Ocean of Mercy (Divine Mercy Sunday ABC)

I was walking leisurely along the beautiful stretch of the shore of Boracay, when my attention was caught by a jolly teenage boy masterfully working on the fine white sand building his awesome castle.  As he completed it, he allowed tourists to pose and take pictures with it as background.  Some were so pleased that they even tipped him.  I walked farther along the shore as the red sun was retiring hesitatingly behind the horizon; something within me nudged me to make my own castle.  Yes, I fumbled at first but built my sand castle anyhow. But no sooner had I completed my masterpiece than the ocean mockingly wiped it out!  Just like that. No pictures. No tourist tips for me.

But I experienced consolation.  As I looked at the great ocean reflecting the beautiful colors of the setting sun, it reminded me of the vast mercy of God capable of wiping out my ambitious but feeble castle of sins.

On Good Friday, the sinful world mocked Jesus who died on the cross; but on Easter morning, Jesus victoriously rose from the dead conquering the destructive power of sin. Henceforth, sin has fallen and remained as such—a pretentious castle made of sand. As often as it is built and rebuilt, the ocean of God’s mercy is there to wipe it out. Alleluia!

Today, the second Sunday of Easter is the Divine Mercy Sunday, a special day to rejoice because of the assurance of the infinite mercy of God for us who are sinners but who long for salvation. Pope John Paul II pronounced the second Sunday of Easter as the Divine Mercy Sunday on April 30, 2000 during the ceremony of the canonization of St. Mary Faustina Kowalska, the Polish nun who had received from Christ the revelations of the Divine Mercy in the early years of the twentieth century. One of Christ’s requests through these revelations was the reservation of the second Sunday of Easter for the entire Church to honor and commemorate God's infinite mercy.  Pope John Paul II fulfilled the request.

Hence, today, we discern in the gospel reading (Jn 20: 19-31) the revelation of the mercy of God as the Risen Lord confronted his fearful disciples.  Jesus appeared to his disciples who were hiding in a locked room out of fear. He appeared to them not to reproach them of their cowardly act of denying and abandoning him as He suffered in Calvary.  No. He passed through the locked doors and through their fears and guilt in order to bring peace into their troubled hearts. “Peace be with you!” And indeed their fears turned into rejoicing.

More significantly, the Risen Lord appeared to them to give them the power to bring into this sinful world the mercy of God: “’Peace be with you.  As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’  And when he has said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained’” (v.21-23).

This is the explicit institution of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In this sacrament we experience the mercy of God.  By this sacrament, the Church fulfills the mission for which she is sent—to proclaim to the world that the limitless ocean of God's mercy overcomes the pretentious sand castles of our sins. 

Hence, today we rejoice because of this assurance. But how can we partake of this tremendous gift of God’s mercy? Let us explore three things we can do to make the Divine Mercy truly integral to our Christian living:

Acknowledging our utter need for God’s mercy.  We have to be humble to accept that we are sinners. And we should be horrified that we are in sin and that we cannot save ourselves from its slavery.  We need God’s mercy to set us free. Our greatest tragedy, and this is already a plague in our contemporary society, is when we live in sin and are no longer disturbed by it. It is then very helpful that we examine our conscience regularly so that we may not be blind to the persistent influence of sin in our lives and that we may humbly acknowledge our utter need for God’s forgiveness.

Trusting in the mercy of God. The ocean of God’s mercy has been made available by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Risen Lord has entrusted to the Church the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation through which we experience the joy of being forgiven.  Here is what Jesus told St. Faustina about confession: When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy (Diary, 1602). As sinners, let us surrender to the merciful arms of our Lord as we pray in our hearts: “Jesus, I trust in you.”

Becoming merciful.  One of the many things Jesus demanded from St. Faustina is this: "I demand from you deeds of mercy... You are to show deeds of mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere." As we experience the mercy of God in our lives, we are invited to share to others that same mercy. Let us allow the ocean of God’s mercy to be channeled through us.  Mercy is Christianity’s distinctive virtue. To be a Christian is to be merciful. This means to be forgiving to those who are indebted to us in whatever way and to be kind and loving especially to those who cannot return the favor because of misery and poverty.

Through the death and resurrection of our Lord, the ocean of God’s mercy opened up for the whole world. This Sunday invites us to celebrate with joy the gift of God’s infinite mercy. Let us surrender to the Lord our sinfulness and that of the whole world and completely trust in his mercy as we pray: “Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” Amen.