Well, as you can read, I have found a computer. I will do this reflection then my fingers will absent themselves from dancing over the keyboard! The computer doctor's first diagnosis for my damaged laptop: crack screen. Pray that it is only that.
Second Sunday of Easter — 2007
The power of prayer, the power of belief, the power of fidelity to the will of God: these three powers are not impossible virtues for anyone of us to achieve in a lifetime. We may not be perfect at prayer, belief or fidelity but with at least the purpose or intention to strive for those grace-filled gifts we can achieve remarkable wonders. Yes, “wonders.”
Remember the characters Jesus attracted, especially the group, known as the Twelve. There was not one rocket scientists, not one Bill Gates. Surely there was no one who stood out for his absolute perfection. They were men who found it had to believe at time. There men who fell asleep in prayer. There were men who denied Jesus, even led his captors to him. Yet, yet, yet just listen to what a writer composed about them some years after Jesus had risen.
Many signs and wonders were done among the people,
at the hands of the apostles. (Acts 5:12-16)
The apostles, the motley crowd, grew in their belief and conviction. What do you imagine brought about such power among them? Well, the words from St. John’s gospel might be a clue. How could the many appearances of Jesus not impact the hearts and minds of the Twelve, even the heart of the doubter, Thomas. How could Jesus’ words to them and us not stir hearts and strengthen intention?
Imagine this: “As the Father has sent me,” the Risen Christ said to the apostles and us, “so I send you.” This was okay for the apostles: Jesus was present to them. What about you and me? “Blessed are those who have not seen but believe,” Jesus said.
What the apostles came to understand and appreciate is the “mercy of God.” On this octave Sunday of Easter we hear about Thomas’ weakness, his doubting that Jesus had risen. During the time of this appearance to the apostles, Jesus gave to them and their successors an ability to care for weaknesses that might separate them from God the Father. At this occasion he instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation. IT is a clear manifestation of the mercy of God.
Pope John Paul II, on May 5, 2000, established Divine Mercy Sunday. Actually what he did was restore and first and second century practice of the early Church. This special Sunday celebration is always to be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter Sunday. Those of you my age and older may well remember that this Sunday was called White Sunday. The feastly day of Divine Mercy is somewhat different. Usually feast days honor saints or an event that is somewhat concrete: the Nativity, the Resurrection, etc. No feasts are celebrated for an abstraction like mercy. Mercy Sunday is a event that has continued since Holy Week, the first Holy Week, down to this week. I believe the apostles realized how their own weaknesses, their doubting, their fears — all were forgiven by the mercy of God.
So convinced that the mercy of God could change a person’s life, especially their own life, they actually took time to know more and more about Jesus and what he was trying to teach their dullard hearts. Their conviction, their commitment, enabled them to go among the people, healing those in need while changing their hearts.
And you? And me? Do you believe you can do the same? Probably not ... for many of us. But there are some among us whose very words bring a healing peace to those in need. What a marvelous gift! It is your, it is mine if we but deepen our awareness of God’s goodness, his mercy.
The power of prayer, the power of belief, the power of fidelity to the will of God: these three powers are not impossible virtues for anyone of us to achieve in a lifetime. We may not be perfect at prayer, belief or fidelity but with at least the purpose or intention to strive for those grace-filled gifts we can achieve remarkable wonders. Yes, “wonders.”
Remember the characters Jesus attracted, especially the group, known as the Twelve. There was not one rocket scientists, not one Bill Gates. Surely there was no one who stood out for his absolute perfection. They were men who found it had to believe at time. There men who fell asleep in prayer. There were men who denied Jesus, even led his captors to him. Yet, yet, yet just listen to what a writer composed about them some years after Jesus had risen.
Many signs and wonders were done among the people,
at the hands of the apostles. (Acts 5:12-16)
The apostles, the motley crowd, grew in their belief and conviction. What do you imagine brought about such power among them? Well, the words from St. John’s gospel might be a clue. How could the many appearances of Jesus not impact the hearts and minds of the Twelve, even the heart of the doubter, Thomas. How could Jesus’ words to them and us not stir hearts and strengthen intention?
Imagine this: “As the Father has sent me,” the Risen Christ said to the apostles and us, “so I send you.” This was okay for the apostles: Jesus was present to them. What about you and me? “Blessed are those who have not seen but believe,” Jesus said.
What the apostles came to understand and appreciate is the “mercy of God.” On this octave Sunday of Easter we hear about Thomas’ weakness, his doubting that Jesus had risen. During the time of this appearance to the apostles, Jesus gave to them and their successors an ability to care for weaknesses that might separate them from God the Father. At this occasion he instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation. IT is a clear manifestation of the mercy of God.
Pope John Paul II, on May 5, 2000, established Divine Mercy Sunday. Actually what he did was restore and first and second century practice of the early Church. This special Sunday celebration is always to be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter Sunday. Those of you my age and older may well remember that this Sunday was called White Sunday. The feastly day of Divine Mercy is somewhat different. Usually feast days honor saints or an event that is somewhat concrete: the Nativity, the Resurrection, etc. No feasts are celebrated for an abstraction like mercy. Mercy Sunday is a event that has continued since Holy Week, the first Holy Week, down to this week. I believe the apostles realized how their own weaknesses, their doubting, their fears — all were forgiven by the mercy of God.
So convinced that the mercy of God could change a person’s life, especially their own life, they actually took time to know more and more about Jesus and what he was trying to teach their dullard hearts. Their conviction, their commitment, enabled them to go among the people, healing those in need while changing their hearts.
And you? And me? Do you believe you can do the same? Probably not ... for many of us. But there are some among us whose very words bring a healing peace to those in need. What a marvelous gift! It is your, it is mine if we but deepen our awareness of God’s goodness, his mercy.
