shock. But he also felt at peace, a deep peace. God had allowed him to find the Divine Mercy booklet in his briefcase. God had steered him to Vinny’s book. God did all this, he thought, to prepare him for death. He hunched over in his seat to brace for impact. He prayed for God’s mercy. Then he prayed two Hail Marys and one Our Father. He made it halfway though a prayer to St. Michael, the archangel, when the plane hit the water, came to a stop, and bobbed up and down like a toy in a kiddy pool. (http://thedivinemercy.org/news/story.php?NID=3493). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
14) “Sir, that is what I am afraid of.” There is a story about a soldier brought before General Robert E. Lee. Accused of misconduct, the soldier was trembling. The general said to him, “Do not be afraid, son. Here you will receive justice.” The soldier looked at the general and said, “Sir that is what I am afraid of.” — Like that soldier, the Apostle Peter would have had reason to tremble. Peter had boasted about his bravery, how he would always stand by Jesus. Yet when Jesus needed him most, he nodded off. Perhaps one could forgive him for falling asleep, but later – when he was wide-awake – he denied Jesus. “I do not know the man.” — Some rock! In strict justice, Peter should have been punished, at the very least, removed as head of the Church. In Christ’s passion, however, a deeper justice is at work. That is what we will discover this Divine Mercy Sunday. God’s justice has a name: it is called the Divine Mercy. Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil, the Triduum we have just experienced, are the three great days of grace, of Divine Mercy. Now we need to live out the mercies we have received by passing them on to everyone else. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
15) Macbeth never had peace in his life: One of the famous tragedies of William Shakespeare is Macbeth. When Macbeth was returning after a victory, he was met by three witches. The first witch greeted him, “Thane of Glamis.” The second witch greeted him “Thane of Cawdor,” and the third witch greeted him, “King hereafter.” As they disappeared messengers reached with the good news that he was appointed as the Thane of Glamis and Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth went home and shared this strange experience with his wife. She enkindled his hopes, and persuaded him to murder Duncan, the king, who came to his house as his guest. As Macbeth thrust the dagger into the heart of Duncan he heard a voice, “Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep…” (II, 2:35-36). Thereafter, Macbeth never had peace in his life. His life became miserable. In his frantic attempt to get peace he committed murder again and again. When Macbeth sinned against the King he lost his peace. — Jesus was aware that sins destroy the peace of man. So, when he wished them “peace” he also granted them the power to destroy sin. To destroy a powerful enemy, we need a powerful weapon. Jesus put this weapon in the hands of the Church when communicating to his Apostles the power to forgive sins through the sacrament of Reconciliation. Jesus said to the apostles: “Those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven. Those whose sins you retain, they are retained.” (Fr. Bobby Jose). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
16) Uplifting One Another: Have you ever watched geese fly in V-formation? While a thing of beauty to watch, the formation is essential to the geese for survival. If you listen, you can hear the beat of their wings whistling through the air in unison. And that is the secret of their strength: the lead goose cuts a swath through the air resistance, which creates a helping uplift for the birds behind it. In turn their flapping makes it easier for the birds behind them, and so on. Each bird takes its turn at being leader. The tired ones fan out to the edges of the V for a breather, and the rested ones surge towards the point of the V to drive the flock onward. If a goose becomes too exhausted or ill and has to drop out of the flock, it is never abandoned. A stronger member of the flock will follow the failing, weak one to its resting place and wait till the bird is well enough to fly again. Together, cooperating as a flock, geese can fly at 71% longer range, with up to 60% less work. (YouTube: “What geese can teach us about teamwork”; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
17) Cure for Sorrow: There is an old Chinese tale about a woman whose only son died. In her grief, she went to the holy man and said, “What prayers, what magical incantations do you have to bring my son back to life?” Instead of sending her away or reasoning with her, he said to her, “Fetch me a mustard seed from a home that has never known sorrow. We will use it to drive the sorrow out of your life.” The woman went off at once in search of that magical mustard seed. She came first to a splendid mansion, knocked at the door, and said, “I am looking for a home that has never known sorrow. Is this such a place? It is very important to me.” They told her, “You’ve certainly come to the wrong place,” and began to describe all the tragic things that recently had befallen them. The woman said to herself, “Who is better able to help these poor, unfortunate people than I, who have had misfortune of my own?” She stayed to comfort them, then went on in search of a home that had never known sorrow. But wherever she turned, in hovels and in other places, she found one tale after another of sadness and misfortune. — She became so involved in ministering to other people’s grief that, ultimately, she forgot about her quest for the magical mustard seed, never realizing that it had, in fact, driven the sorrow out of her life. (Brian Cavanaugh, The Sower’s Seeds; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
18) Hope for the Struggling: A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then, it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could. So, the man decided to help, he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. — Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly! So God, in His mercy, challenges us giving obstacles in life. (Anonymous; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
19) “Don’t be crying! It’s OK! He is alive!” I remember one occasion when I led a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. One of the young men in the group was mentally quite limited, although his grasp of God, of Jesus, and the events of the Gospel was uncanny. We arrived at the tomb of the basilica, and we joined the long line, waiting our turn to enter. One lady came out of the tomb, and was obviously deeply touched by the experience of her visit to such a sacred spot. She sat down outside the entrance, took out a tissue, and began wiping her tears. My friend, who was back in the line, spotted what was happening, and responded instantly. He ran straight up to her, put his hand on her shoulder and said, “Don’t be crying, it’s OK. He’s alive; don’t you know that?” — The whole thing was so spontaneous and genuine that the woman stood up, and gave him a warm hug. The simple fact was that he could not understand how anybody could be crying at this tomb, of all the tombs in the world. — Jesus thanked the Father for giving a message that was so simple and straightforward that the intellectual and the worldly-wise would fail to grasp it, and yet it could be fully accepted by someone with the mind of a child. Happy are they who have not seen yet believe. (Jack McArdle in And That’s the Gospel Truth; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
20) President’s mercy: Years after the death of President Calvin Coolidge, this story came to light. In the early days of his presidency, Coolidge awoke one morning in his hotel room to find a cat burglar going through his pockets. Coolidge spoke up, asking the burglar not to take his watch chain because it contained an engraved charm he wanted to keep. Coolidge then engaged the thief in quiet conversation and discovered he was a college student who had no money to pay his hotel bill or buy a ticket back to campus. Coolidge counted $32 out of his wallet (which he had also persuaded the dazed young man to give back), declared it to be a loan, and advised the young man to leave the way he had come so as to avoid the Secret Service! (Yes, the loan was paid back.) [Today in the Word (October 8, 1992); quoted by Fr. Kayala.] (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
21) The story of Oshea Israel and Mary Johnson: One of the stories of the “Forgiveness Project” that caught my attention was the story of Oshea Israel and Mary Johnson. Oshea had shot and killed Mary’s son – a boy Oshea didn’t even know. There was no way Oshea could pay Mary back for what he had taken from her. And Mary owed him nothing. It’s not an easy story. As Mary said, “I hated everyone for a while.” But over time Mary came to forgive Oshea. She visited him in prison. She helped him when he was released. In the process they both changed. Mary gave Oshea the one gift he needed to begin his healing: total forgiveness. — Mercy doesn’t undercut justice but surprises it! It is the linchpin that supports forgiveness and compassion. Mercy is the force that reawakens us to new life and instills in us the courage to look to the future with hope. We might think of mercy as the grace for conversion. (Stories Seldom Heard; quoted by Sr. Patricia). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
22) “Peace be with you.” Years ago, Rabbi Joshua Liebman wrote a best-selling book titled Peace of Mind. After the publication of this book, Rabbi Liebman was swamped with letters from people seeking peace. His mail was heavy; his telephone rang constantly; many people came to see him. He was a young, kind-hearted rabbi, only 38 years old. He tried to help everyone who contacted him. He died just three years later at the age of 41. He just could not stand up to the burden. But before he died, he said, “I am appalled at the multitude of people who have never learned to empty their minds.” (God’s Seven Wonders For You by Charles L. Allen, Fleming H. Revell Co., Old Tappan, New Jersey, 1987.) — The first word that Jesus spoke to his disciples gathered together after his resurrection was the word, “Peace.” We read in our lesson from the Gospel: “When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
23) “Weeping Madonna.” On May 7, 1985, an Eastern Orthodox monk named Father Pangratios was cleaning the chapel of the Christ of the Hills Monastery in Blanco, Texas. At first Father Pangratios thought nothing of it when he discovered that one of the icons of the virgin Mary had moisture on it. When he wiped the moisture off, however, he smelled the familiar fragrance of myrrh. He was curious, but thought it a one-time occurrence, and saying a quick prayer, he left for other duties. Returning a few hours later, he found that this same icon of Mary appeared to be “weeping.” The tears continued, and after a full investigation by church officials, the Russian Orthodox church declared the “weeping Mary” to be a miraculous event. It was not to be the cause of celebration, however. They declared it “a call to repentance.” Father Pangratios observed, “God is saddened by our sins. He wants us to change our lives to fasting and prayer, love of God and neighbor.” — The tears of the weeping Mary reportedly resulted in miraculous healings for some. Blind twins had their sight restored after an anointing. A woman with cancer spontaneously recovered. A man due brain surgery found it unnecessary. And cases of mental illness and depression disappeared. Even today, as thousands of people visit Christ of the Hills monastery, the icon still weeps its fragrant oil. (Gurvis, Sandra, Way Station to Heaven; New York, NY, Simon and Schuster MacMillan, Inc., 1996, pp. 177-179. From a sermon “Number One in the Nation” by Don Emmitte). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
24) “Hi! What’s the good word?” A student from Korea was complaining about how difficult it is to learn the English language. He felt that American idioms were particularly difficult to comprehend. He said that he had studied English for nine years in preparation for attending the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. On his first day at the school, as he was walking across the campus, an American student casually greeted him with, “Hi! What’s the good word?” The Korean boy stopped dead in his tracks. He thought to himself: “I don’t know the good word! You would have thought that after nine years of studying English, someone would have told me what ‘the good word’ was!”
Later, trying to solve this puzzle, he decided to turn the tables and ask an American, “What’s the good word?” and listen to his reply. So, approaching a fellow student, he repeated, “Hi! What’s the good word?” The quick response was, “Oh, not much. How about you?” — It was obvious that neither of these students knew what the good word was. It’s a rather plastic greeting. But I can tell you the good word for today: Christ the Lord is risen. (Do’s and Taboos of Humor Around the World by Roger E. Axtell, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1999, p. 13.) That’s the real thing. And because it is the real thing, imagine what that says about our lives. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
25) The Last Supper: When Leonardo da Vinci was painting his masterpiece, “The Last Supper,” we are told that he had a quarrel with one of his companions. In revenge for the wrong he had received, he painted his companion’s portrait as Judas in his great picture. After he had done this, his work was complete except for the face of our blessed Lord. It was da Vinci’s ambition to paint the noblest and most perfect portrait of Christ that had ever been put on canvas; but try as he did, he could not succeed. In the meantime, his conscience was working, and at last he took his brush and painted out his companion’s portrait and forgave him his wrong. That night in his dreams da Vinci saw a splendorous vision of Christ which thousands have gazed at in wonder ever since. — It is no exaggeration to say that something like this happens each time you, as a Christian, forgive someone who has especially wronged you. For, whenever you blot out the sin and evil others have committed against you, you are making it possible for them to see a living portrait of Christ – namely yourself, in whom he lives. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
9 Things You Need to Know About Divine Mercy Sunday
(Jimmy Akin, apologist at EWTN & Catholic Answers (Editor’s Note: This blog was originally posted April 4, 2013)
Divine Mercy Sunday is a recent addition to the Church’s calendar, and it has links to both private revelation and the Bible.
Millions of people look forward to and are profoundly moved by this day.
What is it, and why is it so important to them?
Here are 9 things you need to know.
1. What is Divine Mercy Sunday?
Divine Mercy Sunday is celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter. It is based on the private revelations to St. Faustina Kowalska, which recommended a particular devotion to the Divine Mercy.
It also has links to the Bible and the readings of this day.
To learn more about St. Faustina, you can CLICK HERE.
2. When was it made part of the Church’s calendar?
In 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized St. Faustina and, during the ceremony, he declared:
4.”It is important then that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church will be called ‘Divine Mercy Sunday.’
“In the various readings, the liturgy seems to indicate the path of mercy which, while re-establishing the relationship of each person with God, also creates new relations of fraternal solidarity among human beings” [Homily, April 30, 2000].
3. If this is based on private revelation, why is it on the Church’s calendar?
In his theological commentary in The Message of Fatima, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote: “We might add that private revelations often spring from popular piety and leave their stamp on it, giving it a new impulse and opening the way for new forms of it. Nor does this exclude that they will have an effect even on the liturgy, as we see for instance in the feasts of Corpus Christi and of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. From one point of view, the relationship between Revelation and private revelations appears in the relationship between the liturgy and popular piety: The liturgy is the criterion; it is the living form of the Church as a whole, fed directly by the Gospel. Popular piety is a sign that the Faith is spreading its roots into the heart of a people in such a way that it reaches into daily life. Popular religiosity is the first and fundamental mode of “inculturation” of the Faith. While it must always take its lead and direction from the liturgy, it in turn enriches the Faith by involving the heart.
4. What does the Church do to encourage the celebration of devotion to the Divine Mercy on this day?
Among other things, it offers a plenary indulgence:
To ensure that the faithful would observe this day with intense devotion, the Supreme Pontiff [Pope St. John Paul II] himself established that this Sunday be enriched by a plenary indulgence, as will be explained below, so that the faithful might receive in great abundance the gift of the consolation of the Holy Spirit.
In this way, they can foster a growing love for God and for their neighbour, and after they have obtained God’s pardon, they in turn might be persuaded to show a prompt pardon to their brothers and sisters. . . .
a plenary indulgence, granted under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer for the intentions of Supreme Pontiff) to the faithful who, on the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, in any Church or Chapel, in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin, even a venial sin, take part in the prayers and devotions held in honour of Divine Mercy, or who, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, recite the Our Father and the Creed, adding a devout prayer to the merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. Merciful Jesus, I trust in you!”).
(For more information about the plenary indulgence, CLICK HERE.( https://www.ncregister.com/blog/joseph-pronechen/how-to-get-a-plenary-indulgence-on-divine-mercy-sunday)
5. What is the Divine Mercy image?
The Divine Mercy image is a depiction of Jesus based on a vision that St. Faustina had in 1931. There have been a number of paintings made of this image. The original, though not the most popular one today, is shown above.
A basic explanation of the image is: Jesus is shown in most versions as raising his right hand in blessing, and pointing with his left hand on his chest from which flow forth two rays: one red and one white (translucent). The depictions often contains the message “Jesus, I trust in You!” (Polish: Jezu ufam Tobie). The rays streaming out have symbolic meaning: red for the blood of Jesus (which is the Life of Souls), and pale for the water (which justify souls) (from Diary – 299). The whole image is symbolic of charity, forgiveness and love of God, referred to as the “Fountain of Mercy.” According to the diary of St Faustina, the image is based on her 1931 vision of Jesus [source].
6. What is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy?
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is a set of prayers used as part of the Divine Mercy devotion. They are usually said using a standard set of Rosary beads, often at 3 p.m. (the time of Jesus’ death), but with a different set of prayers than those used in the Marian Rosary.
7. How is the Divine Mercy devotion linked to the Scripture readings for the Second Sunday of Easter?
The Divine Mercy image depicts Jesus at the moment he appears to the disciples in the Upper Room, after the Resurrection, when he empowers them to forgive or retain sins. This moment is recorded in John 20:19-31, which is the Gospel reading for this Sunday in all three yearly Sunday liturgical cycles (A, B, and C). This reading is placed on this day because it includes the appearance of Jesus to the Apostle Thomas (in which Jesus invites him to touch his wounds). This event occurred on the eighth day after the Resurrection (John 20:26), and so it is used on the liturgy eight days after Easter. (It also, however, includes the appearance of Jesus to the disciples on Easter evening, a week earlier, in which he empowered them to forgive or retain sins.)
8. How did Jesus empower the apostles to forgive or retain sins?
That part of the text reads: [21] Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”
[22] And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
[23] If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
He thus gave them a special empowerment with the Holy Spirit to forgive or retain sins.
9. How does this relate to the sacrament of confession?
It relates directly to it. Jesus empowered the apostles (and their successors in ministry) with the Holy Spirit to either forgive or retain (not forgive) sins. Because they are empowered with God’s Spirit to do this, their administration of forgiveness is efficacious–it really removes sin rather than just being a symbol of forgiveness a person is thought to have obtained already. Because they are instructed to forgive or retain, they must discern which they are to do. This means that they need to know about the sin and whether we are truly repentant of it. As a result, we must tell them about the sin and our sorrow for it. Hence: confession. And the Church Fathers understood Christ’s ministers as having this power (L/24).