“This message of Divine Mercy is for each of us, a consolation for us as we embrace His abundant mercy and also a reminder to perform the spiritual and corporal works of mercy for every single person the Lord places in our life.”
Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
Jesus loves you so much! He desires to pour out His mercy on you and be in communion with you. But too often we forget or seem unaware of this great gift and friendship the Lord offers to each of us.
So, Jesus appeared to a young Polish girl, St. Faustina, beginning in 1924, before she entered religious life. He gave her a series of messages and an image of His Divine Mercy. Through these private revelations, Jesus told the future saint, “I want the image solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it” (Diary 341).
Through the efforts of St. John Paul II, on May 5, 2000, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments issued a decree which proclaimed the Second Sunday of Easter to be known as Divine Mercy Sunday. So, on this Second Sunday of Easter, 2025, we remember and celebrate the Lord’s Divine Mercy.
Today is also the concluding day of the Easter Octave. The Solemnity of Easter is the feast of feasts and the solemnity of solemnities! Easter Sunday is celebrated for eight days. And, we observe the season of Easter for seven weeks (50 days) from Easter Sunday through Pentecost Sunday. This time of celebration is an incredible opportunity for new life and mercy… for conversion, forgiveness of sin and new beginnings… and to be equipped for our mission to share the good news of the Lord’s mercy with all we encounter.
The Lord’s Mercy
The Lord is merciful. He offers us his peace. The passage from John’s Gospel (John 20:19-31) proclaimed at today’s Mass reports on the powerful and moving encounter between Jesus and His Apostles in the upper room on that first Easter Sunday and again on the following Sunday. It is an encounter of comfort, encouragement and strengthening for His Apostles; an encounter that launched a ministry of reconciliation and the age of Divine Mercy.
What an emotional roller coaster for the Apostles on that Sunday after the Crucifixion! Crucified and buried on Friday, they now had reason to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. Mary Magdalene had reported that she spoke with the risen Lord. Peter and John had witnessed the empty tomb. And now, on the evening of that first Easter Sunday, while they were frightened, uncertain and locked in the upper room, Jesus makes His first appearance to them. No knock at the door… no bolt thrown back… He was simply there. “Peace be with you.”
The Lord knew that His chosen ones would need encouragement and reassurance, therefore He gave them His peace. And he breathed on them. This is important. Where else had God breathed on man? He first breathed on man at creation when He formed man out of the dust of the earth. And now, God again breathes on man… when He empowered His Apostles to begin their ministry of Reconciliation… to hear confessions and to absolve sin.
“And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’ ” (John 20:22-23)
Mission—To be sent
He told them that He was sending them out as the Father had sent Him. It was important for them to finally understand who He was and why He was here; especially now that they were to continue his work:
- the work of proclaiming the good news and reconciling sinners…
- the work of forgiving sin and healing the sinner.
Sin Darkens Our Sight
And yet, today, many of us who need forgiveness and need healing do not truly grasp what is offered to us and who it is that offers it.
Sin darkens the spiritual senses and harms the body and soul. So, it is important that we have a correct image of Jesus in our life. He is all holy and He desires to be in intimate communion with you.
For that to happen, you do not in this life need to be perfect; you need to be forgiven, to be healed and to be contrite and desire holiness. Go to Him in the confessional for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. If you are in a state of grace, go to Him and surrender your life to Him in the Sacrament of Holy Communion.
Pope Francis Reminded Us of the Necessity to Look Outward
Pope Francis, prior to his election to the papacy, delivered a homily to the conclave that would soon elect him. He spoke of the necessity of the Church (both institutional, and the flock) to look outward… to love outward… to avoid becoming a closed silo of self-referential narcissism. He said, “The Church must come out of herself and go to the peripheries.” In this, Pope Francis continued the work of the Lord who taught us that we are to be merciful to others if we expect to receive His mercy.
Jesus told St. Faustina, “I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor: the first by deed, the second by word, and the third by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy.” (Diary 742)
Pope Francis recognized that going out would be messy and prone to mistakes. But he reminded us that to do the Lord’s work requires us to follow the Lord’s example and instruction… reflecting the love and mercy of our Lord, especially to those who are on the margins of society and not just to those in our comfort zones. Jesus met with and served sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes. He shared his love and mercy on those who were outcasts and forgotten.
This work led to the Lord’s crucifixion. It could cost us dearly as well. But we know… you and I know, that God’s metrics are different from the world’s and the consequences are eternal.
This message of Divine Mercy is for each of us, a consolation for us as we embrace His abundant mercy and also a reminder to perform the spiritual and corporal works of mercy for every single person the Lord places in our life.
Prayer Adapted from the Universal Prayer… “Lord Jesus, help me to forget myself and reach out toward others… to serve all you place in my path. Remind me each day that life on earth is short and the life to come eternal.” Amen.
Into the deep…
Image credit: “The Incredulity of Saint Thomas” (detail) | Caravaggio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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