Divine Mercy Sunday
DC 'Hood vs. CYO coaches at Verizon Center today, after the Wizards game. Go 'Hood!!
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Today the Church celebrates the second Sunday of Easter which, since 2000, is also Divine Mercy Sunday. The following are excerpts from the Divine Mercy Sunday website which explain today's feast:
"Despite evil’s attempts at discrediting Catholic Priests, many fallen-away Catholics will soon be returning to the practice of their faith. The reason: the Church’s new feast on the Sunday after Easter. What new feast you might say? It is the “Feast of Divine Mercy”. The Catholic Church has been celebrating this feast ever since the Vatican had made it official on April 30th in the Jubilee year 2000. Why would every Catholic want to come back, you might ask? It is the promise that Jesus Himself made for a complete forgiveness of sins and punishment on that day, even to the most terrible sinner imaginable. God in His great mercy is giving mankind a last chance for salvation.
When did Jesus make this promise and how does one get it? Jesus left all the details in a diary that He commanded Saint Faustina to write in the 1930’s. It was her job to record everything that He wanted mankind to know about His mercy before He returns to judge the world. To get this great promise one has to go to Confession and then receive Holy Communion on that Feast of Divine Mercy, which has now been called Divine Mercy Sunday throughout the whole Church. Jesus said, “Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.” (Diary, 300) To receive Communion worthily one should be in the state of grace and without serious sin...
In Saint Faustina’s diary, she recorded that Jesus also indicated that He Himself is there in the confessional. He told her, “When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity." (1602)
Jesus knew that people would need to hear these words today, so He went on to say “Come with faith to the feet of My representative...and make your confession before Me. The person of the priest is, for Me, only a screen. Never analyze what sort of a priest that I am making use of; open your soul in confession as you would to Me, and I will fill it with My light." (1725) "Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy.” (1602)
Many feel that their sins are unforgivable but, Jesus said, “Were a soul like a decaying corpse, so that from a human standpoint, there would be no hope of restoration and everything would already be lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores that soul in full. In the Tribunal of Mercy (the sacrament of Confession) ...the greatest miracles take place and are incessantly repeated." (1448) "Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy.” (1602)
Every sin imaginable could be forgiven by Him!...
On the evening of His resurrection Jesus appeared to His Apostles and the first thing that He did was to give them the power to forgive sins (John 20:19-31). This is done through the power of the Holy Spirit. For sure it was not the Lord’s intention just for the Apostles to forgive sins but rather for that power to be passed down through the Holy Spirit to the priests of today. That is why Confession is so much of an uplifting experience; we are actually receiving heavenly graces and the forgiveness of sins from the Lord Himself!...
Remember these words of Jesus, “ I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment." (699) "Souls perish in spite of My bitter Passion. I am giving them the last hope of salvation; that is, the Feast of My Mercy. If they will not adore My mercy, they will perish for all eternity...tell souls about this great mercy of Mine, because the awful day, the day of My justice, is near.” (965) Wake up people of the World, and repent of your sins, this just might be our last hope of salvation!"
posted by Fr Greg @ 8:59 AM
9 comments
9 Comments:
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Good luck FG!
"If they will not adore My mercy, they will perish for all eternity"
It was not that long ago when I used to hear statements like this as some kind of threat- believe in me or else you'll be damned for all eternity!!!! I hear those messages differently now- when I sin, I experience my own pain and shame, and His mercy is offering me a way to erase my sin so I'm not in pain anymore. It's a rather simple concept, and I wish I could say that I'm amazed I made it this big, scary complicated thing.
FG-
Are your knees knocking yet? Don't be thrown by the fact that you'll be playing in this really large arena with more people watching you than you're accustomed to at other Hood games.
Oh great I wanted to add to my post above but I deledted the whole thing.
Fr. Greg,
Hope all goes as planned today. I'm sure whatever the outcome of the game, the greater goal of increasing awareness of vocations will be achieved.
Perhaps when you recover from the game, you would consider a post in which you reflect on your first year.
It was a fun afternoon, but I'll leave it to FG to dole out details. Funny thing- my kids wanted gelato at a shop next to the metro access- I gave in. I ended up talking w/this guy for 20+ minutes about CYO. He'd been a ref/ump in various leagues for several sports and had also been at the Wiz game. He was one of the "last" to leave the Wiz game and wondered what all the cheering was about as he was leaving. After I explained, he told me how lucky he thought Catholics were to have CYO. He was interested in knowing how our faith was incorporated into our sports programs, as he experienced CYO families behaving better than most at youth games (myself- not sure 'bout that, but...). I guess our CYO is basically parents and youth (and clergy) coming together in commitment to excellence. All you dads today- what a great show of support for CYO. To all the priests- what a great display of commitment to our youth! Quite commendable all around! Thanks!
Father, is it a sin or improper to tell my parents what's going on with my wife's family? My sister-in-law is doing unsavory things. I don't know how gossip applies within families.
To Joe-
I know you asked Fr, and I won't speak to the "sin" in it, I'll just offer you what I've learned. Be clear about what you want to say and why. Look at whether or not your actions (and speaking with another IS an action) will make the situation better or fuel more controversy. Speak honestly with your spouse. There is a reason why marriage vows address leaving your mother and clinging to your wife. Be sure your actions don't override her wishes, or you'll have a bigger "unsavory" situation to deal with. In can be tricky to be part of an extended family that does things differentlty that we are accustomed to. If your wife is willing, let her play point on the issue. Good luck!
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