Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Today is the Second Sunday of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday. St. Faustina, the apostle of mercy, wrote a diary of her conversations with Our Lord and in it she said: “O Jesus, when I consider the great price of Your Blood, I rejoice at its immensity, for one drop alone would have been enough for the salvation of all sinners. Although sin is an abyss of wickedness and ingratitude, the price paid for us can never be equaled. Therefore, let every soul trust in the Passion of the Lord, and place its hope in His mercy. God will not deny His mercy to anyone. Heaven and earth may change, but God’s mercy will never be exhausted. Oh, what immense joy burns in my heart when I contemplate Your incomprehensible goodness, O Jesus! I desire to bring all sinners to Your feet that they may glorify Your mercy throughout endless ages.”
Today is not just a day to remember that God is merciful and kind. It’s a day to remember how Jesus desires us to always know that we can come to Him to encounter His mercy for us who are sinners. All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (cf. Romans 3:23). We need to acknowledge that without Jesus Christ we can’t fnd the happiness and joy we desire most in our lives. But it is Christ Jesus who desires with the immensity of His gift of mercy to bestow it upon us as we come to seek it and ask for it – not as a mere token of something we think all people deserve, but as a pure gift of the love of God who gave His only son so that we may have eternal life (cf. Jn. 3:16). As St. Faustina suggested, may each of us come to His feet to glorify His mercy. Let us have grateful hearts for his infinite mercy that He desires to bestow upon us.
The image of Divine Mercy – keep it in your home! The image is so powerful because Our Lord said “I am offering people a vessel from which they are to keep coming for graces, to this fountain of mercy.” And that vessel is this image. And again Our Lord said to St. Faustina, “By means of this image, I will grant many graces to souls, so let them have access to it.”
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy – Jesus told St. Faustina: “Through the Chaplet you will obtain
everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will.” Pray the Chaplet when possible. The ideal is the hour of mercy (3:00PM), but pray it whenever you are able.
May you and your family be filled with the abundance of blessings and graces
of the Lord Jesus on this Second Sunday of Easter and this Divine Mercy
Sunday!
Dr. William O’Leary
Pastoral Associate