May 1, 2011: Second Sunday of Easter (A) - Divine Mercy Sunday

Click to hear audio homily

On Easter Sunday morning as I greeted parishioners prior to the 11:30AM mass, a little 7-year old girl with a beautiful smile caught my eye. As she waved at me and said, "Hi Jesus", I noticed that she had Down syndrome. I thought to myself, ‘How well her parents have taught her about faith!” Then she waved again at me and said, “Hi Mary.” I looked at her dad and said, “She can see people that we can’t see, can’t she?” He replied, “She certainly can.” Her dad must be used to her seeing Jesus and Mary. For me, this was a great way to begin Easter Sunday knowing that the Risen Jesus and his Mother were with us as we celebrated mass.

If I placed that 7-yr old girl in front of you right now, what would be going through your mind?  Some of you may doubt the existence of Jesus and Blessed Mother, so you may think, 'This girl is imagining things.' On the other hand, you may doubt that Jesus and Blessed Mother would ever want to be near you, so you may be thinking, 'I'm no saint, and God already knows what I have done. I'm not important enough; Jesus and Blessed Mother would probably run from me.'

What would happen if that 7-yr old girl stood near you and said to you, "Hi Jesus, Hi Mary"? Would you be like the Doubting Thomas in our Gospel? Although the other disciples tried to convince him by saying, "We have seen the Lord," Thomas insisted, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” What will it take God to persuade us that He is right here with us? 

During this past Lent, I encountered many who see themselves as unlovable--they believe that they are like a cactus plant, meaning that if anyone tried to love them that they would get hurt. When I asked them what brought about these feelings, some said that it was a childhood trauma; some responded that it was a painful divorce, and some commented that it was poor decisions. As they explained their feelings of being unloved, tears fell from their eyes, and I fervently hoped and prayed for their resurrection. In our Second Reading, St. Peter spoke beautifully about this kind of resurrection. He said, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you."

This beautiful passage reminds me of what Jesus told Sister Faustina in one of her visions. He said, "Be not afraid of your Savior, O sinful soul. I make the first move to come to you, for I know that by yourself you are unable to lift yourself to me. Child, do not run away from your Father; be willing to talk openly with your God of mercy who wants to speak words of pardon and lavish his graces on you. How dear your soul is to Me! I have inscribed your name upon My hand; you are engraved as a deep wound in My Heart."


In the 1930's Sister Faustina received from the Lord a message of mercy that she was told to spread throughout the world. She became the apostle and secretary of God's mercy, a model of how to be merciful to others, and an instrument for reemphasizing God's plan of mercy for the world. She obediently and faithfully kept a diary of the messages that she received from the Lord.

Her obedience to the Lord’s will for her eventually resulted in her canonization, as St. Faustina, and the designation of the Second Sunday of Easter (today) as Divine Mercy Sunday. Pope John Paul II, who is being beatified on May 1 in Vatican City, established this feast to celebrate the infinite compassion and mercy of our God. [We see the image of the Divine Mercy here near the sanctuary. If you notice in the image, Jesus has his hands placed on his heart, and from the heart radiates rays of red and white light signifying the blood and water that he shed for us.]

What, then, does Jesus ask of us? He asks us to trust in His mercy. Jesus told St. Faustina, "Come, then, with trust to draw graces from this fountain. I never reject a contrite heart. Your misery has disappeared in the depths of My mercy." Knowing that this is how Jesus feels about each of us, is it too farfetched for us to believe that a 7-yr old girl could smile and wave at us saying, "Hi Jesus, Hi Mary"?