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."
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