God is mercy enduring forever

Of all the attributes of God, love has a supreme place, for self-giving love comes nearest to expressing the mystery of divine mercy. Mercy is an essential part of the "love Christ has revealed", made possible and required (Mt 5:48; Lk 6:31); mercilessness is included in the catalogue of vice. Our duty in daily life is not limited to the corporal and spiritual works of mercy like giving alms to beggars or catechizing those who are ignorant of God. These are only examples; but true mercy extends to real "love and forgiveness".

It is very central in the Gospel of today, that the risen Christ, in His first apparition to His apostles huddled in fear in the cenacle, breathes the Spirit into them and institutes first thing the sacrament whereby the infinite mercy of God would be revealed – the sacrament of reconciliation – by which God would score conquests of man’s sinful self-centeredness. This implies a love which surrenders itself to God penetrating God’s closest intimacy in the act of forgiveness. "Peace be with you… Receive the Holy Spirit, whose sins you forgive are forgiven them and those sins you retain are retained" (Jn 20:21-23). Thus the sacrament of the Divine Mercy.

We are almost in despair when things do not go our way, when we suffer, when we are against the wall and there seems to be no one to turn to. At such moments believed in faith that God is always there in Christ. Listen to the risen Christ assuring us lovingly as He did to Thomas: "…do not be unbelieving but believe" (Jn 20-27).

Believe that Christ is always with us – always without fail. Silent and unseen, He comes with infinite power and love bringing to us the gifts of the Spirit. He desires to forgive, to heal us with a love beyond our understanding, a love as great as the love He receives from the Father. He comes longing to console us and give us strength, to lift us up and bind all our wounds. He brings us light to dispel our darkness, all our doubts. He has the power to carry our burdens, to touch our hearts and transform our lives. He stands at the door of our hearts and waits for our response.

He knows everything about us through and through. He knows our loneliness and our hurts, our humiliations, the rejection we suffer. He carried this all before us on the way of the Cross, as He hung upon it on Calvary. Are we thirsting for love? He will fill up all our emptiness. He is there even if we doubt His presence. He loves us for what we are and He shed His blood to win us back. His grace will touch all that needs changing in our lives. He gives power to free ourselves from sin and be restored to our original image of God we have been gifted with. All He asks of us is to entrust ourselves to Him completely, to surrender to Him faith, the faith that believes His Mercy is above His works.

Second Sunday of Easter, John 20:19-31.