My Dearly Beloved Parishioners of St. Brieux and Kinistino,
This Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of the Divine Mercy as established by St. John Paul II. For my reflection this Sunday, I would like to dwell on the readings first, and then, the Feast of the Divine Mercy.
Once again, our readings are beautiful and inspiring. They give us an idea of how we should live as a Faith-community. Basically, three things are being laid out in the first reading from Acts. First, just like the early Christians, we are called to devote ourselves to the teachings of the Apostles that they received from Jesus Christ. It means that we are to continue proclaiming in word and deed the teachings of our Lord. This is the evangelizing aspect of our life as a Faith-community. Secondly, we are called to a fellowship especially in worshipping the Lord as a community. Some people say: “I don’t need to go to Church”, I can pray at home or wherever I am. Yes, that is true but we are also called to a fellowship. We know that faith is a personal response and relationship with God, but it has also its communal dimension. We worship God together in solidarity with one another and the whole Church. Thirdly, we are called to be a community that serves and cares for one another. To sum it up, we are being called to be an evangelizing, worshipping and serving community. Inspired by the spirit of the early Christian community, may we carry on to bring that spirit alive as we strive to be united in our mission.
Today’s Feast celebrates the Great Mercy of God. St. Peter in the second reading rejoices at this wondrous gift of God. Everything was and is made possible because of God’s unfathomable Mercy. The word “Mercy” is all-encompassing. It’s synonymous with God’s love, kindness, generosity, patience, forgiveness and favor. In the Gospel, Jesus offered Peace to His disciples, one of the greatest Easter gifts. That’s what they needed at that time of confusion, fear, anxiety and uncertainty. Jesus came to restore all those things unto them, to give their life a sense of meaning and direction. Sometimes, like Thomas, we also doubt God’s love and mercy. Peace as offered by Jesus is not simply the absence of war or conflict. It is an assurance of His Divine and Abiding presence in our lives. It is this Easter gift that we all cry out to the Lord especially under our present circumstances. On this Feast of the Divine Mercy, I invite everyone , those who know the Chaplet to say the prayer. “ For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Amen.