Divine Mercy Sunday
Acts 2: 1 Peter
1:3-9; Jn 20:19-31 (A)
Today, on the Second Sunday of Easter, we complete the
octave of this liturgical season, one of the two octaves together with
Christmas that remain in the liturgy renewed by the Vatican Council II. For
eight days, we contemplate the same mystery and try to deepen our understanding
of it in the light of the Holy Spirit.
By the design of Pope Saint John Paul II, this Sunday
is Divine Mercy Sunday. It is something that goes far beyond a particular
devotion. As explained by the Holy Father in his encyclical “Dives in
Misericordia” (Divine Mercy) is the loving manifestation of God in a history
wounded by sin. The Latin word “Misericordia” means “mercy” and comes from two
words: “miser” (“misery”) and “cor”, “cordis” (“heart”). God puts our unhappy
situation due to sin in His Father's heart, which is faithful to his plans.
Jesus Christ, died and risen, is the supreme manifestation and action of Divine
Mercy. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn 3:16) and sent him
to death so that we might be saved. “To redeem the slave, he sacrificed the
Son,” we proclaimed in the Easter vigil. And once resurrected, he made him a
source of salvation for all who believe in him. Through faith and conversion,
we receive the treasure of Divine Mercy.
The Holy Mother Church wants her children to live the
life of the Risen One and commands us to receive holy communion during the
Easter season. Indeed, the Easter season is the opportune time for paschal
fulfillment. It is a good time to confess our sins and to receive the
forgiveness of our sins through the faculties that the risen Lord has conferred
on his Church, when he said only to the Apostles: “Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them” (Jn 20:22-23). Thus, we will go to
the sources of Divine Mercy. And let us not hesitate to bring our friends to
these sources of life: the Eucharist and Penance. The risen Jesus counts on us.
When Thomas recognized his Master, he believed and
exclaimed that Jesus was truly Lord and truly God! Through the gift of faith,
we, too, proclaim that Jesus is our personal Lord and our God. He died and rose
that we, too, might have new life in him. The Lord offers each of us new life
in his Holy Spirit that we may know him personally and walk in this new way of
life through the power of his resurrection. Do we believe in the good news of
the Gospel and in the power of the Holy Spirit to bring us new life, hope, and
joy?
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