Hagelin Divine Mercy Sunday pg. 1

I. Intro

Since 2000, the Church has observed Divine Mercy Sunday. This devotion derives from the diary of Saint Faustina, a Polish nun who received a series of visions of the Lord Jesus beginning in 1924. The culmination of these visions was an experience in which the Lord showed her His Sacred Heart, with white and red light streaming out of it. He told her to have an image painted of this vision, with the words “Jesus, I trust in you!” printed below. Hence, the image which has been increasingly common since 2000 especially.

God’s mercy and love must be reinforced again and again, because although the Lord’s tender love and mercy is clear in Scripture – seen beautifully in today’s Scripture readings – we still tend to get it wrong with disastrous spiritual and societal effects.

II. Bike Jump – Deist and Jansenist god

I always use the following example with our school kids on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, because I think it well-expresses both false and true images of God. To understand what these depictions of God feel like, I want you to seriously now imagine yourself as I describe here:

I want you to imagine that you are 12 years old. You are out and about on your bicycle having a great time. You suddenly come upon a mound of earth that would make a great ramp to jump your bike off. You parents have told you again and again, that you are under no circumstances to take jumps. But you can’t help yourself, so you go really fast, take the jump, get tons of air, but then come crashing to the ground, and SNAP, you break your ankle.

You are alone, there is no one around, and you cannot walk. So you have to use your cellphone to call your Dad and get help.

Two different scenarios now:

Scenario one:

You call your Dad, and he starts screaming at you for disobeying him. He says he is coming right away and hangs up. You wait, now dreading your dad’s reaction so much Hagelin Divine Mercy Sunday pg. 2

you hardly notice the pain. He arrives very emotional, and worried about you, but he is very angry too. He scoops you up, puts you in the car, and rants about how much this hospital visit will cost, and says that you that you will be grounded and he will not forgive you until you pay him back for it. He gets you to the hospital, carries you in, and gets you fixed up.

Scenario two:

As you lay on the ground with your broken ankle, you call your Dad. You tell him what happened, and he doesn’t react badly at all, he is definitely not angry, but he shows no sympathy for your broken ankle either. He says that he has an important meeting all day and cannot come to get you. Since you can’t bear weight, he suggests that you hop on one leg or army crawl to the nearest road and call a taxi. He is happy to pay for the cab- fare and hospital bill, but he cannot take the time today to come get you.

Out of those scenarios, which “dad” would you rather have? After asking the kids this and having them weigh in, I tell them that the correct answer is neither; I’d rather not have a dad than have either of these dudes as a father. Dad #1’s anger & demanding makes him unmerciful; Dad #2’s total lack of compassion for your injury makes him unmerciful.

These “dads” represent two common and incorrect “images” of God…

1. The dad who suggests calling a taxi represents Deism. Unfortunately I have found that many even practicing Catholics are “functionally” Deists, they view God as pretty distant and unconcerned about their life; though there is some vague promise of heaven if one is a “nice person.”

2. The very angry dad represents an image of God that was often propagated in this country by priests and religious sisters with Irish and French roots. If you were growing up in the 30s, 40s, 50s and early 60s in Catholic school in America - you were likely somewhat Hagelin Divine Mercy Sunday pg. 3

infected with this idea.1 This is where the “Catholic guilt” thing comes from. God is pictured as an angry deity who chooses some to be damned and some to be saved; most being damned – and places a hyper-focus on guilt and moral conduct. If you sin, you better do a lot of penance to make up for it! III. Nature of Mercy and God’s Love

Those two false images of God – although common – do not at all represent the God revealed by Jesus in the Scriptures. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word “hesed”2 – which means “loving kindness” – defines God’s interaction with us. In English, “mercy” comes from the Latin misericordia; which literally means “suffering of the heart” or “compassion.” Look now to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and what this means for us.

Go back now to the “Bike – Jump – Break – Call Dad” scene. The love and mercy of God would play out like this:

You lay sprawled on the ground and call your Dad. His first question is whether you are okay, he tells you to hang tight and that he’s on his way, he says he loves you and hangs up. He arrives and you know everything is going to be alright now that Dad is here. He gives you a hug, wipes your tears away, and gently lifts you up and places you in the car. On the way to the hospital, he doesn’t once mention that you broke his rules – you already know that – nor does he mention anything about losing a day of work, or paying the hospital bill, or grounding you. He knows that the broken ankle is punishment enough. In a few days, he will reinforce with you that you could have busted your head instead of your ankle, reminding you that rules exist so that you don’t get hurt.

That well-depicts God’s mercy. He is very involved in and concerned about our lives, He wants what’s best for us, and will always show up when called. Our sins hurt ourselves and others – that’s why He cares about it – but His mercy and forgiveness in unconditional.

1 Jansenism דֶסֶח 2 Hagelin Divine Mercy Sunday pg. 4

IV. Mercy & Truth

The mercy of God is fierce yet tender, just and liberating. It is not soft; it does not pretend that sin is harmless; nor does it minimize the weight of the sufferings or trials we experience. Mercy and truth always go together. Hence, the Church – following the Lord Jesus – is extreme in its demands for holiness and right living. And at the same time is lavish in mercy. A church that failed to teach the truth – think now perennially unpopular teachings such as those on sexuality & marriage, stewardship of money, and that each of us must personally care for the poor or vulnerable in some way – would be a Church that abandons people to their brokenness and mediocrity, when each of us is called to greatness.

Everybody is somebody; and everyone with God’s grace is capable of becoming a Saint. But the Church is also extremely realistic about the human tendency to selfishness; and hence extremely lavish in mercy – as Saint Mother Teresa said: “a Saint is a sinner who keeps trying.” Progress in the Christian life is a long and often difficult process of unlearning and purification, but it leads to freedom and joy.

V. Conclusion

In the Upper Room in today’s Gospel, the Apostles are afraid and ashamed. The Lord is not back for revenge. He calms them by giving them His Peace, He forgives their cowardice then sends the Holy Spirit upon them to in turn forgive the sins of others – this established the Sacrament of Reconciliation by the way; which is such a gift because a conscience burdened by guilt and shame is the first burden that must be lifted so we can walk the path. This is why Pope Francis has been so adamant about making use of Confession.

God’s mercy meets you right where you are. His compassion acknowledges all of your burdens and wounds whether self-inflicted, inflicted by others; or the result of tragedies in your life or family. When you turn to Him, the Lord Jesus lifts your burdens enough so that you can get you back on the path, and He will always then walk with you.

Finally, what I want you to notice is that the Apostles are not a finished product in today’s Gospel; far from it. The Lord promises to be with them always, but they will have to go out and do the work. Mercy as I said, is not soft: it is firm and supportive empowering us in the Hagelin Divine Mercy Sunday pg. 5 hard work of being authentically human and being disciples of the Lord Jesus. As Saint Peter said in today’s Second Reading:

Although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. The Mercy of God has no limit. If we embrace it, it is freeing and transformative. The phrase the Lord Jesus requested go with the Divine Mercy image, again, is “Jesus, I trust in you.” [say it with me please]. We trust that contained in His Heart is an inexhaustible love for us, and a mercy that endures forever. Praised be Jesus Christ, He is Risen.