April 11, 2021: Divine Mercy Sunday B
During college our family joined a large travel group to tour through Rome. I wasn’t too excited when I found out that we will be visiting many churches. I was a fallen-away Catholic, and the prospect of visiting churches was not something I wanted to do. There are over 900 churches in Rome, of which 600 are Catholic Churches; what a nightmare for someone who doesn’t like to go into churches!
For visitors to Rome, St Peter’s is the first church everyone wants to visit, but one of the churches I like to visit is the Church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (The Church of Holy Cross in Jerusalem). The church houses splendid relics of the True Cross brought by St. Helen from the Holy Land in the year 325. She discovered the cross on her pilgrimage to Jerusalem near the site of Calvary. One curious relic in Santa Croce Church is an index finger bone of St. Thomas the Apostle. Tradition says that it is the finger that he inserted into the side of the Risen Christ. While St. Thomas is commonly called the “Doubting Thomas,” in reality, he is a “Believing Thomas.” When he saw the evidence--that is, when the Risen Jesus invited him to put his finger in His pierced hands and side--Thomas uttered one of the most profound professions of faith, “My Lord and my God!” So St. Thomas’ finger is really a sign of his faith seeking deeper understanding; he already had an active love of God, and he was seeking a deeper knowledge of God.
Some in our world are so jaded that they refuse to take anything at face value even when evidence is presented. They have experienced some form of broken trust in families, friendships, and life in general that doubt or skepticism is their starting point. Should we be surprised that many distrust that Jesus is the Son of God who comes to save sinful souls rather than condemn them? Even some Christians doubt that God is forgiving. “Why should God forgive me,” they ask. The guilt from their sins creates such intense fear that they doubt the goodness of God and his willingness to forgive them everytime they approach him for forgiveness. Yet this doubt causes great sorrow in God. Jesus said to St. Faustina, “'Oh how much I am hurt by a soul’s distrust! Such a soul professes that I am Holy and Just, but does not believe that I am Mercy and does not trust in My Goodness. Even the devil believes in My Justice, but do not glorify My Goodness. My Heart rejoices in this title of Mercy.'” (No. 300) Even in the convent where Sr. Faustina lived, some nuns doubted that Jesus was merciful. St. Faustina counseled one sister, “When a soul fears getting close to the Lord Jesus after a fall (ie. sin), then it wounds the Sacred Heart of Jesus horribly, for the lack of trust hurts Him more than the most terrible sins”.
No doubt this has been a difficult year for all of us, and many have faced tragic circumstances. However we cannot allow difficult times to sow distrust in God’s plan. When Pope Francis was in Krakow, Poland to celebrate World Youth Day, he offered encouragement to the participants when he said, “Dear young people, have you ever felt the gaze of everlasting love upon you, a gaze that looks beyond your sins, limitations and failings, and continues to have faith in you and to look upon your life with hope? Do you realize how precious you are to God, who has given you everything out of love? Saint Paul tells us that “God proves his love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). Do we really understand the power of these words?”
Christian evangelist, Corrie Ten Boom, told a story about an old Russian woman she met on her trip to the former Soviet Union. The woman’s body was twisted in every direction by years of suffering from multiple sclerosis. The only part of her body that she could control was the index finger of her right hand. Everyday, her husband propped her upright with pillows so that she could type on a vintage typewriter. All day and far into the night, she used her one finger—peck, peck, peck—to translate portions of the Bible, Billy Graham’s writings, and other evangelists’ writings into Russian. As she typed, she prayed for those who would read the words. God was glorified through this woman’s weakness in a powerful way. The thorn of multiple sclerosis that caused so much pain in that woman became her reason for her great trust in Jesus. This woman was confident that even her one finger could bring one soul closer to God. She understood the power of God’s mercy when one trusts with confidence.
On this Divine Mercy Sunday, Our Lord reminds us, “I have opened My Heart as a living fountain of mercy. Let all souls draw life from it. Let them approach this sea of mercy with great trust (Diary, 1520). I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature: ‘Jesus, I trust in You’ (327). The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is — trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive (1578).”
Our Lord revealed to St. Faustina that when we approach Jesus with trust, he fills us with such an abundance of graces that we cannot contain them within ourselves, but radiate them to other souls. We have been changed by Jesus who is merciful to us. Now it is our turn to do the same—to be merciful. Just as St. Thomas and the Russian woman accomplished so much through their trust, we have confidence that our small acts of forgiving, consoling, assisting, and caring for others will bring greater glory to God.
