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| Mary Magdalene With Jesus |
Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter, King David,
the woman at the well (Jn. 4) and the woman caught in adultery (Jn. 8), the
little “Tree-climber” Zachaeus, and finally the Good thief--- what did this
entourage of motley individuals all have in common???? One thing! THE MERCY OF
GOD!!!! They were all sinners; they fell
out of the boat, sunk in the mud—some up to their necks---- but they all turned
to one redeeming quality: TRUST IN GOD’S INFINITE MERCY!
EASTER.
The “Solemnity of Solemnities” every year is Easter Sunday. “The Lord
Jesus is truly risen from the dead, never to die again, Alleluia!” By far, this
is the most sublime and glorious of all Feast days--- technically called
“Solemnity!” Given the sublime and divine character of this event, by no
stretch of the imagination could it be possible to celebrate the Lord’s triumph
over sin, the devil and death in one 24 hour day! Therefore, the Easter day is not one 24 hour
day, but a full eight days it is celebrated--- up until the Octave which lands
on the new Solemnity instituted by Blessed Pope John Paul II the year 2000, on the
Second Sunday of Easter. The same day
was the first canonization of the New Millennium and guess who John Paul
canonized to kick off the new millennium? None other than Saint Faustina Kowlaska,
“The Secretary of Divine Mercy.”
The following essay has as its purpose
to get to know, love, extol and praise the MERCY OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS
CHRIST! With the Psalmist let our
hearts explode with joy acclaiming:
“Give thanks to the Lord for He is good for His mercy endures forever.”
Ten Hallmarks
of the Infinite Mercy of Jesus
SUBLIMITY OF MERCY! Both Blessed Pope John Paul II as well as
Saint Faustina Kowalska agreed mutually on this conclusion: MERCY IN GOD is by
far His greatest attribute or virtue. This being the case we should all make a
concerted effort to get to know what mercy is, to meditate on God’s mercy, to
allow God’s mercy to fill our hearts and finally to live out the “Gospel of
mercy” in our modern world so filled with anger, resentment and a desire for
hatred and revenge! May God’s mercy triumph!
JESUS’ ARDENT DESIRE. Jesus’ most ardent desire, a desire that like
a fire is consuming His Sacred Heart, is to bestow upon all the treasures of
His Infinite mercy. Like an infinite
abyss, like a fathomless ocean, like the grains of sand on the seashore, like
the stars speckling the sky, God’s mercy is infinite!
FREE OF CHARGE. Usually precious and rare items like gold,
diamonds, rubies and emeralds are highly costly—beyond the range of most. Interesting as it may seem, God’s gifts are
by far the most precious, but also they are gratuitous, absolutely free of
charge. Jesus’ mercy is for your taking and receiving and assimilating in your
heart. Listen to the Words of Jesus Himself: “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door
will be opened to you.” (Mt. 7:7) Why not ask of Jesus’ mercy?
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| The Merciful Father Embraces the Prodigal Son |
MEANING OF “MERCY”. The etymology of the word from Latin is
MISERICORDIA. This is a compound word
with two parts: “Miseria”--- meaning misery (Moral-misery or sin) “Cordia”---
meaning heart. (God’s heart). God’s loving and merciful heart meets with the sinner
and lovingly and tenderly forgives. The best example is the Parable of the
Prodigal Son or if you like “The merciful Father.” (Lk. 15: 11-32). The moral misery of man is great, but God’s
loving and merciful heart is greater. As St. Paul reminds us: “Where sin
abounds, the mercy of God abounds all the more.”
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GOD’S MERCY IS IMMEDIATE! The Psalmist teaches us: “God is slow to anger and rich in kindness
(mercy.)” The Most Sacred Heart of
Jesus, tender, kind and infinitely merciful is ready to forgive us in an
instant, in the bat of an eye, as quick as a heartbeat. Pope Francis recalled this truth, preaching
on Mercy, saying that God never gets tired of forgiving us (His mercy is
infinite); but we get tired of asking for His mercy! Our problem is that we compare God to
ourselves--- We are slow to forgive and quick to anger!!! God the exact
opposite! Praise God’s mercy!
SINNERS HIS FAVORITES! The merciful Heart of Jesus has His
favorites and those are the most hardened sinners. Jesus expressed clearly and unequivocally to
Saint Faustina in the Diary that the greatest sin is not so much sin itself but
the lack of trust in His infinite mercy. Indeed, the greatest sinners can
become the greatest saints upon one simple condition: LIMITLESS TRUST IN HIS
MERCY!!! Remember the Good thief. A
terrible sinner all his life, thief, murderer insurrectionist, at the very end
of his life he turned to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into your
kingdom.” Jesus, moved to the depths of His most merciful and compassionate
Heart, responded immediately: “Amen I say to you: today you will be with me in
Paradise.” This great sinner became a great saint instantaneously. Why? His
trust in Jesus’ Infinite Mercy!
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| Judas Betrays Jesus With a Kiss |
DEVIL’S TOOL: DESPAIR! One of the principal and most powerful tools
of the devil is to convince the sinner that his sin is so great that it goes
beyond the pale of God’s mercy. What are the words and tactics of the devil?
“You fell again; God is angry at you; He will not forgive you! God is tired and
fed up with you. Just end it and give up and throw in the towel!” Who gave into
this? Judas Iscariot. If he were to have repented, all throughout the world
there would be churches with the title “Saint Judas Iscariot, the
penitent.” This church does not exist because
he gave into despair. May God save us. Jesus I trust in you!
INCOMPREHENSIBLE! The depths, width,
length and profundity of God’s mercy go way beyond our limited
understanding. Jesus told Saint Faustina
that even the angels in heaven--- who have a much more keen intellect than any
human person—cannot plumb the depths of God’s Infinite mercy.
CONFESSION. How and in what way is the most efficacious
path to experiencing Jesus’ infinite mercy?
For Catholics it is by means of a Sacrament; that Sacrament is the
Sacrament of Confession/Penance/ Reconciliation/Forgiveness. The Gospel for Mercy Sunday is actually the
Gospel of the Institution of the Sacrament of Confession. “Jesus
said to them again, “Peace be with you. 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 you retain are
retained.” (Jn. 20:21-23). What consoling words to hear after unloading
your sins: “I absolve you of your sins in the name of
the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Your sins are forgiven, go in peace!
GOD’S GREAT GIFT FOR MERCY SUNDAY: TOTALLY NEW LIFE! For those who have made a well-prepared,
humble and sincere confession in the Lenten Season or Easter week, then they
participate in Mass on Mercy Sunday and receive Holy Communion with great love
and devotion, and have the intention to fight against and give up sin in their
life, then Jesus promises forgiveness of all sins as well as remission of all
temporal punishment. In concrete, this
is comparable to a second Baptism and if one were to die then, he would go
straight to heaven. An interesting note,
Blessed Pope John Paul II, who promoted and lived out Divine Mercy to its very
essence and core, died the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday, having received Holy
Communion and also it was the first
Saturday of the month,(in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary) April 2, 2005.
Nothing happens by chance! Rather, all is directed by God’s merciful and
providential Hand!
Concluding
Marian Note on Mercy
Of course the Merciful Heart of Our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ was formed for nine months in the Immaculate Heart and womb of the
Blessed Virgin Mary. One of the greatest
Marian Literary Masterpieces was written by the Doctor of the Church, Saint
Alphonsus Maria Liguori, The Glories of
Mary. This masterpiece is a commentary
on the prayer to Mary, “The Hail Holy Queen.”
One of the key themes of the work is that in God there are two opposing
attributes: His Mercy and His Justice. However in the Blessed Virgin Mary there
is only one: HER MERCY!!! In other words, Mary is the Incarnate manifestation
of God’s mercy. For that simple reason we should never, never, never, be afraid
to approach God’s throne of mercy through the intercession of Mary, Our Lady of
Mercy. “Never was it known that anyone
who fled to her protection was left unaided….” (The Memorare or Saint
Bernard). “Hail Holy Queen, Mother of
MERCY…. Our life, our sweetness and
our hope. Fulton Sheen describes the
demise and debacle of the poor Judas because he failed to look into the eyes of
Mary, which would have melted his hardened heart. May the Immaculate and
merciful Heart of Mary attain for us a total and limitless trust in the Mercy
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. JESUS I TRUST IN YOU! JESUS I TRUST IN YOU! JESUS
I TRUST IN YOU!
