Second Sunday of Easter (Year B - 2003)

Rev. Timothy W. Castor

Three years ago on May 23^rd, 2000, Pope John Paul II decreed that, "throughout the world, the Second Sunday of Easter will receive the name Divine Mercy Sunday." This observance had been kept by thousands of Catholics around the world for many years as a local celebration or a private devotion. But today is just the third time in history that Divine Mercy Sunday has been celebrated as a feast of the Universal Church.

Most of us, by now, are familiar with the Divine Mercy picture. It shows Jesus entering a darkened room, perhaps through a closed door, just as he did in today’s Gospel when he appeared to Thomas and the other disciples a week after his resurrection. There is a look of profound tenderness on his face; one hand is raised in blessing, the other is pointing to his heart from which stream two rays of light—one red and the other pale blue. These rays represent the blood and water which flowed from Jesus pierced side as he hung upon the Cross. The blood and water, in turn, symbolize the Sacraments of the Most Holy Eucharist and Holy Baptism. The message of the picture, then, is that Jesus comes into our lives, even when we try to close the door to him through fear, selfishness, or sin. And when he comes to us, mercy and grace flow from his Sacred Heart through the sacramental life of the Church. At the bottom of the picture are inscribed the words, "Jesus, I trust in you." These words, in a simple act of faith, signify our complete reliance upon our Lord’s Divine Mercy.

These are old and constant truths of the Paschal mystery. So why, then, has the Church proclaimed a new feast in honor of these truths? This doesn’t ordinarily happen without there being a very good reason for it. Is the Church suddenly teaching some new doctrine she has never taught before? No, that would be impossible. The faith delivered once to the Apostles can never change. But sometimes a particular aspect of our faith needs to be reemphasized or reexamined in a new light; and what better way to do this than through the sacred liturgy, which is the source and summit of our life in Christ. The official reason given by the Congregation for Divine Worship, is that the new feast would be "a perennial invitation to the Christian world to face, with confidence in divine benevolence, the difficulties and trials that humankind will experience in the years to come."

Some of you may know that this feast of Divine Mercy stems from a series of private revelations given by our Lord in the 1930’s to a simple Polish nun by the name of Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska. Now, it should be said right up front that private revelations are just that: private revelations. General revelation is closed, and nothing more can be added to the Faith which would be necessary for salvation. When the Church approves a private revelation, she is simply saying that there is nothing in that message contrary to the Church’s teaching and that it is therefore worthy of human faith (as opposed to the divine faith we give to such things as the Sacred Scriptures and the articles of the Creed). The revelations given to Sr. Faustina were recorded by her in a diary of about 600 pages and they have been approved by the Church. In fact, Sr. Faustina has been declared a saint, which is very high approbation indeed.

Her diary details a whole program of devotion to the mercy of Jesus given at the beginning of an era which particularly needed reminding of God’s mercy. The latter half of the Twentieth Century and the beginning of the Twenty-first is an age which has seen unparalleled cruelty of man to man; the rise of totalitarian governments and rampant materialism; the trampling of basic human freedoms like the right to life and freedom of conscience. In the pages of St. Faustina’s diary we learn of the Image of Divine Mercy. We read also about the Divine Mercy Chaplet, a series of simple prayers for God’s mercy upon us and upon the whole world to be said on ordinary Rosary beads. We learn about the Divine Mercy Novena, nine days of prayer from Good Friday to Easter Saturday in which the world’s need for mercy is recalled in specific intentions. Also St. Faustina writes about the Hour of Mercy, how our Lord desires that every day at three o’clock his death on the Cross - the supreme sign and source of God’s mercy - be recalled in prayer and devotion.

Finally, St. Faustina records in numerous places in her diary Jesus’ desire that a liturgical feast be instituted in honor of his mercy on the second Sunday of Easter. For example in this passage: "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."

As we reflect upon all this, a very natural question might arise in our minds: "Just what is Mercy?" I would like to offer very simple definition: mercy is love shown to one who does not deserve love. Because of our sin—original and actual—we do not deserve God’s love, we deserve his punishment. And yet, he died for us and opened for us the way to eternal life and happiness in his presence. He showers upon us in this life countless blessings, and constantly forgives our sins every time we turn to him in repentance. We deserve none of this, and yet he loves us just the same. That is Mercy. And, as today’s Psalm reminds us, "his mercy endures for ever."

But today’s readings also remind us that Mercy does not stop at what God has done for us. For God’s mercy to be perfect in our lives, we must show that same love to others. In our reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we are told that "the community of believers was of one heart and mind," and that "they had everything in common." Because each one showed mercy to his neighbor, "there was no needy person among them." Having experienced the mercy of God in their lives, the first Christians were eager to share that mercy with others. The second reading today, from St. John’s first letter, teaches that the way we show our love for God is by keeping his commandments. And what was the new commandment which Jesus gave to his disciples? "Love one another." And don’t forget, he also taught us to love our enemies, and added, "Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful." In other words, he has shown mercy to us even when we were his enemies; therefore, we must show mercy to others.

Especially in the Gospel, we see the Divine Mercy of Jesus poured forth on his disciples and their successors - and through them upon all the people of God - as he fills them with his peace and the Holy Spirit, imparting to them his ministry of reconciliation: "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them."

A special sign of mercy is granted to doubting Thomas when our Lord encourages him to touch the wounds which healed us and to feel his pierced side, the fount of our salvation. To this, Thomas cries out, "My Lord and my God!" an act of faith captured in that motto inscribed on every image of the Divine Mercy: "Jesus, I trust in you."

The essence of Divine Mercy, then, is God’s love to us in the forgiveness of sins, and our response of humble trust in Jesus, along with a life of loving service to our neighbors.

Remember how the Lord said to Sr. Faustina, "Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy;" and, when the Church instituted this annual observance, she reminded us of "the difficulties and trials that humankind will experience in the years to come." Surely we have seen this lack of peace, these difficulties and trials escalate in recent days. Hatred and violence, war and the threat of war are all very present realities. Immorality and sin seem to grip people’s hearts like never before. Now, more than ever, we must turn to Jesus and implore his infinite mercy. We must cast ourselves at his feet in prayer and make the motto of Divine Mercy our own: Jesus, I trust in you.

© 2003, Rev. Timothy W. Castor