Thank You!
I wanted to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to everyone: to all who faithfully and lovingly served in our Holy Week liturgies, to all who participated in coming out to celebrate those great days, to all who kindly offered support through cards or gifts, and to all who ate my sour candy at the Easter Vigil party—you clearly care for me enough to prevent me from eating that junk that you were willing to take it on yourself!
Divine Mercy Sunday
Why is the Second Sunday of Easter known as Divine Mercy Sunday? The Second Sunday of Easter is actually the final day of the octave of Easter, the eight days during which the liturgical feast of Easter is celebrated as if it were all a singular day. The Gospel for this Sunday takes place on the evening of that first Sunday of the Lord’s Resurrection, when he appears to his disciples in the locked room and says to them, “Peace be with you,” and gives them his own authority to forgive sins in his name; “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained (Jn 20:22).”
Pope St. John Paul II, in seeing the connection between Easter and Divine Mercy said this, “Divine Mercy! This is the Easter gift that the Church receives from the risen Christ and offers to humanity.” Indeed, true peace can only be experienced by the power of forgiveness, which is a divine gift given in the face of the rejection and murder of God’s own Beloved. As St. Peter preached, we killed the Author of life (Acts 3:15), but that Author comes back and bestows his divine peace upon us.
The Feast of Divine Mercy is a relatively new feast, coming from St. Faustina’s (1905-1938) mystical encounters with Jesus which are recounted in her diary (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul). In it, Jesus shares with her this message:
“My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and a shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day are opened all the divine floodgates through which graces flow. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. 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.” (Diary, 699)
We began to pray the Divine Mercy novena after the Good Friday liturgy and will be concluding it this weekend, and there will be a little food and fellowship to celebrate the occasion after our 11am Mass.
Jesus, I trust in You!
Fr. Brian Trueman