Christ the Cornerstone

Experience the joy of God’s love and forgiveness

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Pt 1:3)

This Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of Divine Mercy, a feast day added to the liturgical calendar by St. John Paul II to celebrate the overwhelming mercy of Jesus Christ. The celebration of Christ’s resurrection continues with this feast, which recognizes that God’s love and mercy endure forever and overcome any sin that separates us from him.

In the 1930s, Jesus appeared to St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun, and directed her to promote his divine mercy worldwide. St. John Paul II canonized St. Faustina on May 1, 2000. Five days later, the Vatican decreed that the Second Sunday of Easter would henceforth be known as Divine Mercy Sunday.

We who are missionary disciples of Jesus Christ acknowledge that we are a sinful people and that our imperfections hurt us and others in ways that can be very damaging.

As sinners, we often hurt the people who are closest to us—our parents, spouses, children, friends, neighbors and co-workers. We make promises that we don’t keep. We take advantage of others’ generosity, and we abuse their trust. We break the Ten Commandments frequently, and then we wonder why we feel isolated, unhappy and afraid.

Then, when we’ve sunk as low as any human being can possibly go and we’re desperate, we cry out for help: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am not worthy to be called your son or daughter.” How does our heavenly Father respond? By rejoicing! By celebrating the fact that we were lost and are now found; we were dead and have now been returned to life (cf. Lk 15:11-32)! This is the prodigal love of God, the endless mercy and forgiveness that are available to us through the power of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection.

We do not need to be stuck in our sins. The cross of Christ has redeemed us. Our sins have been forgiven, and we have been set free. Let us rejoice. As baptized Christians, we are not perfect, but we are forgiven.

The power to forgive sins was given to the disciples by the Risen Lord. As we hear in the Gospel for Divine Mercy Sunday (Jn 20:19-31):

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” (Jn 20:19-23)

Our God is a forgiving God who is slow to anger and rich in mercy. This is one of the primary reasons why we rejoice during the Easter season. Our recent experience of Lent and the Paschal Triduum have focused our attention on the power and immensity of God’s love for us. We are keenly aware of the lengths to which our loving God is willing to go to redeem us from our selfishness and sin.

There is no greater joy than the joy that flows from the experience of forgiving love. (The Hebrew word for “forgiving love” is hesed, which means the boundless loving mercy of God.)

This is what the father feels in the Parable of the Prodigal Son when his long-lost son returns. It is surely what the son who was lost feels when his father greets him with such overwhelming love and mercy. And it is what the older son is invited, and challenged, to feel if he can overcome his anger and resentment and learn to share his father’s joy.

During this Easter season, we too are invited, and challenged, to experience the joy of God’s love and forgiveness.

Yes, we are sinners—imperfect people who hurt ourselves and others. Yes, we too often waste the gifts that God has given us, and we can be resentful and angry when we should be profoundly grateful for all that God has given us.

We are not perfect, but we are forgiven. Let’s thank God for His boundless mercy. Let’s rejoice and be glad this Easter season because the Lord is risen and our sins have been forgiven. †