The Divine Mercy

 

 Most of us are aware that Our Lady has appeared many times over the past 200 years in places such as Lourdes and Fatima. What we may not be aware of is that, over that same period of time, Jesus has also appeared.

 One of his recent appearances took place less than one hundred years ago in Poland to a young woman named Faustina Kowalska. Between 1931 and 1938, Jesus revealed to her that she was chosen to spread the message of His Divine Mercy. He wanted her to tell the whole world how great His love was for mankind and that if we would only turn to Him we would experience forgiveness and limitless blessings. At the urging of her superiors and spiritual director, Sister Faustina kept a diary of her conversations with our Lord. They are available in a book entitled, Divine Mercy in My Soul.

 In one appearance, Jesus asked that the Sunday after Easter be celebrated as “Divine Mercy Sunday.” It would be a blessed day when sinners would find relief from their transgressions and grace to live holy lives. Jesus describes this feast to Sister Faustina in these words recorded in her diary: “On the day of my feast, the feast of mercy, you will go through the world and bring fainting souls to the spring of my mercy. I shall heal and strengthen them.”

And so, on April 30, 2000, Saint John Paul II honored our Lord’s request by declaring that the first Sunday after Easter be celebrated by the whole Church as Divine Mercy Sunday.

 We often hear people say, “If I walked into church, the ceiling would cave in.” There is nothing sadder that a person can say. It shows a total lack of trust in Jesus and His mercy. Jesus came to save sinners. He died on the cross so that all of us could find forgiveness. There is no sin so great that God cannot forgive it. And no one is so sinful that they cannot turn to Jesus and through His grace become a great saint. Jesus said as much to us through Sister Faustina when He said: “The greater the sinner, the more right he has to my mercy.

She Said "Yes"

With Mary, God begins His work of restoring nature to the purity He intended- the beauty which is a reflection of Himself.

 Many have compared God's work of grace in our lives to snowfall which cloaks the barren tree, giving beauty to otherwise fruitless branches. Iced over with freshly fallen snow, the tree glimmers in the sunlight more brilliantly than its brown bark would allow. The glaze replaces the natural beauty of the leaves and fruit which the winter has stolen.

 But, that image of grace presupposes that we are too corrupt to be restored. It presupposes a winter that will never end. Grace, in this image, cannot bring us back to our original luster, but can only cover us over so we don't look so bad.

As Catholics understand it, grace is more like the sun whose rays warm the barren tree stimulating the bud, the leaf and, finally, the fruit. Grace restores the original beauty marred by the winter of sin.

 If grace were like snow, our branches would never bear fruit. They would remain iced over, unable to thrive. But, God wants us to grow and to reflect the beauty He intended for His creation.

 The Marian feasts- the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, the Annunciation- all celebrate not what Mary accomplished, but what God accomplished through Jesus. Mary, as the first disciple of Jesus, is the first to receive the benefits of Jesus' saving work. She is the first to taste the victory over sin by being herself exempted from its stain at her conception. She is the first to celebrate the resurrection of the body through her assumption into heaven.

 What she has received is also what God holds in store for us. Like Mary, He wants to restore us to the sinless, pure creatures He intended us to be. We, like Mary, will one day know victory over sin when all the scars of sinfulness will be healed. And, like Mary, we will know God's victory over death when our bodies are raised on the last day.

So, today's feast of the Annunciation is not for Mary to celebrate alone. It's not like a birthday party in which only one person is honored. Today's feast is about the power and purpose of God's grace which restores the original beauty sin has deformed- not to cover over our shame, but to render us truly good and truly beautiful as God intended.

God achieved it in Mary so that she could be equipped with everything she needed to serve as Jesus' mother. God will achieve it in us when His work of restoration is consummated at our individual deaths and at the end of the world.

One Mind And One Heart

 

This Sunday's first reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes the first community of believers. They are really the first parish founded by the apostles. As Saint Luke describes it, it is a community marked by deep love for one another. They shared everything they had so that none of them went hungry or homeless. Though the community of believers was experiencing rapid growth, no one was lost in the crowd or left out. All shared a sense of belonging and friendship because of their common faith in the Risen Lord. 

In today's world, people long for community and to belong. Many of us live far from our extended families and childhood friends. Our work schedules and the technologies that surround us increasingly isolate us. We do not want to be another face in the crowd. We want to belong. We want to be missed when we don't show up. We want to be known and loved. This lonely world so often makes it difficult for people to believe and trust in a good God.

If we, as disciples of Christ, are going to effectively spread the good news of his resurrection, then we must be a people marked by love as were the first community of believers. As a parish united by faith, we are called to welcome each other, to take care of each other and to testify to one another about the power of God at work in our lives. Most people come to know and believe in God by meeting someone who is filled with God's love. God wants to make this parish a family where people encounter his love and become convinced that he is real because of the goodness of our lives.

The Resurrection And Everlasting Life

 

Now that Jesus has died for us and risen in glory, the gates of Paradise that had been closed to us because of Adam and Eve’s sin have been opened up again. Not only do we have hope of living beyond this life, we have the hope that it will be a glorious, joyful existence. We won’t just be souls drifting along aimlessly in a gray mist. But we hope to be resurrected- both body and soul- to rejoice in the presence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit for all eternity.

 The sad thing is that, even though it has been almost two-thousand years since Jesus rose from the dead, most people still live as if this world is all that there is. They are not even thinking about life after death. Their only hope is in this world and what it offers. In their minds, earth is the only Paradise we can ever know. The only thing that makes sense to them is to live for today.

 However, as Christians, the resurrection of Jesus Christ has opened up a new horizon for us. There is more to our existence than just our earthly life. Our eyes are fixed on more than what this world can offer. Rather, our goal is eternal life with Jesus. That is what we strive for. That is where our hope lies.

 Saint Paul tells us in Sunday’s second reading, “So, if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Col 3:1-2 RSV). 

This is the wonderful truth that we proclaim. Our resurrection from the dead and the eternal life that Jesus has won for us is not just a future event. It is not like a ticket we cash in on only after we die. It is a reality that we are already living because of our baptism. That is why Saint Paul can say, “SINCE you have been raised.” He doesn’t say WHEN you are raised or UNTIL you are raised. He talks about it as a reality that has already happened. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead opened up a new possibility of life which is ours through baptism and faith.

 This is how Saint Paul puts it in his letter to the Galatians, “...I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2: 19b-20 RSV).

Our life here on this earth is an extension of the risen life of Jesus Christ. If we have been baptized, then Christ is living in us. It is Jesus’ breath in our lungs. It is His strength in our limbs. It is His love beating in our hearts and His hope running through our veins. We have been raised with Jesus, so our faith is what must guide us.

Every Sunday Is Easter

 

Jesus Christ rose from the dead on a Sunday morning. Every Sunday since, believers have gathered to celebrate and re-live the joy of the resurrection. In fact, not one Sunday has passed since that day without Christians somewhere in the world getting together to read the Scriptures and break the bread of Eucharist. The resurrection is the center of our Sunday worship and gives meaning to what we do together.

 Every Mass is meant to be not only a commemoration of that first Easter Sunday but an experience of what heaven will be like. Every Sunday, Christians gather around the table of the Lord to hear His voice just as the disciples did. The Risen Lord speaks directly to us in the Scripture. He calls out to us to follow Him, to live as He did and to experience the joy that comes from giving ourselves over to Him.

 We also gather around the Lord’s table to share a meal with Him. He gives His Body and Blood to us in the form of bread and wine so that His Risen life can be ours. He gives Himself to nourish us. Every Sunday we not only remember the resurrection but we experience it for ourselves in a hidden way.

 We also experience the presence of the Risen Lord in the community that gathers for worship. At every Mass, the presence of Christ is palpable in the joy that fills the church, especially on Easter. Every Sunday may not be as festive as Easter is, however we still experience our Lord alive in the people who surround us.

 If we were to take a second to look around us, we would notice that the assembly at Mass is unlike any other we take part in. For the most part, we cannot tell who is wealthy and who is poor. There are no special seats for dignitaries or business leaders. In this place the poor sit next to the rich and the sinner rubs elbows with the saint. It is a foretaste of the life God wants for us in which the distinctions that normally separate us from one another melt away and we can experience real communion with others no matter how different from us they may be. We experience the longing of our hearts to be loved as we are and to be free to love others in return. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead was the first step in a long journey of bringing all people together in faith, hope and love.

Jesus, Our Passover

 

On April 22, our Jewish brothers and sisters will be celebrating the holy feast of Passover.

 Every year, they gather to remember all the wonders God performed to free them from slavery in Egypt. When God sent the angel to kill all the first-born sons of the Egyptians, he passed over the homes of the Hebrews who smeared the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts. When the pharaoh changed his mind about allowing them to leave and sent his army to kill them in the desert, they remember how God dried up the Red Sea and allowed them to pass over it to escape the chariots that were pursuing them. During these days of celebration, they will also recall how God led them through the desert with a column of cloud by day and a column of fire by night.

 When Jews celebrate the Passover, they are not only calling to mind historical events of the distant past. They are not just reenacting something that happened long ago to their ancestors. Rather, they celebrate Passover as if they themselves- both as individuals and as a people were liberated from slavery. It is not only the story of what God did in the past but what He continues to do for them in the present. It is not only the story of their ancestors that they recall but their own story.

 As Christians, we too celebrate the liberation of our Jewish brothers and sisters from slavery in Egypt. Like them, we see it not only as their story as God’s chosen people but as our story as fellow believers in the God of the Bible. However, we see God’s work on behalf of His people as a foreshadowing- that is, as a sort of preview- of the liberation that God would accomplish in Jesus Christ.

 Just as the people of Israel were saved by smearing blood on their doorposts, so we are saved by the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. Just as the people of Israel were saved from Pharaoh's army by passing over the waters of the Red Sea, so we are saved by passing through the waters of baptism. Just as the people of Israel were led through the desert by a column of cloud by day and a column of fire by night, we are led through this life by God’s word and by the teaching of the Church which Jesus established.

All the symbols we use during the Easter Vigil point to this. Our procession into church at the beginning of Mass is led by incense, representing the column of cloud. The Easter candle which is blessed at the door of the church, represents the column of fire. As each of us lights our individual candles from the flame of the Easter candle, a darkened church becomes flooded with light. This symbolizes the truth that our world was dark until Jesus came to fill it with the light of God’s love and truth. Later on in this Mass, after we renew our baptismal vows, we bless the waters of the baptismal font, calling to mind that our salvation comes through our baptism.

 On the holy night of Easter - the holiest night for Christians- we celebrate the Passover of Jesus Christ from death into life- and our Passover from death into life along with Him. 

It is not just a story from the past but it is our story. Our world is different- our lives are different- because Jesus Christ is risen from the dead

Signs of Resurrection Are All Around Us

 

Sunday’s gospel tells the story of that first Easter morning.

Mary Magdalene discovers that Jesus is no longer in the tomb. Her first reaction isn’t joy. Rather, she feels confused and distressed. We hear the pain in her voice as she tells Peter, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him.

We will see this theme throughout the Easter Season. The signs of new life and resurrection are all around the disciples, but they cannot recognize it. They are too focused on their trauma and despair. In many cases, even when Jesus appears to them personally, they don’t know that it’s Him. They have to have it spelled out to them before they can understand and believe.

 The same is true for us. The signs of Jesus’ resurrection are all around us. It is in the Church He established which has endured despite violent persecution. It is in hearts that choose forgiveness and love over revenge and hate. It is in the progress we make through faith and grace to overcome our sinfulness and grow in holiness. It is in sinners who realize God’s mercy and embrace His love. Jesus is alive. He is present and active in our world. If we believe it, we will see it.

That is not to say that there is not much suffering in our world. It is all around us. But it is precisely in this that we make our faith known. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we can say that suffering, sin, and death will not have the last word. Rather, all of history is building up to the day when God’s victory will be revealed. We are all on a journey to a bright and glorious future when we can say with Saint Paul, “I believe that the sufferings of the present are as nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed in us” (Rom 8:18). It has all been set in motion by Jesus Christ who is risen from the dead. 

 We are active participants in this victory. It is up to us to proclaim it to the world. It is up to us to live it in our homes and in our communities.