Today, we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. If you pay close attention to the prayers and readings, you will realize why this is the title for the Second Sunday of Easter. The opening prayer addresses God as a "God of Mercy." In Psalm 118 we repeat several times, "His mercy endures forever." In addition to the mentioning of the word mercy, our scriptures illustrate mercy in action. What does "mercy" mean? The Latin, misericordia, can be translated to “have a heart willing to suffer for others.”
In John 20: 19-31, we encounter the heart of the Risen Christ as He interacts with his followers. He comes through locked doors and windows and says, "Peace be with you." This is more than a "hello" or "good morning." He desires to communicate to them (and to us) something of enormous value. It is the peace, which Jesus won for us in his suffering, death, and resurrection. How do we receive that gift? He tells us clearly: "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them..." In the power of the Holy Spirit, we are freed from sin. That freedom (absolution) is mediated through the Church in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
In an earlier section of the Acts of the Apostles, we are given another glimpse at mercy in action. The early Christians were so filled with the Holy Spirit, they "distributed to each according to his (her) need." For followers of Jesus, then and now, mercy always involves efforts to provide every human being with access to the world's blessings. This is at the heart of the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. During this season of Easter, may we ask God to open our hearts and then ask for a fresh outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit so that we may receive God’s Mercy – and then, share that mercy with others.