The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the defining event in all of history for us as Christians. God formed, prepared and journeyed with His chosen people for 2000 years, getting them ready for His radical intervention into human history, which culminated with His Son’s death and resurrection. Every prophecy and every significant event in the Old Testament pointed to God’s masterpiece, the greatest act of love that the world has ever known, the supreme gift of His only-begotten Son who suffered, died and rose for us. Every promise of mercy, healing, hope and new life during Jesus’ public ministry finds its source in His rising on the third day.
The resurrection is so significant that the Church does not think that it can be properly celebrated in one day. So, we celebrate Easter Sunday for eight days. The Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, concludes the octave of Easter. Now we proceed to celebrate the Easter season which lasts for 50 days.
Our Lord’s resurrection confirms Jesus’ claim that He came to redeem the world, to free us from sin, reconcile us with our heavenly Father, to restore peace to our souls, to offer us new and abundant life. Our redemption flows from the resurrection and is the direct fruit of Jesus’ divine mercy, offered so freely, so generously and so humbly to every sinner, no matter how grievous the offense.
Venerable John Paul II declared in April of 2000 that the Second Sunday of Easter also be named “Divine Mercy Sunday.” The pope was inspired by the life and teaching of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun who lived during the early part of the 20th century. Inspired by her deep faith in the risen Lord, and guided by personal revelations that Jesus made to her, St. Faustina had a heart that burned with love for the Lord and the desire to spread the Good News, particularly about Jesus’ divine mercy. She was convinced that the truth of God’s mercy is the very heart of the Good News and must be boldly proclaimed to the whole world.
On one occasion, St. Faustina heard these words: “My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire the feast of Mercy be a refuge and 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. … Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sin 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.”
(St. Faustina helped to spread devotion to Divine Mercy through a variety of means, including a revealed image of Christ, the Divine Mercy chaplet, a novena to Divine Mercy and the 3 o’clock devotion.)
Today’s Gospel reading proclaims the moment when we understand that Jesus instituted the sacrament of mercy. On Easter Sunday night, Jesus entrusted again His whole mission to the Apostles and the Church when He said to the Apostles: “‘As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’” Clearly, the proclamation and conferral of God’s mercy is at the heart of His mission, and it was entrusted to the Church, particularly through the priestly ministry of the Apostles and their successors.
May we never stop marveling at the height, depth and breathe of God’s mercy. May His mercy renew and transform our lives. May the proclamation of His divine mercy be always at the very center of the Church’s words and deeds. May we share St. Faustina’s ardent desire to be proclaimers and carriers of His mercy to every heart in every corner of our world.
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