THE SUNDAY OF DIVINE MERCY

When Pope St John Paul II declared the Sunday of the Octave of Easter as “Divine Mercy Sunday,” he was of course considering the visions and promises made by our Lord to the pope’s fellow Pole, also now canonized: St Faustina Kowalska. But the Scriptures of this particular Sunday surely were the reason for honoring “Divine Mercy” on this day of all days. Without being systematic, let me make some observations that are more or less random, based on these readings.

The Responsorial is the greatest Easter Psalm of them all—Psalm 118. Combining the antiphon and the text of the Psalm, we hear and proclaim “…his love is everlasting” and “…His mercy endures forever.” The combination of these two terms in English would give us either “merciful love” or “loving mercy”; both terms are actually translations of a single Hebrew word, chesed—the love God has for His people that led to the formation of the covenant.

How does Jesus in the Gospel (John 20:19-31) embody this merciful love? He appears on Easter Sunday evening in the upper room where the disciples (who had denied and abandoned Him on the evening of Thursday) were gathered behind locked doors in fear. Jesus appears in their midst. What could He have said? I think it would have been so easy and (humanly speaking) natural to berate them for their failure: “Where were you when I needed you? After all this time, how could you…?” Fortunately for us, Jesus is NOT simply human! Instead, He offers the gift of peace—a gift that is all at once one of understanding, forgiving, accepting, loving. He is saying to them, “Be at peace! I understand; it’s OK. I love you.”

It’s not simply a matter of “Let’s forgive and forget; it’s over, and we can part amicably.” Instead, it involves a commission in the power of the Holy Spirit—to forgive! Jesus is saying, “As you have been forgiven, you are now enabled to forgive others in My Name.” Is there any greater consolation than the consolation of forgiveness, of healing? I think this is what St Paul is referring to in the beginning of II Corinthians: as we are strengthened in our afflictions, we can strengthen others in their afflictions (II Corinthians 1:3-5). Think also of the parable of Matthew 18:33: “Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?” Ours is the challenge to forgive as we have been forgiven, and as a result to empower others to forgive. This is the essence of Pope Francis’ Urbi et Orbi blessing last weekend: war never heals; only forgiveness heals.

The goal of all this is presented in the 1^st Reading (Acts 4:32-35)— “The community of believers was of one heart and mind…” The goal of loving mercy, then, is the forgiveness that leads to reconciliation, peace, and harmony. It starts in the upper room; it moves to the Jerusalem community, and its goal is us—as individuals, as families, as parish, as Church. On this Divine Mercy Sunday, can we find it in ourselves to be people of loving mercy, knowing that we have been treated with loving mercy by God in the power of Jesus’ resurrection? Think of the tremendous blessings, the healing, we could bring! -Fr. David