Readings: Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 118; 1 John 5:1-6; John 20:19-31.
Grace and peace to you dear brothers and sisters in the Lord.
Today, the first Sunday after Easter has traditionally been known as “Low Sunday” since it follows the highest and greatest of all Sundays, to which all Sundays are “low” in comparison. However, on May 5, the Sunday after Easter of the Jubilee Year 2000, Pope John Paul II declared this Sunday as “Divine Mercy Sunday” and established the Feast of Mercy as requested by Our Lord through St. Faustina. It may interest us to know that it was on the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday, April 2, 2005, that now Saint John Paul II died.
Why This Feast?
In the diary of St. Faustina, Our Lord revealed to her the following: He said, “I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, especially poor sinners. On that day, the very depths of My tender mercy are open…” (Diary #699).
Today, the Lord has promised to open for all of us, all who will draw near, the fount of mercy.
The first reading of today reports how the early believers practised charity and mercy in the way they lived.
The Gospel of today opens our minds to the reality of God’s mercy, His peaceful presence and loving forgiveness to the disciples who disappointed Him. He brings peace to those undeserving and gives a second chance to Thomas who is guilty of a culpable doubt.
There are just three things, the Lord asks of us. This is what is called the A, B, C of mercy.
A. Ask for mercy: Everyone who asks will receive. The Gospel of today tells us about the institution of the sacrament of reconciliation as an avenue for obtaining mercy for those who would come.
B. Be merciful: We must be merciful to others and ourselves (Hosea 6:6).
C. Complete confidence in God.
Today, as I encourage us all to approach the Lord for mercy for ourselves and others, I want us to reflect on being merciful.
We all stand in need of God’s mercy but sometimes we are not merciful ourselves. Today, let us ask ourselves, how merciful am I to others?
How merciful am I to those who have wronged or hurt me? How merciful am I to the weak, vulnerable, poor, defenseless, helpless, strangers, to those who are different from me? How merciful am I to my family and those under my care? How merciful am I in judging other people? How merciful am I even to souls in purgatory?
Finally and very importantly, how merciful am I to myself? The reason many of us are not merciful to others is that we have not learnt to be merciful to ourselves.
Sometimes we are too hard on ourselves, we judge ourselves so harshly, we are excessively critical of ourselves, we say negative things about ourselves, we undermine ourselves, we do not forgive ourselves even after being forgiven by God, we demonstrate a lack of compassion for ourselves by holding unto hurts, grudges and bitterness, by subjecting ourselves to self-destructive habits and lifestyles – sexual immorality, excessive drinking and unbridled eating, reckless driving etc., by not taking care of ourselves, by watching things that can corrupt our minds and destroy our souls, by being comfortable in sin… All these are demonstrations of lack of mercy to the self.
It is a sin for us not to be merciful unto ourselves because we are responsible to the Lord how we take care of the self, we are not ultimately our own (Romans 14:8; 2 Thess 3:12).
Dear friends, Jesus is inviting us today to come to the unfathomable and inexhaustible ocean of mercy to receive mercy and grace, He is inviting us to completely trust in Him, He is inviting us to be merciful – not just to others but beginning with ourselves.
Are you willing to start showing mercy to yourself? Unless we are ready to be merciful to ourselves, we may not be able to be merciful to others, if we are not merciful to ourselves and others, it may be impossible to receive or experience God’s mercy in our lives. Mercy is open to all but only the merciful experiences, obtains and enjoys it (Matthew 5:7).
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on Divine Mercy Sunday April 11, 2021.