Dear friends,
When Saint Pope John Paul II proclaimed this Sunday as Divine Mercy Sunday, many thought all was related to Saint Faustina. While this is partially true, the Pope was more than ever reminding the whole world that the entire salvation history is the most wonderful expression of God’s endless and unfathomable mercy to humanity. As Scripture says, “while we were still sinners, God sent his Only Son to save us and to ransom us.” This is Divine Mercy.
Divine Mercy is the proclamation of the truth that God never turns his eyes from us no matter how deep we fall away from Him. Rather, we are reminded that God thirsts for us and for our salvation. For his love endures forever. Returning to him with a humble heart makes us experience and dive once more into this ocean of endless mercy. Divine Mercy allows us to pay heed to God’s call to return to him for us to live in true happiness and joy.
Through God’s mercy we are reborn to newness of life in Christ. For the resurrection of Jesus Christ is also our own resurrection. The second reading reminds us of this truth profusely. But what does this mean for us? The first reading is a bold answer to this question. We are given mercy to enable us to be merciful, to empower us on the path of discipleship, always spreading God’s mercy through our deeds and words. We are told that the believers “devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of bread and to prayers.” God was the center of their lives and this brought awe and wonders in their lives at the sight of God’s signs amidst them.
Indeed, to show mercy means for us here at Holy Cross to embrace our discipleship path, which makes us STARS. As stars, we shine of the light of the risen Christ. As stars, we are disciples who shine that light through as we Serve our Lord though our commitment to serving the Church and our neighbors, we Transform hearts as we spread the words of mercy and promote encounters with God, we Accept and embrace our diversity as opportunity and blessing for growth, we Reach out to those outside of the doors of our Church, the fallen away, and the unchurched, and finally, we Share our faith with courage, our talents with humility and our treasures with gratitude to God who blessed us with all the blessings in his Son Jesus Christ.
As disciples of Christ, we are called to nurture the spirit of unity and togetherness to allow the Spirit of God bear fruit in each and all of us. Like the believers of the early Church, we are called to be of one heart and one spirit, and to live for the good of others.
And let us continue to pray for one another and for our parish family.
Fr. Emery