The theme I have chosen is "Why I Love Being Catholic".
Let's continue....
D-Divine Mercy Sunday
Definition: Pope St. John Paul II declared the second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday. All of us are encouraged to focus on the infinite mercy of God, which is lovingly poured out to us through our Lord Jesus Christ.
History: In 1931, Jesus appeared to a polish nun, St. Maria Faustina. His message to her was a reminder of what the church has always taught through scripture and tradition: That God is merciful and forgiving and that we too must show mercy and forgiveness. He requested that this image be made to call people to a deeper understanding of this message.
The beautiful image is the risen Christ whose hands and feet bear the marks of the Crucifixion. When asked about the meaning of the rays from His pierced Heart, Jesus explained to her, "The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. ... These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross" (St. Faustina Diary, 299.)
Personal: Our homilist on Sunday spoke of mercy. He began by stating what mercy is not. Mercy is not an acceptance or tolerance of sin. Mercy does not do away with sin or pretend sin doesn't matter. I think this is so important to point out, especially these days. We often think that if something makes us happy, it must not be sinful. After all, God loves us no matter what.
That is a fact. God does love us no matter what. However, if that was all that mattered and sin didn't have significance, then there would have been no need to send his son to die on a cross for us. Pope Pius XII once said, "The greatest sin is the loss of the sense of sin."
The bottom line and what the homilist said at church on Sunday? We need to form our conscience on what is good and evil according to the teachings of Christ and his Church.
He concluded his homily with the following:
Today our Lord Jesus is inviting us to surrender to Him-to surrender to His infinite love and mercy. He wants us to let go. He pours out His mercy upon us and speaks the same words to us that He spoke to His Apostles on the evening of Easter Sunday, which is:
"Peace be with you!"
very nice post.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great homily!! (Or parts of it.) I just cringe when I hear people throw out the phrase, "Who am I to judge?" We are called to judge the action, not the person, but dang it! The action must be judged. We show mercy by lovingly guiding the person (usually the person needs to be the one we see in the mirror first ;)
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