2nd Sunday in Easter Divine Mercy Sunday

April 7, 2024

Second Sunday of Easter | USCCB

Jesus’ Mercy is the Best Love You Will Ever Know

Amazingly, God’s divine mercy touches the human heart and changes everything for the person.

Have you ever been moved by the mercy of God? Did it not change everything for you? Divine mercy does not come easy for Jesus. It cost Him everything on the cross. God the Father did not want his Son to die such a horrible death. But he permitted it for something greater to come, our conversion. Like the Son, the Father knew that the greatest, most selfless love is a sacrificial love where we lose everything for another’s good.

Stubborn St. Thomas, the apostle, met his match when confronted with the Divine Mercy in the heart of Jesus. The tight knots in his heart that refused to believe in Jesus’ resurrection became so loose that he knelt before Jesus and proclaimed, “My Lord and my God.”

Painful memories, bursts of anger, and even pouting about something that happened can melt away, as Thomas’ doubt gave way to Jesus’ merciful look of love. Jesus only feels our sins in His wounds, but His Sacred Heart is bursting with so much mercy the wounds of crucifixion heal during our conversion.

Notice that in the picture of the Divine Mercy, Jesus told St. Faustina to paint. The wounded hand of Jesus is in the gesture of blessing. How do we react? How do we respond when someone hurts us? In blessing?

My friends, the Lord’s mercy is so personal that when you experience it, you can’t help but let Jesus share it with everyone. Like the martyrs of the Church loved those who persecuted them, we hold nothing against anyone. When Jesus is “My Lord and my God,” everyone can be your friend, even when they don’t know it.

Gospel Challenge:
Finally, looking into the eyes of Jesus in the painting, He told St. Faustina, “My gaze from the eyes in the image is my gaze from the cross. – Mercy is the Love we don’t deserve.”

My friends, encounter the mercy of Jesus every day as you pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. “For the sake of Your sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and the whole world.”

Peace to you,

Fr. Rick Pilger, IC