The church celebrates the Divine Mercy Sunday on the 2nd Sunday after Easter. According to the diary of St. Faustina, it is a request that was made by the Lord and she was asked to make it known to the whole world. This feast was named by Pope St. John Paul II at the canonization of St. Faustina on April 30th 2,000.  There is no better time to appeal to the mercy of God than at this particular time, when the world is faced with the challenges of the corona virus pandemic. We need to appeal to the mercy of God and his intervention in our situation in the world presently. In the diary of St. Faustina, the Lord said, “I desire that the feast of mercy be a refuge and a shelter for all soul’s and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of my tender mercy is open”. In view of this, there is a plenary indulgence for all those who can confess their sins and receive the Eucharist on Sunday. Thus, we all have to embrace the mercy of God for our personal healing and the healing of our world from this corona virus pandemic. It is an opportunity for us to plead for the mercy of God in a very special way, believing that he will show us mercy and answer our prayers.

The response to our psalm on this Divine Mercy Sunday invites us to “give praise to the Lord, for he is good: his mercy endures forever”. Today is that great day of Gods mercy and an opportunity that we have to make good use of, for ourselves, our family and the world at large. We all need the healing mercy of God; if not for ourselves, then for our world. This healing mercy of God will strengthen more the newness of life that comes with the resurrection of the Lord, as presented to us in the 2nd reading from St. Peter. This is an empowerment that comes to us as a people who believe in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are the Easter people, the people of the resurrection. Let our life reflect this newness that can come from people who truly believe in the mystery of the resurrection of Christ. Let us make it our own by becoming through witnesses of the resurrection of Christ in our word and deeds. This is one of the ways through which we can make our witnessing to the resurrection of Christ count in our world today.

In the 1st reading from the Acts of the Apostle, we see the wonderful community spirit that was found amongst the first Christian community. The bond of love and unity that is found amongst them, challenges us as Christians today in our world. Their love and concern for one is something that is worthy of emulation among Christians in our world today. A bond that have no place for envy, jealousy, backbiting, evil plans, divisions, and so forth. It is an opportunity for us to re-evaluate the quality of our Christian life and make the necessary change if necessary. By so doing, making our life and our world a better place for all of us.

In the Gospel reading, Jesus visits his disciples after eight days of his resurrection and empowered them by breathing on them; he gave them the power to forgive and retain sin. By so doing preparing them for the ministry that awaits them in the future. In the same way today, he is also empowering us with the power of divine mercy, to strengthen our newness of life that comes through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Dear friends in Christ, as Christians who believe in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us resolve to witness to this wonderful event in our word and deed. Let the world experience our bond of love, peace and unity; just like in the life of the first Christian community in the Acts of the Apostle.

May God grant us the grace to be true witnesses of God’s presence in our world. Peace be with you. Amen.

 

 

 

Homily for Divine Mercy Sunday Year A, by Fr. Jude Ifezime, C.S.Sp 16.04.2020