Today we celebrate how merciful and forgiving God is. This Sunday directly following Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday in the Catholic Church. This Sunday, is dedicated for the Church to teach about the Mercy of God. The devotion to Divine Mercy began with a nun from Poland in the early 1900’s…her name is St. Faustina. Jesus appeared to St. Faustina in a specific way…as the King of Divine Mercy…in white garments with red and pale white light emanating from His Sacred Heart. <Perhaps you’ve seen that image with the words…Jesus, I trust in you…written underneath.> Jesus, through St. Faustina, conveyed this message, and I quote: “I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners… 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.”
Have you ever met someone who stays away from mercy? Are YOU someone who stays away from mercy? It’s kind of universally known. I’ve even seen this on a television show I recently watched. The character refused to go into a church because he thought himself too far gone…unable to be loved by God. He’d walk up the stairs and then quickly turn and jog back down…then he’d psych himself up (breath) and try again.
Well if you or someone you know struggles with the idea that God is merciful…Look at what He did in the Gospel. Jesus gave us the sacrament of Confession in today’s Gospel. I’ll read again: “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.” We learn that Christ gave priests the Holy Spirit in order to be the conduit through which He HIMSELF can forgive sins in Confession. How is that not perfect Mercy? Anything we ask to be forgiven for is given by God!
People have problems with Confession. I get that … I was one of them for sure. I have a Presbyterian friend who told me, “Well…I just confess my sins directly to God.” Well two things: 1) Confession is based on Sacred Scripture…the Bible. We just read one of the passages that made it clear that Jesus desired His priests to forgive sins that are confessed. Jesus wanted it, He set it up this way. To follow the way that Jesus laid down is to take part in Confession. So first, it’s Scriptural. But Second, on a more practical level: It’s exactly what we as humans NEED to FEEL forgiven. Think about it. When you say, “Hey God I’m sorry I did this.” And then …. silence. That is confusing. Being forgiven then would depend on your own mood. Some days you’d feel forgiven. Others you might not.
Here’s an example: Say you promised your wife that you would meet her and her mother for lunch on Saturday. However, after this promise you willingly blow off the lunch date and go do something else. Later that day, you feel bad and send a text, “I’m sorry I just skipped lunch today. I didn’t really want to go and I was selfish but I’ll try to be better in the future.” Imagine she didn’t reply all day. No response. Would you feel forgiven? Would you feel the loving mercy of your wife? My guess is NO! It’s another reason why God gave us confession…so through the priest JESUS can say directly to you. Your sins are forgiven! Go in peace! Sin no more!
Here’s what Jesus said to St. Faustina about confession, He said, “Daughter, When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of Mercy… If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity.” Which means that we do have to approach Confession in the right way. God forgives on His end, we work on our end. Sometimes if someone has a SERIOUS addiction or illness, they need professional help. If there is a mortal sin that is persistent throughout one’s life, there has to be a combination of healing. The cure is Confession COUPLED with counseling. Ask the priest what he recommends. There’s never a judgmental mentality, only help.
So we’ve been given this great gift of Confession…so we’ve been shown mercy and we celebrate it on Divine Mercy Sunday. But … because we were given such a great gift, it should move us to treat others with mercy too. That’s why there are the corporal works of mercy and the spiritual works. Corporal works, feed the hungry, clothe the naked. Spiritual, council the doubtful, visit the lonely. Show others mercy in the correct amount. You’re not a doormat, you keep healthy boundaries up, but forgiveness is needed.
Well…we’re meant to go out and bring Jesus to the world. So that means we take away TWO things from today…from Divine Mercy Sunday. First, that God is Merciful and desires to forgive us for the sake of our healing…especially in Confession. The healing process begins there and when there’s something more serious we couple it with counseling. Second, because we received mercy…we should show mercy. Don’t be a total pushover, keep up boundaries … but be very forgiving and approachable. The more someone is contrite the more they deserve mercy.
So today, this week, and from now on…Know how easily God wants to forgive and heal all of us, all we have to do is correctly and freely approach His Divine Mercy.
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