Exiit qui seminar - Divine Mercy Sunday

Once again, I want to offer to each and every one of you a most blessed and happy Easter! Easter, of course, is one of those special feasts that the Church can't celebrate in just one day. In fact, for the past eight days, the Catholic Church has celebrated Easter, not just the Easter season, but Easter itself through the Octave of Easter. And it is extremely fitting that on the last day of our celebration of the Lord's Resurrection, on the last day of the octave, the Catholic Church focuses particularly on the mercy of Almighty God. Divine Mercy Sunday was instituted by Pope St. John Paul II on April 30, 2000 on the canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun who received messages (called locutions) from Jesus asking the faithful to understand the unfathomable mercy that flows from His Sacred Heart. As part of the messages from our Lord, He asked that the first Sunday after Easter be specifically designated as a "Feast of Mercy" and that the whole world "will never find peace until it turns trustfully to divine mercy" (The Diary of St. Faustina page 132). 

While it is certainly true that we have access to our Lord's mercy anytime that we go to confession and not just on Divine Mercy, St. John Paul II reminds us that the readings for Mass on this day seem "to indicate the path of mercy which, while re-establishing the relationship of each person with God, also creates new relations of fraternal solidarity among human beings. Christ has taught us that man not only receives and experiences the mercy of God, but is also called 'to practice mercy' towards others ..." (the homily of Pope St. John Paul II on the canonization of St. Faustina). This feast day speaks to us of the fact that while the Lord's mercy is ever present in our lives, we are still radically dependent upon His mercy and love and can receive it in a special way this Sunday. At all of the Masses this weekend the priests of the parish will be available to hear confessions for anyone who wishes to observe Divine Mercy Sunday and we may never be far away from the Lord's mercy and forgiveness. 

Sincerely Yours in Christ, 

Fr. Rob Sinatra