Divine Mercy Sunday! Its too good to be true

Intro to Divine Mercy - Christ Himself

I was giving a talk on Divine Mercy yesterday in Ontario… and its way out there… yet it gave me a chance to think and preach on how beautiful our Lord is.  A friend just sent me: Diary 491 “Priests, help me [speak to souls about the great mercy of God]; USE THE STRONGEST WORDS [AT YOUR DISPOSAL] to proclaim His Mercy, for every word falls short of how merciful He really is!”

Whenever I have to do work, but especially work somewhere else, I think…arghhhh, traffic, exhausted, I’m already exhausted, when will I exercise? sleep, eat? relax?….

Teach us, good Lord, To serve thee as thou deservest; To give and not to count the cost; To fight and not to heed the wounds; To toil and not for seek for rest; To labour and not to ask for any reward Save that of knowing that we do thy will.

(St Ignatius Loyola)

And when I finished preaching to these 25 or so people, mostly women, church ladies and worshipping the Lord, I thought, “Man, Lord! That was great! We should do this again sometime!!!!”

In work, we perform for a paycheck. But in life, when doing God’s will, His reward is better than we expect, even in this life!

What is Divine Mercy? Well, it is Christ Himself, He is Mercy Incarnate. Pope Benedict XVI said that “Mercy is the nucleus of the Gospels and the whole Bible.” Its not just a devotion, its the message.

“Mercy is a love response in the face of suffering” - Fr. Michael Gaitley & St. Thomas Aquinas

Justice is giving another what is due to him.

Ex. if I punch you, you punch me back. Justice. If I pay you $10, you give me a sandwich.

We like justice…except when its our turn to receive it. I’ll give you a recent example later.

But because God’s justice is perfect, if we don’t forgive someone who has offended us, then God will hold them to his strict justice. Our mercy on other’s enables him to show mercy.

But what is mercy? What are some examples.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son.

The parable of the Wicked debtor.

The parable of the two debtors.

Mary Magdalene.

St. Peter

Story of Maria Goretti.

The Feast of Divine Mercy! - God always wanted this… it’s not replacing Easter, it still is Easter Sunday, but it’s Easter on the move. We are in the end times, and so, what does God give us? A full and crazy indulgence, for worshipping him and admitting our need to Him.

That’s it, just get to confession and say the divine mercy chaplet. Its too easy. And sometimes we think of that for God, its too easy.

A woman came for Confession and then passed out, so the paramedics came. They had all these questions for her. All she said was, “get me a priest.” So I went over and they have all these questions, but she wanted to confess. I was totally in their way, but they wouldn’t stop, because they gotta save her and stuff. Her thinking is, I came for confession, I’m getting this indulgence! God bless her!

Diary entry 699, in which Jesus spells out in detail the meaning of this feast day, and the comforting promises He attached to it. Jesus said to St. Faustina:

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My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the First Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.

And as it happens with God, we hardly love Him. And sometimes we wonder, Is God real? We wrestle with our faith… Is everything that the Church teaches true?

But sometimes, and tell me if I’m wrong. We think? Can all this be real? Because its too good to be true. That God actually conquered death. That He loves me and applies His sacrifice on the cross for me? That He resurrected and wants to resurrect me after I die. That He knows the hairs on my head, and wants to forgive my sins, that He’s walking towards me?!?! And he even wants to give us a job, to tell the world about his goodness and mercy?!

1583 - “As I write this, I hear Satan grinding his teeth. He cannot stand God’s mercy, and keeps banging things in my cell. But I feel so much of God’s power within me that it does not even bother me that the enemy of our salvations gets angry, and I quietly keep on writing…

1588 - In the Old Covenant I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to My people. Today I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart. I use punishment when they themselves force me to do so; My hand is reluctant to take hold of the sword of justice. Before the Day of Justice I am sending the Day of Mercy!

Conclusion

As I was leaving the conference I was going from Ontario to Rancho Cucamonga… and I get pulled over…