WORD ALIVE
An SVD missionary in one of the Pacific Islands related how surprised he was one day to be visited in his parish by a woman carrying a handful of sand. “Do you know what this is?” she asked. “It looks like sand,” replied the missionary. “What does this all mean?”
“Well, these are my sins,” the woman explained, “they are as countless as the sands of the sea. How can I ever obtain forgiveness for all of them?”
“Woman,” said the missionary, “take it back and pile up a heaping mound of sand. Then sit back and watch the waves come in and wash the pile slowly, surely, and completely away.”
“That is how God’s forgiveness works. His mercy is as big as the ocean. Be truly sorry and the Lord will undoubtedly forgive you.”
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Somebody also quipped: “God takes away all our sins in confession and throws them into the depths of the sea. He puts a sign on the shore which reads, ‘No Fishing!’”
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Today, the Second Sunday of Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday.
Sister Faustina Kowalska was declared a saint on April 30, 2000 by Pope John Paul II.
The Lord appeared to Faustina several times, declaring this extremely simple message: the Heart of Jesus is overflowing with divine mercy toward sinners and wants all to come to him with trust-filled love.
This invitation is powerfully expressed in the classic painting of the Risen Christ, which an artist accomplished under the guidance of Sr. Faustina who in 1931 had seen with red and white rays of light emanating from Jesus’ chest.
Jesus himself had instructed Sr. Faustina to have the sentence “Jesus, I trust in you” written at the bottom of that painting.
This is the forgiving mercy that led the Risen Christ to go in search of his disciples the very day he rose from death. Despite the fact that they had abandoned him when he was ignominiously dragged from one court to the other, then carried his cross, and finally died on the cross, he reassured them of his forgiving love.
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We live in an increasingly secularized world that ignores God and engenders violence, hatred, wars, drug abuse, sexual epidemics like AIDS (Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome), and legalized abortion.
Ask forgiveness by availing of the Sacraments of Confession and the Holy Eucharist. Also, show gratitude to God for his mercy by doing acts of charity and forgiving our enemies.
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Let’s not forget: God’s infinite mercy should not be a license for abuse. “Since God is good and merciful,” one might say, “I can go on committing sin then confess afterwards.” That’s surely a wrong attitude. God sees the human heart and knows if we are sincere or not.
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Remember too: We should make reparation for our sins and transgressions. This is exemplified by Zaccheus, the senior tax collector, who felt deep remorse of conscience over his huge ill-gotten wealth.
When Christ came to his house, the tax collector humbly confessed: "Lord, I give one-half of my belongings to the poor; and if I defrauded anyone, I pay him four times." Moved by remorse and repentance, Jesus replied: “Salvation has come to this house today" (Read Lk 19, 1-10).
Take note of this: tax evaders, tax collectors, corrupt officials and politicians.
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Thoughts to ponder. Pilate asked the crowd: “Who should I let go: Jesus, King of the Jews or Barrabas, the thief?” The people shouted: “Barrabas!” And over 2000 years later the people are still choosing the thieves!
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When a wife gets angry at her husband, she gets hysterical… and also historical (digs out her husband’s past sins).
When we forgive, we should also forget the past.
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“If we live by an ‘eye for an eye’ kind of justice and ‘tooth for a tooth,’ the whole world would be blind and toothless today!” – Mahatma Gandhi.
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Support vocations. One way of making reparation for sins and wrongdoings are to support seminarians whose parents are financially hard-up.
Donate any amount or sponsor a seminarian's schooling for one school year. Thank you. (Email: [email protected])