God does not give up on us!

Did you notice in the recent World Baseball Classic there was a mercy roll for the early rounds of the tournament?  A game is called if a team leads by 15 or more runs after 5 innings or 10 or more runs after 7 innings. When I hear of this mercy rule, it tells me the tournament organizers are giving up on the losing team because they think the team doesn’t have a chance of winning the ballgame.  I remember the mercy rule when I played baseball in Little League.  I hated it.   I did not want to concede until the final out of the game. I didn’t want anyone to give up on me!

This weekend, we celebrate the Second Sunday of Easter, but it’s also known as the Sunday of Divine Mercy.  Mercy is defined as the boundless compassionate love of God. In fact, Pope Saint John Paul II called mercy “love’s second name.” With His divine mercy, God does not give up on us!

You may know the story about the origins of Divine Mercy Sunday.  About a hundred years ago Jesus appeared in visions to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun.  Our Lord presented himself as the “King of Divine Mercy” wearing a white garment with red and pale rays coming from his heart.  Christ requested that a Feast of Divine Mercy be created. Thus in 2000, John Paul II, who just happened to be from Poland, established Divine Mercy Sunday to follow Easter Sunday. 

Additionally, our Lord told St. Faustina that there must also be deeds of mercy, which are to rise out of love for Him. Mind you, he’s not talking about his deeds of mercy, but OUR deeds of mercy. That means, we are to be merciful to our neighbors always and everywhere. When you think about it, our Lord led by example, didn’t he?  As he was dying on the cross, Jesus taught us a valuable lesson about mercy.   He forgave his murderers saying, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Could we forgive someone for such a heinous crime like that? If Jesus can forgive those who murdered Him, who are we not to forgive others who have offended us?   

The National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts says the heart of its message is “God loves us – all of us.  And He wants us to recognize that His mercy is greater than our sins, so that we will call upon Him with trust, receive His mercy, and let it flow through us to others. Thus, all will come to share His joy.” 

Divine Mercy Sunday has been called an “astonishing refuge for sinners.”  On this Sunday, we celebrate the fulfillment of what Easter is all about and we receive a big outpouring of a whole ocean of graces.  On Divine Mercy Sunday, Catholics can obtain what is called a plenary indulgence. The Church teaches (CCC #1471 & Canon Law 992) “an indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven…”  In other words, an indulgence may help us along the way to heaven by removing at least some of the penitential punishment for sins that have already been forgiven.

So how do we obtain a plenary indulgence?  The Church has the following conditions:

1. Be in a state of grace when the indulgenced work is completed.
2. Have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin.
3. Have sacramentally confessed one’s sins and receive the Holy Eucharist within several days before or after the prescribed work.
4. Pray for the intentions of the Pope such as praying the Our Father, the Hail Mary or the Creed. 

An example of indulgenced work could be to participate in Divine Mercy devotions. St. Faustina’s Diary #3441 said “I want the image (of the Divine Mercy) to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it.” On Sunday, April 12 at 3 pm in the church, join Deacon Jerome to honor the desire of Jesus Christ by praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet along with adoration and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Receive the unconditional mercy of God and remember He does not give up on us!