DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY

 Sunday 16th April 2023

Divine Mercy Sunday (2nd Sunday of Easter)

St. Pope John Paul II canonized Sr Faustina Kowalska known as a saint of mercy on the first Sunday after Easter on April 30, 2000. A brief extract from the Pope's homily on her canonization day, "Jesus told Sr Faustina: Humanity will not find peace until it turns trustfully to Divine Mercy."

First reading. Acts 2: 42-47
Psalm 118: 2-4, 13-15, (1 Peter 1:3-922-24 (R. 1)
Second reading. 1 Peter 1: 3-9
Gospel. John 20:19-31

TOPIC FOR REFLECTION

THE MERCY OF GOD IS ENDLESS 

As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.’ After saying this He breathed on them and said:

‘Receive the Holy Spirit.
For those whose sins you forgive,
they are forgiven;
for those whose sins you retain,
they are retained.’

The above words of Jesus to His Apostles are the power and authority He gave to the Church. The power and authority came through the Apostles to forgive sin. As you can see that the Authority was given in the Trinitarian formulas, and not only in His name alone.

The clauses are as follows:
***As the Father sent me..... God the Father
***So I am sending you..... Jesus, God the Son
***He breathed the Holy Spirit on them..... God the Holy Spirit.

With this Trinitarian divine mandate, a priest in his words of absolution would always conclude the prayer by saying "... I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit."
A priest will never say I forgive you in the name of Jesus.
This is to show that the Trinity is ONE.

Similarly, I encourage us to apply the above mandate to ourselves as Christians, which simply means that as the Father has forgiven us, we too must forgive others. Cf. Matt. 6:7

On the Cross of cavalry, while Jesus was about to give up, He said, "Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." After His death, a soldier pierced  His side, and blood, and water flowed.

Today in the Church, we pray the Divine Mercy prayer, imploring the mercy of God on us and the whole world. Below are some parts of the Divine Mercy prayer

...You expired Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world 🌎
...O blood and water which gushed forth from the heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in you.
...For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and the whole world 🌎.

My dear, the mercy of God is endless. Please 🙏 do not get tired or discouraged from asking for His mercy constantly.

In other to experience God's mercy, below are suggestions on what to do.

1. Learn to forgive yourself, if you fail to forgive yourself, there is no way you will experience God's mercy. If you are not at peace with yourself, there is no way you can experience external peace. Forgiveness is all about peace and reconciliation, so reconcile with yourself in other to reconcile with God.
2. Learn to be merciful and compassionate to others as God is to you.
3. Do not take the mercy of God for granted. St. Paul says, should we continue to sin, so that the grace of God may abound? Cf. Rom. 6:23 and he replied God forbid. He now advised further in Rom. 6:2. To desire to continue in sin shows a misunderstanding of God's abundant grace and a show of poor contempt for Jesus' sacrifice.

Therefore, though not easy, let us try to embrace the mercy of God and never take it for granted.

HAPPY DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY.

Peace ✌️ be with you.

Rev. Fr. Segun Oladeji, CRS.

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