Divine Mercy!!!

I did not get a chance to write a blog this weekend because the wedding season started in the parishes and we had our first of two First Communion celebrations, so it was a busy time for sure. On the Second Sunday of Easter, we celebrated the Feast of Divine Mercy. This is a topic that we can talk about any day of the year and most importantly, MERCY is a gift that we need to live everyday. As I told the people gathered over the weekend, "Just think how different the world would be if we lived the gift of mercy everyday and shared it with one another." I am sure there would be a different landscape across society if we did this. Of course, living the gift of mercy has to begin with us. We may not be able to change the world but we can change the communities in which we live and the family that God has given to us. As Saint Thomas Aquinas wrote, "Mercy consists in bringing a thing out of non-being into being" (Magnificat, 106). Jesus Christ is our supreme example of how to live mercy. He treated the people that he encountered with love, compassion, and mercy. We pray for that grace to be merciful to one another. I would invite you to focus on the image of Divine Mercy. Jesus standing there with the red and blue rays coming from his heart. This is the image that Saint Faustina Kowalska, the polish nun who was canonized in the early part of this century, had of our Lord. It is a beautiful image and it gives us hope, knowing that our Lord loves us so much. We have that divine assistance with the prayers of Saint Faustina. May the Divine Mercy touch our lives and our hearts so that we can grow in the gift of mercy and share it with others. Saint Faustina, pray for us!!!