My dear parishioners, today is the second Sunday of Easter and the Feast of Divine Mercy. On April 30, 2000 Pope Saint John Paul II canonized Sister Faustina Kowalska O.L.M. and established the octave day of Easter as “Divine Mercy Sunday”.
 
Pope John Paul II himself was deeply devoted to Our Lord as the Divine Mercy. At the end of his life, he was granted a very great grace and died on the Vigil of Divine Mercy, April 02 2005. Pope John Paul II was beatified on May 01, 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI.
 
Sr. Faustina’s name means “fortunate”. Today she is known as the Apostle of Divine Mercy. Her religious congregation is called the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy (O.L.M.). The sisters’ website ( http://www.sisterfaustina.org/content/congregation) explains their mission of mercy:
 
MERCY HAS always been the central theme of the congregation's spirituality. From the very beginnings the sisters cooperated with God's mercy in saving lost souls by extending spiritual and educational care to wayward girls and women in need of deep moral conversion and renewal.
 
THESE WOMEN found a refuge and safe haven in our "Mercy Houses" where they could reform their lives and learn various trade skills. They could stay in the Mercy House as long as they wished or reintegrate themselves into society whenever they felt ready to do so.
 
The Divine Mercy of God is a luminous, powerful and indeed cosmic outpouring of the Most Holy Trinity. For us who believe, it is the very power of faith. It is a sublime but unmistakable witness of God’s benevolence so perfectly expressed in the Roman Canon of the Mass (Eucharistic Prayer I of the ROMAN MISSAL) as the “serene and kindly countenance”. For it is the divine will that we come to Christ our valiant and adorable king that he may lead us to his loving heavenly father. “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”  [Jer 29:11] 
 
The “royal way” of Divine Mercy is simple, yet it demands the utmost seriousness and commitment:  1) Sacramental confession before Divine Mercy Sunday, 2) Eucharistic communion on Divine Mercy Sunday, and 3) prayers for the intentions of our Supreme Pontiff, Benedict XVI.
 
The Divine Mercy “holy way” is called a plenary indulgence. “Plenary” means “full”. To “indulge” (Lat. indulgentia, to be kind or tender) means to grant someone a favor that he or she does not merit, a favor which one may never demand.  Hence, a plenary indulgence is granted to us through the “power of the keys”  [cf. Mt 16:19], that is to say, through the ministry or “chair” of Peter. Jesus said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.”  [Jn 15:7] 
Thus the purpose of Divine Mercy Sunday, therefore, is to restore the fullness of the grace of baptism in the lives of all believers in the season of Easter! In Lent the Body of Christ fasts with personal sacrifices as a sign that we are not in submission to the devil or the material world.
 
In this season of Easter might we add something in the way of devotion, permanently in our pursuit of the most royal and Holy Way of life? If this thought touches your soul, then make it your practice to bow your head devoutly in the liturgy whenever the holy names of Jesus, Mary and the Holy Trinity are mentioned. Moreover, make this your spiritual habit every day of your life when you hear the divine names mentioned -- no matter where you are or what you are doing. For though we Christians dwell in the “shadow of the cross”, we are illumined by the glorious light of his resurrection from the dead!
 
Dear parishioners, every sign of reverence in this manner will plead pardon for you at the moment of your judgment, and assist you immeasurably in this life to become more holy, more loving, more generous... and more human! May the fullness of the graces and merits of Divine Mercy Sunday be granted to you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus! In the hearts of Jesus and Mary. Your pastor, Reverend Richard Barker.
 
 
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