https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042725.cfm
Jesus’ Mercy is the Best Love You Will Ever Know
Peace to you, everyone, and Happy Easter.
I can’t begin to express what it means to be a priest and speak in the Name of Jesus that changes substance and the hearts of people. We heard hundreds of confessions before Easter, and I could see people’s hearts changing right before me. Their tears of sorrow, mixed with their tears of relief and joy, expressed that they were free.
Interior Freedom by Fr. Jaque Filippe, Interior freedom is a tangible fruit of Easter. Fr. Philippe puts interior freedom this way,
“Even in the most unfavorable outward circumstances, we possess within ourselves a space of freedom that nobody can take away because God is its source and guarantee.
“Without this discovery, we will always be restricted in some way and will never taste true happiness. But if we have learned to let this inner space of freedom unfold, then, even though many things may cause us to suffer, nothing will be able to oppress or crush us.”
Fr. Jaque is saying that through God’s grace and the resurrection, the Lord can give you and me a space of freedom in our hearts that no one or nothing can take away.
God’s divine mercy is the doorway to freedom. Amazingly, God’s divine mercy touches the human heart and changes everything for the person. Have you ever been moved by the mercy of God? Did it not change everything for you?
Please note that Divine Mercy does not come easily for Jesus. It cost Him everything on the cross. God the Father did not want His Son to die such a horrible death. But he permitted it for something greater to come, our conversion.
Like the Son, the Father knew that the greatest, most selfless love is a sacrificial love where we lose everything for another’s good.
Stubborn St. Thomas, the apostle, met his match when confronted with the Divine Mercy in the heart of Jesus. The tight knots in his heart that refused to believe in Jesus’ resurrection became so loose that he knelt before Jesus and proclaimed, “My Lord and my God.”
Painful memories, bursts of anger, and even pouting about something that happened can melt away as Thomas’s doubt gave way to Jesus’ merciful look of love. Jesus feels our sins in His wounds, but His Sacred Heart is bursting with so much mercy that the wounds of His crucifixion heal during our conversion.
Notice that in the picture of the Divine Mercy, Jesus told St. Faustina to paint. The wounded hand of Jesus is in the gesture of blessing. How do we react? How do we respond when someone hurts us? In blessing?
My friends, the Lord’s mercy is so personal that when you experience it, you can’t help but let Jesus share it with everyone. Like the martyrs of the Church loved those who persecuted them, we hold nothing against anyone. When Jesus is “My Lord and my God,” everyone can be your friend, even when they don’t know it.
Gospel Challenge:
Finally, look into the eyes of Jesus in the painting. He told St. Faustina, “My gaze from the eyes in the image is my gaze from the cross.” Mercy is the love we don’t deserve but is ours and sets us free.
My friends, encounter the mercy of Jesus every day as you pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. “For the sake of Your sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and the whole world.”
The Lord can give you and me a space of freedom that no one or nothing can take away. His mercy is the doorway.
Peace to you,
Fr. Rick Pilger, IC
www.pastor@bscchurch.com
