John 20:19-31 Peace Be With YouHow is God different from us? Is it in his eternity or in his almighty power? Of course he is the source of all that is good, right and holy. Of course he is all-powerful, all-present and all-knowing. But I think that God is far more different from us in this: His love, compassion and mercy. After all, he did not manifest his power, privilege and prestige through his son. Rather, he emptied himself in all of these things except for love, compassion and mercy.
I do not seek the death of the sinner, but their salvation (Ez. 18:23). I did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save it (Jn. 3:17). “I came to seek and save what was lost (Lk 19:10).
I do not seek the death of the sinner, but their salvation (Ez. 18:23). How many of us could really say this? How many of us have recently prayed this prayer: “Heavenly Father, I want you to bless my enemy with strength. I want to see him/her healed, cured, loved, changed and made whole again.” The Lord prayed it! And He prayed this for me! At times I forget this truth. If I am a better man today, it is because of the Lord, and because of the many earthly souls that are praying for me. I know it. But how many of us are praying for the one who has hurt us? Or are we doing everything in our power for their destruction? Do we make sarcastic comments and send them hurtful e-mails and spiteful letters? Do we spread vicious rumors about them because we love to hurt? Oh, the irony! Can we not leave them alone for good; to do good? Must we constantly stab them in their back by perpetuating the negative? Do we realize the pain we have caused our Lord and them? Hardly. We only use our eyes to look out, and never to look in. Today is Divine Mercy Sunday. Today is the day the Father has made to forgive, and for us as well.
I did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save it (Jn. 3:17). Recently, I spoke to a friend of mine and he told me that he hoped 2012 was true! I said to him, Why? He remarked, “So that God puts us out of our misery! This world is such a mess! I cannot wait for it to come to an end.” Oh my goodness! How our minds tend to wander in the night. Did the Lord come to gather what was lost and destroy it? No. Neither should we! After all, we may find ourselves on the wrong side and in the bonfire!
Thomas, one of the Twelve, had been absent when the Lord first appeared to the Apostles. He felt left out. And he had every good reason to feel this way. Does the Lord not know everything? Did He not know that Thomas was missing? Does the Lord not have better timing? Could he have not appeared at a better moment, let’s say, when all the Apostles were gathered together? Why did the Lord put Thomas to the test? St. Peter reminds us of the answer, “We rejoice, but for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1Pt 1:3-9)
Thomas suffered greatly from the Lord’s absence. But only momentarily, for the Lord appeared to Thomas and just for him. His words are a reminder of how we should always live our lives: “Peace be with you.” Yes, Peace be in your heart; peace be on your mind; peace with your neighbor; and peace between you and our Heavenly Father. The Lord did not have to explain himself. He simply appeared. He didn’t have to, but he did. The Lord’s appearance (in our lives) is synonymous to his Divine Mercy.
Father,
ReplyDeleteI need/want that image. I have never seen it and I'v been searching the internet for it. I want to make a mural with it. It is amazing. I need it in high resolution or I'd just copy what you have. Please, please.
Thank you Father.
ReplyDeleteA very good meditation this morning! :)
I have many things in this meditation I'd like to comment on, but it is all summed up by Ezekiel: "I do not seek the death of the sinner, but their salvation." I pray that I may imitate Christ and say, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." I pray that I not only say it, but live it! With His grace all is possible...
God Bless!
The image comes from the internet. Simply google Divine Mercy.
ReplyDeleteTo BAD-
ReplyDeleteI searched for "Jesus Christ king of mercy" and found a full page image here:
http://s196.photobucket.com/albums/aa23/holymusic55/Jesus/Divine%20Mercy/?action=view¤t=DivineMercy2-1.jpg
The link is broken in this text format. If you paste it into Word or into an email with "rich text" or HTML, you should be able to make it into a live link.
When I searched for "divine mercy", this was by far the most beautiful image.
I did not go to any novenas, but I am celebrating Mercy Sunday by walking in Mercy. I offered the Mass today for my DH. He will not know what hit him. . . . .
"How many of us have recently prayed this prayer: “Heavenly Father, I want you to bless my enemy with strength. I want to see him/her healed, cured, loved, changed and made whole again.” The Lord prayed it! And He prayed this for me! At times I forget this truth. If I am a better man today, it is because of the Lord, and because of the many earthly souls that are praying for me. I know it. But how many of us are praying for the one who has hurt us? Or are we doing everything in our power for their destruction? Do we make sarcastic comments and send them hurtful e-mails and spiteful letters? Do we spread vicious rumors about them because we love to hurt? Oh, the irony! Can we not leave them alone for good; to do good? Must we constantly stab them in their back by perpetuating the negative? Do we realize the pain we have caused our Lord and them? Hardly. We only use our eyes to look out, and never to look in. Today is Divine Mercy Sunday. Today is the day the Father has made to forgive, and for us as well."
ReplyDeleteGood questions. It is a shame that human nature leads us to lash out at the ones who’ve hurt us instead of simply doing what the Lord did and bless them and even excuse them because they do not know what they are doing. As Christians we are often called to resist our human nature.
I really don’t know anyone who loves to hurt others. I know plenty who hurt others because they have been hurt. People that have been hurt by someone they especially trusted may do things they would never do if they were not operating from their pain. That is why domestic violence is so brutal.
It is easy to point to the cross when it is another whose heart has been pounded, but when I am the ‘victim’, it’s another story.
It is so much easier to lash out at the person who perpetrated the pain I'm experiencing than to do a self-examination and see how I can allow the Lord to use this betrayal to make me a better person.
Looking inward is scary. It requires us to be vulnerable. It requires us to humble ourselves. It requires us to be honest. It requires us to risk re-experiencing pain from our past. It requires us to trust. It requires us to be willing to do whatever it takes to heal, fix, or improve what we find. It is a lot of work and it could take years to sort through. What do we do while we’re sorting through it? We experience feelings we’ve stuffed and denied, things we swore we would never allow to touch us again. We become more sensitive, more critical, quick to anger and impatient. Sometimes we can’t believe what we uncover and want to bury it back where we found it or give up, quit, go back to the way we were. So sure it’s easier to point at the one who’s hurting us. Then we don’t have to take responsibility for our actions, we can be the victim and we can get the sympathy from others. It is the road of least resistance.
It is also very difficult to dodge all the arrows being thrown at us at times. It wears us out and distracts us. We can spend more time ducking and dodging than it would take to address the source and make peace. But it may be easier to just keep dodging.
It is difficult to ask for forgiveness or give forgiveness when the other person is unavailable or unwilling, not impossible, but more difficult.
I am sorry for the pain I’ve caused others when I was operating from my pain. I regret my thoughts and actions and I’ve asked for forgiveness. I know I’ve received it from the Lord, but I don’t know about the other person because they are unavailable. I have been through and continue to go through the pain of self-examination and yes it is difficult at times. It is hard to look squarely at myself and admit my responsibility in my reaction to what happened to me and what I have done. I think humility is the hardest part, but that is actually getting easier, not easy, but easier. It is often not appreciated or even judged us a weakness which intensifies the humiliation. But it is what it is.
Thank you Jan,
ReplyDeleteI spent hours searching.
I did the novena for my wayward daughter. I'm trying to expedite her return. Or am I trying to control God? I don't even know if you can offer the indulgence for someone who is alive other than yourself. I've heard yes and no.
How ironic used in meditation this day- just prior to hearing of the death of bin Laden...
ReplyDeleteI do not seek the death of the sinner, but their salvation (Ez. 18:23). I did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save it (Jn. 3:17). “I came to seek and save what was lost (Lk 19:10). our message
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