Good rewards do not always come easily. Anyone who has ever participated in any sport can attest to this because sports require constant practice in order for a player and team to get better. The children of our parish school should know this well because they have spent the past couple of weeks preparing nonstop for their musical with practice. Without practice even a team made up of the greatest of players would fall short. Without practice the school's musical would not of went so well and been perfectly orchestrated. Practice is an important hardship because in the end we are able to see all the rewards of our hard work and sacrifice. This past week I was able to join in this lesson by going on the Mount Leconte hike. A five mile hike straight up hill of course requires a bit of hardship, but by the end you are able to reap the rewards of the beauty of creation. All of us here can make a list of our own hardships, but are we able to see the good that can spring forth from them.
The apostles came to this same realization in the Book of Acts when they realized that being able to endure hardship was important for the propagation of faith. Without this hardship that we may take for granted we would be lucky to have this Church to worship in today. Instead of rolling the dice and hoping that they would enter the Kingdom of Heaven by doing the bare minimum they entered into faith strengthening practices such as fasting and prayer. The realization came for them that the path they would have to endure to bring evangelization to all nations was a very tough one. They had already seen many die for the faith and they knew that they also risked the reality of martyrdom through their ministry. We all have it so much easier then what they had to endure because we in the United States do not need to fear martyrdom. Despite this reality each of us are constantly being given the same necessary challenge to endure hardship for the Kingdom of God.
As we found ourselves in preparation for the season of Easter we spent time reflecting upon the importance of sacrifice and prayer during the season of Lent. Now that we have passed through these forty penitential days many of us have grown comfortable and have forgotten about the ever necessary reality of feeling tension within our life of faith. To offer sacrifices within our own lives is to mortify our flesh in the name of the Gospel of Christ. Through feeling the hardship that is brought into our lives through mortification we can begin to be liberated in our lives instead of allowing ourselves to remain stagnate in our life of faith. If we study the lives of the Desert Fathers or many of the saints we will realize that the hardship of mortification was preferred over the laziness of comfortability. To do something as simple as to go without salt at supper could be enough to begin to open the doors to faith within our lives. If we walk out of this Church comfortable we will remain Christians by words only and not also by our deeds.
In Saint John's Gospel we are being given a new commandment where we are being called upon as Christians to enter into love for our neighbors. This commandment calls us to not only have the right words, but also the actions that go along with those words. With all of our daily dealings with others we realize how hard that this can truly be. It is so easy to get caught up in ourselves and our own needs and forget the humanity that is found within our neighbor. Anytime where we forget to love as we have been commanded we are entering into sin because we have become selfish with our needs and have failed to see the needs of the whole. In society we can see the slow erosion that has taken place in popular culture where we have been taught contrary to this commandment of love. Within our own lives we know how easy it can be to judge another or to enter into gossip concerning them. By this commandment that has been bestowed upon us we are not to remain comfortable, but instead challenge ourselves and society to truly begin to love.
To ever grow in the possibility of living out this commandment we must be willing to enter into hardship. Without a little bit of hardship we will always remain the same because we will remain caught up in gossip, the judgment of others, or our other failures to love. We will be stuck with the many immoral norms that have snuck into society without being able to see the humanity that lies behind all people. We cannot just say that we will magically begin to love without first preparing our lives each day to grow inside of this commandment. In order to begin to grow in this manner we should model our lives after the apostles who were willing to enter into prayer and sacrifice. Prayer is the time when we are able to enter into relationship with God and hopefully through it begin to silence our hearts and minds and enter into a deeper relationship with God. Through this relationship we can begin to see the love that God pours out for us and how from this love we are to do the same to our brothers and sisters. The sacrifice of mortification is also important because through entering into the hardship of sacrifice we are able to join with Christ upon the cross and begin to let go of all our harmful desires which liberate us from our selfishness and allow us to begin to love.
On this day may each us begin to remain with Lord and His love so that we may behold Him who makes all things new. May we be made new by enduring the hardships of sacrifice and entering into the quiet of prayer in order to prepare ourselves for the Kingdom of Heaven and grow in our ability to love.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Good Shepherd Sunday Year C Homily
Our country has been rocked by two great travesties during this past week. On Monday our eyes became glued to the television and our ears tuned into the radio as news came out concerning the bombing that took place at the Boston Marathon. On late Wednesday evening news began to break concerning an explosion of a fertilizer plant that took place in West, Texas. Our hearts began to turn towards prayer hoping that Christ the Shepherd would hear our voices concerning each of those effected by these travesties. I can only imagine the feelings that are taking place in each of these families minds, but I do hope that in the days that lie ahead for them that they will begin to find healing through the comfort of Christ the Shepherd. In each of these events and through the many difficult events that take place within the world and within our own lives we know how powerless that we can feel. Thankfully when Christ ascended into Heaven He did not leave us alone without a purpose, but gave each of us a vocation in life to follow.
On this day we have the great opportunity to reflect upon vocations to the priesthood, religious life, and marriage because we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the "Day of Prayer for Vocations." With any vocation there must be an openness to hearing the voice of Christ and allowing it to become manifest within our lives. To hear this voice and to then force it to become silent would be to allow ourselves to work against the will of Christ. If we work against this will we will always be left feeling empty because we could of had so much more through Christ. Any vocation requires us to place the Lamb of God at the center of our lives, so that our very activities begin to rotate around Him. If we can begin to foster this attitude within our own families and community we will begin to see a transformation begin to take place within the world. We will find true meaning to our lives and in the midst of great travesty and heartbreak a place to flock towards to find strength.
Inside of this diocese we are blest to have nineteen men who are studying for the priesthood. This upcoming year we will have two who will be ordained to the priesthood and then the following year we could be looking at an amazing five ordinations. Despite how wonderful our numbers may be we must all do our part in fostering vocations to the priesthood. Without priests we would live in a very hopeless world because we would be forced to live without the sacraments. Through priests we are able to be spiritually fed by the Holy Eucharist, receive the absolution of sins in Confession, and be anointed when we find ourselves in the danger of death. As a community we must fervently pray for vocations to the priesthood, so that our Church may continue to be blest with good shepherds. We must feel the need to foster vocations inside of this community and within our own families by bringing this vocation to the eyes of the young men of this parish.
We also cannot forget the great role that religious men and women play in the life of the Church. I especially know this as the parochial vicar of Saint Mary's Church in Oak Ridge where we are blest with the presence of the Nashville Dominicans who offer so much to our wonderful parish school. These women have given up marriage in the name of celibacy where they give themselves entirely in service to God and His Church. Their vows have centered them upon Christ the Lamb who gives strength to those who flock towards His loving embrace. Despite the constant attacks upon faith and morality that appears in the world we see their daily rejection of these motives and are given hope that we to can begin to conquer over them in our lifetime. We must make this wonderful vocation known inside of this community and to foster it fervently among our youth. It has become a great travesty that our world has begun to silence these options in the life of our youth.
Vocations have become so silenced in our world that many probably forget to remember that marriage is included inside of this list. People should not enter into such a bond if they are only motivated by the passing emotion of love because marriage demands so much more. Marriage is a sacrament where two are joined together to become one flesh and bring forth life and assist each other in their journey towards God. If marriage is only fostered in an earthly sense something will always be missing. Instead marriage must be fostered flowing from the vocation that God bestows in our lives. This vocation should always lead us towards the life giving waters that flow from the Lamb who is Christ. If we find that our relationships have nothing to do with these waters they should be reformed or cut away. A rediscovery of this vocation in our own lives and within this parish community can begin to reform the world towards Christ the loving Shepherd.
In the world today we can see this vocation crisis that is at work and we must feel challenged to rediscover the meaning behind our vocation. We must be prepared to come to Christ the Shepherd as His children and be open to His will within our lives. As disciples of The Lord we must be willing to cooperate with the Holy Spirit that dwells in our midst and allow it to direct us towards the will of God. Are we doing enough to promote these vocations within this parish community and within our own families? If we are still in search for our vocation have we been open to the will of God to lead us forward towards the priesthood, religious life, or marriage? Once finding our vocation have we been willing to constantly draw ourselves to Christ the Shepherd for strength? In our world we can see this constant longing for a purpose in life, but without Christ at the head we will always remain feeling empty. May each of us this day flock towards Christ the Shepherd to allow Him to lead us away from the tragedy of a lack of purpose towards the life giving vocation that is present within our lives.
On this day we have the great opportunity to reflect upon vocations to the priesthood, religious life, and marriage because we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the "Day of Prayer for Vocations." With any vocation there must be an openness to hearing the voice of Christ and allowing it to become manifest within our lives. To hear this voice and to then force it to become silent would be to allow ourselves to work against the will of Christ. If we work against this will we will always be left feeling empty because we could of had so much more through Christ. Any vocation requires us to place the Lamb of God at the center of our lives, so that our very activities begin to rotate around Him. If we can begin to foster this attitude within our own families and community we will begin to see a transformation begin to take place within the world. We will find true meaning to our lives and in the midst of great travesty and heartbreak a place to flock towards to find strength.
Inside of this diocese we are blest to have nineteen men who are studying for the priesthood. This upcoming year we will have two who will be ordained to the priesthood and then the following year we could be looking at an amazing five ordinations. Despite how wonderful our numbers may be we must all do our part in fostering vocations to the priesthood. Without priests we would live in a very hopeless world because we would be forced to live without the sacraments. Through priests we are able to be spiritually fed by the Holy Eucharist, receive the absolution of sins in Confession, and be anointed when we find ourselves in the danger of death. As a community we must fervently pray for vocations to the priesthood, so that our Church may continue to be blest with good shepherds. We must feel the need to foster vocations inside of this community and within our own families by bringing this vocation to the eyes of the young men of this parish.
We also cannot forget the great role that religious men and women play in the life of the Church. I especially know this as the parochial vicar of Saint Mary's Church in Oak Ridge where we are blest with the presence of the Nashville Dominicans who offer so much to our wonderful parish school. These women have given up marriage in the name of celibacy where they give themselves entirely in service to God and His Church. Their vows have centered them upon Christ the Lamb who gives strength to those who flock towards His loving embrace. Despite the constant attacks upon faith and morality that appears in the world we see their daily rejection of these motives and are given hope that we to can begin to conquer over them in our lifetime. We must make this wonderful vocation known inside of this community and to foster it fervently among our youth. It has become a great travesty that our world has begun to silence these options in the life of our youth.
Vocations have become so silenced in our world that many probably forget to remember that marriage is included inside of this list. People should not enter into such a bond if they are only motivated by the passing emotion of love because marriage demands so much more. Marriage is a sacrament where two are joined together to become one flesh and bring forth life and assist each other in their journey towards God. If marriage is only fostered in an earthly sense something will always be missing. Instead marriage must be fostered flowing from the vocation that God bestows in our lives. This vocation should always lead us towards the life giving waters that flow from the Lamb who is Christ. If we find that our relationships have nothing to do with these waters they should be reformed or cut away. A rediscovery of this vocation in our own lives and within this parish community can begin to reform the world towards Christ the loving Shepherd.
In the world today we can see this vocation crisis that is at work and we must feel challenged to rediscover the meaning behind our vocation. We must be prepared to come to Christ the Shepherd as His children and be open to His will within our lives. As disciples of The Lord we must be willing to cooperate with the Holy Spirit that dwells in our midst and allow it to direct us towards the will of God. Are we doing enough to promote these vocations within this parish community and within our own families? If we are still in search for our vocation have we been open to the will of God to lead us forward towards the priesthood, religious life, or marriage? Once finding our vocation have we been willing to constantly draw ourselves to Christ the Shepherd for strength? In our world we can see this constant longing for a purpose in life, but without Christ at the head we will always remain feeling empty. May each of us this day flock towards Christ the Shepherd to allow Him to lead us away from the tragedy of a lack of purpose towards the life giving vocation that is present within our lives.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
3rd Sun of Easter Year C Homily
Our lives are filled with many blessings, but we do not always allow them to continuously sustain our life. Our faith is often looked at through a retreat mentality which is fueled by spurts of strength which quickly burn themselves out leaving us with our old self. Retreats, of course, are good because they can give us an injection that will give us strength in our faith, but if we do not continue to endure we will be left with nothing. The retreat itself will in time become a mere memory, but hopefully we will not allow our faith to go with it. Our faith is not something that has been built upon feelings because our feelings are always changing. It is good if our feelings can move us to believe deeper, but when these feelings cease we must still believe. To have true faith is to allow our lives to remain with Christ always no matter how we may feel. Our feelings move from joy, to sorrow, to enthusiasm, being too tired, being filled with energy, but our faith is something that always remains firm.
In Saint John's Gospel we are given the third appearance of Christ to His disciples. We know that they have endured a lot since first coming to encounter this man. He had taught them and laughed with them and worked many miracles in their presence, gave them the Holy Eucharist, then died upon the cross, but death could not triumph because He rose again from the dead and has also appeared to them. You would think that after these roller coaster of events that they would truly be able to believe and not fall back into their former ways. Despite all that they have endured we encounter them in our Gospel doing just that because they have begun to forget and to move back into their old ways of life. They had returned to their profession of fishing, but we notice that they were unable to catch anything. With feelings alone at the sake of faith they and us will always come up short. When Christ encounters them they catch abundantly because their lives were built upon the firm foundation of faith that is found with Christ.
Once His apostles gathered at the shore He realized their need to be nourished. He then took some bread and fish and distributed it among them. Through this distribution of food He realized the need that each of them had for their bodies to be nourished, but He also realized that they needed something more then the mere passing of bodily nourishment. Very soon He would ascend into Heaven and these feelings of joy and awe would be left behind and therefore they needed to firmly root themselves in Christ. In this scene of the breaking of bread they and us were and are taken to the reality of the Holy Eucharist. The Eucharist where Christ gave Himself to us for all time through the bread and wine that would become the Body and Blood of Christ. This food not only brings nourishment to our bodies, but also brings nourishment to our souls. If this was mere food we would always be longing for something more, but through the Eucharist we can truly be filled because Christ has come to dwell within our hearts.
The Eucharist is an invitation given from Christ to enter fully into the life of faith. It is to be asked: "Do you love me" over and over again by the Saviour of the World. We notice oddly enough that Christ asked this question of Saint Peter on three occasions. This is because He desired that Peter would love Him not as a mere friend, but come to love Him with an unconditional love. Unconditional love is the ability to love someone unselfishly instead as a mere friend. This invitation extended to Peter is constantly being extended into our lives through the Eucharist. Through the reception of Christ's Body and Blood we are not being asked to receive and be unchanged, but instead to receive and to conform our hearts to this mentality. The Eucharist should become the source and summit of our lives because in this manner we can truly begin to say that we love Christ unconditionally. To receive the Eucharist is not something that we should enter into from habit, but should become the foundation of our lives.
Through our reception of Christ in the Eucharist we should daily attempt to make ourselves say and live out the reality that we love Christ with an unconditional love. By coming to encounter Christ with this unconditional love we leave our feelings behind and begin to understand that we are nothing without our relationship to Him. We therefore should not attempt to mold Christ after our own desires of feelings or time, but begin to truly allow Him to begin to be the foundation of our faith. If this is ever to begin to take hold within our lives or within our families we must begin to allow the Eucharist to become the source and summit of our lives. This will never happen if we only encounter Christ one hour a week as a friend who is there when we feel like we need one. Instead we should realize that through our reception of the Eucharist we are being given a great invitation to enter into unconditional love with Christ that means that we continuously realize the relationship that exists between us.
This parish community is a very blessed one because of the reality that we offer Perpetual Adoration. This is something that not every parish is able to offer, but we are able to offer it and keep it alive. Throughout the course of a day I notice people who make sacrifices throughout their day to take this opportunity to allow the Eucharist to become a pillar of their lives. Sacrifice is especially made during the wee hours of the night and it also becomes a great blessing to see families that come together to take some time with Christ who is worthy of all "honor and glory and blessing." I thank all of you who make this commitment to our Lord and want each of you to know that you are more then invited to sign up for a time to keep watch with Christ or to just stop by when you are free. From this devotion we are able to grow in our appreciation of the quiet of prayer and be connected to Christ through the Holy Eucharist. May of each of us this day be transformed from our encounter with the Eucharist to where we can truly say "I love you" with an unconditional love.
In Saint John's Gospel we are given the third appearance of Christ to His disciples. We know that they have endured a lot since first coming to encounter this man. He had taught them and laughed with them and worked many miracles in their presence, gave them the Holy Eucharist, then died upon the cross, but death could not triumph because He rose again from the dead and has also appeared to them. You would think that after these roller coaster of events that they would truly be able to believe and not fall back into their former ways. Despite all that they have endured we encounter them in our Gospel doing just that because they have begun to forget and to move back into their old ways of life. They had returned to their profession of fishing, but we notice that they were unable to catch anything. With feelings alone at the sake of faith they and us will always come up short. When Christ encounters them they catch abundantly because their lives were built upon the firm foundation of faith that is found with Christ.
Once His apostles gathered at the shore He realized their need to be nourished. He then took some bread and fish and distributed it among them. Through this distribution of food He realized the need that each of them had for their bodies to be nourished, but He also realized that they needed something more then the mere passing of bodily nourishment. Very soon He would ascend into Heaven and these feelings of joy and awe would be left behind and therefore they needed to firmly root themselves in Christ. In this scene of the breaking of bread they and us were and are taken to the reality of the Holy Eucharist. The Eucharist where Christ gave Himself to us for all time through the bread and wine that would become the Body and Blood of Christ. This food not only brings nourishment to our bodies, but also brings nourishment to our souls. If this was mere food we would always be longing for something more, but through the Eucharist we can truly be filled because Christ has come to dwell within our hearts.
The Eucharist is an invitation given from Christ to enter fully into the life of faith. It is to be asked: "Do you love me" over and over again by the Saviour of the World. We notice oddly enough that Christ asked this question of Saint Peter on three occasions. This is because He desired that Peter would love Him not as a mere friend, but come to love Him with an unconditional love. Unconditional love is the ability to love someone unselfishly instead as a mere friend. This invitation extended to Peter is constantly being extended into our lives through the Eucharist. Through the reception of Christ's Body and Blood we are not being asked to receive and be unchanged, but instead to receive and to conform our hearts to this mentality. The Eucharist should become the source and summit of our lives because in this manner we can truly begin to say that we love Christ unconditionally. To receive the Eucharist is not something that we should enter into from habit, but should become the foundation of our lives.
Through our reception of Christ in the Eucharist we should daily attempt to make ourselves say and live out the reality that we love Christ with an unconditional love. By coming to encounter Christ with this unconditional love we leave our feelings behind and begin to understand that we are nothing without our relationship to Him. We therefore should not attempt to mold Christ after our own desires of feelings or time, but begin to truly allow Him to begin to be the foundation of our faith. If this is ever to begin to take hold within our lives or within our families we must begin to allow the Eucharist to become the source and summit of our lives. This will never happen if we only encounter Christ one hour a week as a friend who is there when we feel like we need one. Instead we should realize that through our reception of the Eucharist we are being given a great invitation to enter into unconditional love with Christ that means that we continuously realize the relationship that exists between us.
This parish community is a very blessed one because of the reality that we offer Perpetual Adoration. This is something that not every parish is able to offer, but we are able to offer it and keep it alive. Throughout the course of a day I notice people who make sacrifices throughout their day to take this opportunity to allow the Eucharist to become a pillar of their lives. Sacrifice is especially made during the wee hours of the night and it also becomes a great blessing to see families that come together to take some time with Christ who is worthy of all "honor and glory and blessing." I thank all of you who make this commitment to our Lord and want each of you to know that you are more then invited to sign up for a time to keep watch with Christ or to just stop by when you are free. From this devotion we are able to grow in our appreciation of the quiet of prayer and be connected to Christ through the Holy Eucharist. May of each of us this day be transformed from our encounter with the Eucharist to where we can truly say "I love you" with an unconditional love.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Divine Mercy Sunday Year C Homily
Happy Easter to all of you. From the darkness of sin comes the light of the Resurrected Christ who comes to us with the message of "I trust in you." These familiar words are the words the we have proclaimed to us in Christ's divine mercy. Despite the countless gifts that the Church bestows upon the faithful through the Sacraments can we truly begin to say that we want to trust in Christ and thus leave the darkness of sin behind? The mercy of Christ is so great that it can be easily bestowed upon the greatest of sinners, but we must first desire to enter into this trust. For many Christians contentment is found where lives are lived without feeling the urge to move towards Christ with great trust. Each of us can find our own list of excuses to why our comfortableness has left us without unceasing trust in Christ and His infinite mercy. If our faith is something that is truly important to us and to our families why do we find it so hard to give our trust to Christ and His mercy?
Saint Thomas gives us the example of allowing our hearts to be healed by the mercy of God so that we in return can begin to trust. Saint Thomas was not present when our Lord first appeared to the disciples and therefore he found it very hard to trust in the Resurrection. After all Thomas was not present and thus had yet to see. Eventually he was able to encounter Christ through His wounds and by placing his fingers within these wounds was able to realize with trust that the Messiah had truly arisen from the dead. In this action he was able to step out of the abyss of darkness and enter into the light that is found with Christ's infinite mercy. No longer would he have to doubt and question Christ's Resurrection because at this moment he was able to vividly see the wounds that our Lord bore upon the cross for our salvation and he realized that with the cross came the triumph over this instrument of death. In this exchange between Thomas and Christ the beauty that is found with the divine mercy of God can be found.
If we glance at the image of the Divine Mercy we will see Christ bringing light into the darkness. With the approach of Christ and His rays of mercy light penetrates through the veil of the darkness of the abyss. Sin and death has no hope of triumph because Christ is present with the hope that we all will return towards His divine mercy with great trust. This Christ whom we encounter is the Resurrected Christ who triumphed over death and allowed Thomas to feel His wounds, so that Thomas could see and believe. With Christ resurrected we are always given the great hope that sin will not triumph because the mercy of God is so much greater. This image also brings the message of the importance of the Sacraments of the Church into our lives. Rays of water and blood bestow baptism and the Eucharist upon us. From these two Sacraments revolves the other five Sacraments and the very life of the Church. His hand is extended to bless as mercy is bestowed upon us through the Sacrament of Confession.
In Saint John's Gospel we heard: "whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." These words were extended by Christ to the apostles so that they could forgive the sins of the faithful. In order for them to be able to forgive or to retain a confession of sins must fist take place. From this passage we see the beginning of the Sacrament of Confession where the priest as a successor to the apostles is able to be a dispenser of Christ's mercy. In Confession we come to Christ saying "Jesus, I trust in you" as we put a name to our sins. Then we encounter the Christ of the divine mercy who extends His hand over us and blesses us with the absolution of sins. At this moment the veil of darkness is torn away and the light of Christ prevails into our lives. Unfortunately many people avoid this Sacrament because they have been led to believe that mercy can be attained through their own merits. Sin is real and our need for mercy is very important may we not put off trusting in this mercy any longer.
Christ's mercy is most vividly found inside the rays of light extending from His heart. At the moment when we entered into relationship with Christ through this ray of water found upon the image of Divine Mercy we entered into the life of the Church. In these waters we were healed from the darkness of original sin and given the hope of the Heavenly Kingdom. From the wounds sustained upon the cross flowed forth this ray of blood which extended mercy into our lives because our sins have been forgiven and the gates of Heaven have been opened to the faithful. When the lance was thrust into the side of Christ his wound gushed forth water and blood. The waters of baptism were extended into our lives and the blood was poured out as was mentioned at the Last Supper. In this red ray coming from the heart of Christ is found the Holy Eucharist which is truly the Body and Blood of Christ. The Eucharist is a merciful exchange of love that enters into our life and should transform us each day to be conformed to the cleanliness found in our souls on the day of our baptism. The Eucharist is a great act of mercy and therefore its reception should not be taken lightly. To receive the Eucharist is to believe in the Church and all that she teaches and its reception flows from God's mercy found inside the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
On this day may we draw ourselves close to the Divine Mercy of Christ. In this action we accept these rays of light into our lives with the hope that we can be removed from the darkness of sin and brought into the light of mercy. In accepting this mercy into our lives may we not run from the hand of Christ extend to bless because of our fear of the confession of our sins. Christ is constantly present with His desire to extend His mercy into our lives, but we must first accept this gift into our lives if we are going to receive it. This gift will never be forced upon us if within our hearts we want nothing to do with it. May we truly profess: "Jesus, I trust in you."
Saint Thomas gives us the example of allowing our hearts to be healed by the mercy of God so that we in return can begin to trust. Saint Thomas was not present when our Lord first appeared to the disciples and therefore he found it very hard to trust in the Resurrection. After all Thomas was not present and thus had yet to see. Eventually he was able to encounter Christ through His wounds and by placing his fingers within these wounds was able to realize with trust that the Messiah had truly arisen from the dead. In this action he was able to step out of the abyss of darkness and enter into the light that is found with Christ's infinite mercy. No longer would he have to doubt and question Christ's Resurrection because at this moment he was able to vividly see the wounds that our Lord bore upon the cross for our salvation and he realized that with the cross came the triumph over this instrument of death. In this exchange between Thomas and Christ the beauty that is found with the divine mercy of God can be found.
If we glance at the image of the Divine Mercy we will see Christ bringing light into the darkness. With the approach of Christ and His rays of mercy light penetrates through the veil of the darkness of the abyss. Sin and death has no hope of triumph because Christ is present with the hope that we all will return towards His divine mercy with great trust. This Christ whom we encounter is the Resurrected Christ who triumphed over death and allowed Thomas to feel His wounds, so that Thomas could see and believe. With Christ resurrected we are always given the great hope that sin will not triumph because the mercy of God is so much greater. This image also brings the message of the importance of the Sacraments of the Church into our lives. Rays of water and blood bestow baptism and the Eucharist upon us. From these two Sacraments revolves the other five Sacraments and the very life of the Church. His hand is extended to bless as mercy is bestowed upon us through the Sacrament of Confession.
In Saint John's Gospel we heard: "whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." These words were extended by Christ to the apostles so that they could forgive the sins of the faithful. In order for them to be able to forgive or to retain a confession of sins must fist take place. From this passage we see the beginning of the Sacrament of Confession where the priest as a successor to the apostles is able to be a dispenser of Christ's mercy. In Confession we come to Christ saying "Jesus, I trust in you" as we put a name to our sins. Then we encounter the Christ of the divine mercy who extends His hand over us and blesses us with the absolution of sins. At this moment the veil of darkness is torn away and the light of Christ prevails into our lives. Unfortunately many people avoid this Sacrament because they have been led to believe that mercy can be attained through their own merits. Sin is real and our need for mercy is very important may we not put off trusting in this mercy any longer.
Christ's mercy is most vividly found inside the rays of light extending from His heart. At the moment when we entered into relationship with Christ through this ray of water found upon the image of Divine Mercy we entered into the life of the Church. In these waters we were healed from the darkness of original sin and given the hope of the Heavenly Kingdom. From the wounds sustained upon the cross flowed forth this ray of blood which extended mercy into our lives because our sins have been forgiven and the gates of Heaven have been opened to the faithful. When the lance was thrust into the side of Christ his wound gushed forth water and blood. The waters of baptism were extended into our lives and the blood was poured out as was mentioned at the Last Supper. In this red ray coming from the heart of Christ is found the Holy Eucharist which is truly the Body and Blood of Christ. The Eucharist is a merciful exchange of love that enters into our life and should transform us each day to be conformed to the cleanliness found in our souls on the day of our baptism. The Eucharist is a great act of mercy and therefore its reception should not be taken lightly. To receive the Eucharist is to believe in the Church and all that she teaches and its reception flows from God's mercy found inside the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
On this day may we draw ourselves close to the Divine Mercy of Christ. In this action we accept these rays of light into our lives with the hope that we can be removed from the darkness of sin and brought into the light of mercy. In accepting this mercy into our lives may we not run from the hand of Christ extend to bless because of our fear of the confession of our sins. Christ is constantly present with His desire to extend His mercy into our lives, but we must first accept this gift into our lives if we are going to receive it. This gift will never be forced upon us if within our hearts we want nothing to do with it. May we truly profess: "Jesus, I trust in you."
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