TODAY, WE CELEBRATE Divine Mercy Sunday. But what is Divine Mercy? In English, “mercy” often means an act of pardon with cancellation of punishment.
In Scripture, mercy is much richer: in Hebrew, hesed refers to steadfast, covenant love between God and his people, and rachamim, tender motherly compassion; the Greek eleos conveys a healing kindness—literally, oil poured on a wound; in Latin, misericordia means “a miserable heart,” described as “pain in your heart for the pain of another, and taking the pain to do something about their pain.”
St. John Paul II (Rich in Mercy) describes mercy as love’s second name. The Catechism teaches that the entire Gospel is the revelation of Jesus as God’s mercy to sinners. Divine Mercy is all of God’s loving action in the world. Every good we receive is an expression of God’s mercy, a forgiving love that lifts us from physical and spiritual misery. Divine Mercy is the continuation of God’s love even when we have ceased to love Him.
Many theologians call mercy God’s greatest perfection. Why? Simply, it is the beauty of God from the eyes of we, the sinful beholders. God’s
love for us on earth is always without exception a merciful love because who we are relative to God, bridging the chasm between the Uncreated and the created. The ultimate expression of Divine Mercy is Jesus Christ himself—God incarnate, revealing the Father, redeeming us through His Passion, Death and Resurrection.
Jesus experienced His Passion and Death bearing the incalculable and unimaginable weight of all sin by everyone for all time- past, present and future.
In her diary, St. Faustina, the “Apostle of Divine Mercy,” records a vision of Jesus declaring, “I am love and mercy itself.” To receive the Divine Mercy Feast graces, she emphasizes the need for an authentic confession, a worthy reception of the Eucharist and three additional actions: (1) ask for mercy; (2) be merciful ourselves in word, deed and prayer; and (3) trust in Jesus in repentance for sins.
In John’s Gospel account (Jn. 20:19-31), the disciples’ response to the Resurrection is not joyful celebration but fear;they go into hiding, locked away in the
Upper Room, afraid of the Jewish leaders— and perhaps afraid of Jesus Himself. Why? Because they had abandoned Him. Full of guilt, they hunkered down, paralyzed by their fear. Their desertion is part of a chain of continuous human resistance to God throughout Salvation History.
Yet, Jesus pursues His disciples through the locked door and immediately extends Divine Mercy: “Peace be with you;” no condemnation, no punishment. Jesus empowers them to forgive sins in His name; breathing out the Holy Spirit like He did in Creation, breathing life into Adam, just as He did for us in our own baptisms. Jesus then sends them, as the Father sent Him, into a world overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, to share His Divine Mercy with others mired in spiritual misery.
Each of us struggles with fear, doubt and sin, just like the disciples. Even after celebrating Easter just days ago, do we find ourselves spiritually locked away in our own “Upper Room,” hiding from God, others, even from ourselves? Yet, Jesus keeps coming to us, amidst our fear, with peace, forgiveness, love and
mercy, especially in His sacraments; to unlock our hearts sending us into a world that desperately needs His Divine Mercy. On this special Feast, follow the directives given St. Faustina: ask for mercy; do mercy; trust in Jesus.
In the words of Jesus, “Do not doubt, but believe (Jn. 20:27),” …and rejoice because, … “His mercy endures forever (Ps. 136).”