Second Sunday of Easter - Divine Mercy Sunday_C - Peace Be With You_042422

Deacon Tom Writes

“Peace Be with You!”

Second Sunday of Easter (or Sunday of Divine Mercy), Year C

The Octave of Easter.

Today we’re celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday, the last day of the “Octave of Easter.”

The Octave of Easter is the eight days following Easter, starting with Easter Sunday, Jesus’ triumphant victory over death. 

Although retailers make us think Christmas is the Church’s most important time, Easter is actually “The Big One”—the most important celebration of the liturgical year. This is when Jesus rose from the dead after redeeming us with his Good Friday sacrifice on the Cross. 

He is Risen. 

Divine Mercy Sunday brings the Easter Octave to a close. It’s a celebration of God’s unconditional and constant love for us, a day that honors God’s Divine Mercy. It is thorough God’s Mercy we receive everlasting life something we in no way deserve.

Today, we celebrate with wholehearted joy.

Our readings today show Jesus’ Apostles during the early days of the Church. The Apostles weren’t looking to establish a new religion to rival their own Jewish faith. They had no plans to create a new, competitive spiritual organization. They only wanted to spread the story that Jesus was the fulfillment of all the Prophets  and keep Jesus’ ministry alive. 

To this end, they were very successful, “…the people esteemed them,” as they, like Jesus before them, healed the sick and created miracles among their fellow Jews. 

The Apostles shared the powers that they received from the Holy Spirit. 

“On the evening of that first day of the week…” they left the locked room they had fled to after Jesus’ death. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and fearlessly began to proclaim the Gospel, the Good News, the Evangelion, that God’s reign had begun. 

The people were eager to hear that message, for not only were “…great numbers of men and woman were added to them,” but through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, “…the sick and those disturbed by unclean spirits … were all cured.”  

We've benefited from God's mercy in our lives.

On Divine Mercy Sunday, we reflect on the ways God shows us his mercy and compassion every day. How does God’s mercy touch our lives?

Jesus greeted his Apostles, “Peace be with you.” We use that same greeting to others—many who are desperate for God’s peace, a peace the world cannot give. 

Christians—especially after a successful Lenten reflection and joyful Easter season—should be filled with Christ’s gentle spirit and humble heart. Our spiritual gas tanks are full. We’re ready to take that inner peace we have received and bring it to our families, friends, and neighbors like the Apostles did after encountering the Holy Spirit. Perhaps we may even attempt to lay aside our differences and hostility toward those who have hurt us in the past. This can be a good challenge for us to undertake in these post-Easter days.

Sadly, today we’re witnesses to many horrific tragedies taking place in the world, both locally and globally. We see refugees fleeing Ukraine, people suffering from the past two years of pandemic. We see a growing world of indifference to the needs and suffering of others and we may experience a sense of helplessness. But the Easter message is that we can’t yield to those feelings of hopelessness. So, 

Let’s look for little ways to bring God’s peace into the lives of everyone around us. 

We are summoned to be instruments of Christ’s peace because we have experienced God’s love and mercy in so many ways. This is what gives us the power to help lighten the burden of people whose suffering is unimaginable—to defeat evil with light. 

No one can save the world (except God) but having gratitude for his mercy reminds us we can “pay it forward” and be the tool God uses to show mercy to his people—even if we do just one small thing.

We are the One Body of Christ... and we need to act as the One Body of Christ, in our effort to bring God’s Love, Mercy and Compassion to all. 

That is our mission for this Divine Mercy Sunday and all the days to come. 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom 

Recommended Reading:

“Living Justice” by Fr. Thomas Massaro, S.J., He is professor of moral theology at Fordham University. His books and articles are devoted to Catholic social teaching and its recommendations for public policies oriented to social justice, peace, worker rights, and poverty alleviation.

Podcast Recommendation: 

Busted Halo Podcast with Fr. Dave Dwyer, C.S.P. is a unique media resource that utilizes a relevant and accessible voice to help people understand the Catholic faith, put it into practice in their everyday lives, and share it with others.

Second Sunday of Easter - Divine Mercy Sunday

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Devoted to the Cause”

Second Sunday of Easter (or Sunday of Divine Mercy), Year A

Webster’s Dictionary defines “Devote” as: “to commit by a solemn act 1) as devoted oneself to serving God or 2) to give over or direct (as time, money, or effort) to a cause, enterprise, or activity”.

In the midst of a global crisis, a worldwide pandemic, it is easy to see not only who is devoted to a cause but also the cause to which they are committed. On the one hand, there are those who risk their own personal safety (and that of their family) by doing what their vocation calls them to do – protect the lives and safety of others or place themselves at the service of others. We know who they are: the medical professionals, police officers and fire and rescue personnel. There are the field workers who continue to work the fields harvesting our food supply. They are truck drivers who bring these items to market. They are the ones who work in grocery stores and warehouses stacking shelves and moving inventory to keep us fed; restaurant and fast-food employees who leave home and venture out to their places of employment to prepare food for so many people. They are people who are devoted... committed to keep us safe, fed and help give others a sense of normalcy while placing their own lives at risk. Then, on the other hand, are those who ignore the health warnings put out by the medical and governmental authorities. Their behavior puts others at risk. They engage in their own self-serving behavior and disregard and disrespect the personal safety of others, to the point, in some localities, of protesting reasonable and professionally necessary precautions that safeguard the health and well-being of their neighbors. “By their fruit you will know them” St. Matthew noted. Mt 7:16

Our First reading today expresses the primary and central activity of the early “Believers” following Christ’s death and resurrection…. as being “devoted...to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to prayer”.

This has been a unique time for Christians, especially us Catholics who hold the Eucharist as the foundational reality of our faith. We gather to hear the Word of God and celebrate Christ’s presence in a real and sacramental way in the Eucharist. The coronavirus has temporarily suspended this two thousand year practice. To say the least, the last half of Lent, Holy Week and Easter have been extremely challenging. Perhaps, more so than ever, we have faced a different desert experience. What has helped me on my Lenten journey is the sacrifice and selflessness of those professionals whose concern has been for the lives and safety of others. They make God smile and they give many others a ray of hope in the goodness of humanity.

We emerge from Easter a little frazzled and dazed yet, as undoubtedly was the case that first Easter, we face the future with renewed hope knowing that our lives will never be the same.

We know that as Christianity took root during those early days, many people experienced deep and profound changes in the way they lived their lives as they began to care for and respond to the needs of their neighbors all because of the life and teachings of Christ and the work of the Apostles.  

The changes people made were remarkable. We read some of them in the Acts of the Apostles that chronicles the early days of our church and how the community of believers came together initially to be nourished by Word and Sacrament. But it soon grew into much more than that. We read today that….

Awe came upon everyone.

Wonders and signs were done through the apostles.

All who believed were together and held things in common.

They would sell their property and possessions and divide                                                                                                                              them among all according to each ones need.

Every day they devoted themselves

 to meeting together in the temple area

...and to the breaking of the bread in their homes.

They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart.

Praising God and enjoying favor with all people.

And every day the Lord added to their number

those who were being saved…..

People remain devoted to many causes today. Some are devoted to do good for others. Some are devoted to themselves. It is an individual choice!

As we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, we pray that the Father of mercies, the God of all consolation will be with us in mind, heart and spirit and with those who are devoted to serving others.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom