DIVINE HOMILY, APRIL 19TH, 2020:

Here’s a quote from the Diary of St. Maria . Christ appeared to her to have her promote devotion to the Chaplet of . This quote is in the Catholic booklet “The Word Among Us”: “I am love and Mercy Itself. There is no misery that could be a match for My mercy….The soul that trusts in My mercy is most fortunate, because I Myself take care of it.” Holy Mother Church has wisely designated the Sunday immediately following

Easter Sunday as “Sunday of Divine Mercy.” There is much to say about Jesus Christ’s mercy to sinners but Jesus’s quote above says everything. Jesus will not permit anyone to snatch such a soul out of His Hands (John 10:28-29).

The Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ forgives sins, even the most heinous of sins from the most heinous of sinners. That’s obvious. But today’s readings show that Jesus Christ’s Divine

Mercy yields fruits, benefits, qualities, whatever term you wish to use. Today’s first reading from Acts 2:42-47 shows an idealized description of the first (church) community. St. Luke wanted to show this. It is relevant today-pandemic or not. The Scripture commentary quote says “When a Christian community seriously repents of sin and opens itself to the power of the (Holy) Spirit, this dramatically changes the way Christians live and attracts others to

Christianity”(CBC, 1041). The change is radical and attractive. St. Luke identifies the elements of this idealized community life: APOSTOLIC teaching, sharing life together, breaking bread in their homes (), and praying together. Apostolic teaching is important because the

Apostles are St. Peter’s first Apostolic College in this church, the church Jesus Christ established on the rock of St. Peter, the Holy (soon to be Roman) . St. Luke shows unanimity and considering all things as common as an expression of ideal friendship-not communism, not socialism-but ideal friendship. All community members had their needs met, no hoarding. The community/church practices mutual love and unity. The fruits of the Holy

Spirit, joy and praise, appear. St. Luke emphasizes in the first reading that people are saved both as individuals AND as part of a saved community-a church. That’s very important. A unified church of radical believers attracts others. And Jesus Christ is in their/our midst. The proof is in verse 42: “They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, TO THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD AND TO THE PRAYERS.” “Breaking of the bread” became the earliest technical term for Eucharist. Eucharist was first celebrated in homes as a meal. St. Paul uses the phrase “the bread which we break”(1 Cor 10:16) to emphasize how Eucharist/Jesus’s Body and Blood symbolizes and causes the union mentioned in verse 42. Jesus is in our midst. Jesus is in our church, literally, His Body, His Blood, His Soul,

His Divinity, His Graces and His Mercy. He is present in our midst sacramentally in Eucharist.

That makes all the difference in the world in our lives, if we let it, if we let Him. The prayers mentioned are probably meant as the prayers prayed in the Temple liturgy. Those (Temple) prayers were likely prayed in the homes where the Eucharist was shared.

The second reading from 1 Peter 1:3-9 is a pastoral letter. St. Peter, this Church’s first pope, praises God, “…who in His great mercy”(1 Peter 1:3), does four things to His pagan converts: gives them/us new birth; leading to hope; is based on Jesus Christ’s Resurrection from the dead; and readies for us a heavenly inheritance which is incapable of fading. St. Peter says our new birth is through in the gospel of Jesus Christ. New birth and faith correspond to the conversion experience of this group/church. The future hope and inheritance to be revealed on the last day surely urges perseverance. St. Peter says the greatness and exhilaration of their conversion also brings difficulty and suffering. These pagan converts experience dislocation. They might question the value of this newfound faith. But St. Peter communicates that this new faith is more precious than gold, but like gold is put in a furnace and proven true by much testing. St. Peter tries to make sense of their experience. St. Peter encourages them to hope and to persevere. Their conversion will lead to glory, just like Jesus

Christ’s obedience, suffering, death, and resurrection led to glory. Their conversion is preeminently valuable and worth the persecution and suffering these pagan converts are undergoing.

Jesus appears to the Apostles and disciples in today’s gospel (John 20:19-31). Jesus has risen from the dead. The Apostles and disciples rejoice, except for St. Thomas. He was not there. Jesus breathes on them. Jesus gives His Apostles and disciples the Holy Spirit. Jesus recreates God’s people and sends them out just as the Father sent Jesus (verse 21). Jesus clearly shares His Power to forgive sins with His Apostles and disciples. His mission becomes theirs. This communication of the Holy Spirit them is a partial anticipation of the gift of

Pentecost. Their power to forgive sins is authoritative. Holy Mother Church has always understood this act of Jesus as the institution of the of

Penance//Reconciliation. Jesus shared this sacrament of pardon with His Apostles and disciples on the happiest day of this world’s history: Sunday. Jesus gave this power to His first Apostolic College. St. Thomas was absent, but when he was present a week later,

Jesus had to have given this to him too. St. Thomas won’t believe in Jesus’s Resurrection without specific and exacting proof. St. Thomas won’t believe by just seeing the risen Jesus. He wants to put his finger in Jesus’s nail marks and his hand in Jesus’s side (verse 25). Jesus appears to St. Thomas. Thomas gets his proof and confesses the most powerful and explicit confession of faith anywhere in the gospels. St. Thomas had not lost his faith but he was on his way and Jesus saved him. Jesus did this out of mercy. That’s why we as members of Jesus’s church must repent seriously of our sins and open ourselves to the power of the (Holy) Spirit, to dramatically change the way we live, and attract others to this Catholic/Christian way of life-in this Church. Jesus promises us His Mercy if we do. Jesus will not let us go. Nothing and no one will ever snatch us out of His Hands. That is why Jesus gives us His Mercy and encourages us to accept it-for the rest of our repentant lives.

ADDENDUM: Jesus Christ selected a humble Polish nun to promote His devotion to His Divine

Mercy, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Her name is St. Maria Faustina Kowalska. She died in

Poland just before World War II. Her story and Jesus’s revelation of the Chaplet of Divine

Mercy is included in a book available at Catholic bookstores here in Fargo and in leaflets. Jesus told St. Maria this in her diary: “Encourage souls to say the Chaplet which I have given you…Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death…When they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I WILL STAND BETWEEN MY FATHER AND THE DYING

PERSON, NOT AS THE JUST JUDGE BUT AS THE MERCIFUL SAVIOR….PRIESTS WILL

RECOMMEND IT TO SINNERS AS THEIR LAST HOPE OF SALVATION. EVEN IF THERE WERE A

SINNER MOST HARDENED, IF HE WERE TO RECITE THIS CHAPLET ONLY ONCE, HE WOULD

RECEIVE GRACE FROM MY INFINITE MERCY.”

In the to the Divine Mercy, the first day’s chaplet is dedicated to “all mankind, especially all sinners,…” The prayer for that day says in part: “Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, DO NOT LOOK UPON OUR SINS BUT UPON OUR TRUST WHICH WE PLACE IN YOUR INFINITE GOODNESS.” These are all very beautiful words of prayer from us to Jesus and very beautiful words of reassurance from Jesus to us.

Finally, in the book “In Sinu Jesu,” here is what Jesus says about sin that is referred/entrusted to His Mercy and Forgiveness: “Of the sins cast into the fire of My Heart, nothing remains. They are completely annihilated-reduced, not to ashes, but utterly destroyed and forgotten. Love makes Me do this. When a soul laden with sin, even with sins against My divine Person-blasphemy, sacrilege, and revilement-comes to Me with a repentant and broken heart, My love envelopes that soul and purifies her in My Blood.” (p.

104). (Matt 26:28; Mark 3:28-29; 1 John 1:7-10 and other Scriptural references). Please pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Pope St. John Paul II was a strong devotee to this devotion. Its time has come for us sinners to pray it to obtain and receive Jesus’s loving Mercy. And, of course, please pray the Most Holy Rosary, the very powerful prayer of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to defeat sin (and pestilence), through the invincible power of Jesus’s Holy Spirit. Jesus says

“One who lives in an intimate union with the divine Paraclete will necessarily be united to My

Immaculate Mother. She is present wheresoever the Holy Spirit is active; and where she is, the Holy Spirit enters in.” (In Sinu Jesu, p. 107). God Bless You.