Today the Octave of Easter comes to its conclusion and we celebrate what has become known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Maybe our life is broken and needs to be restored back to its proper health; that is what God's mercy is for. Maybe we have been led astray from our relationship with God through the effects of serious sin; yet again, this is what God's mercy is for. God's mercy is not an excuse to live life as we want, but instead it is an invitation to leave all our fears and sin behind and to come and follow after Him.
In today's Gospel from John we know that Thomas was filled with fear and doubt, but who isn't? The news of the Resurrection was starting to spread and this news finally reached his ears, and yet, he was unable to believe without first seeing. Finally Christ came and through His wounds, sustained from the cross for our salvation, was able to calm the fear and doubt found in Thomas. From this encounter with Christ, Thomas was assured of the Divine Mercy of Christ. From this Gospel passage people often want to refer to Thomas as doubting Thomas, but more important then his doubting was his coming to accept and trust in the mercy that Jesus desired to bring into his life. His doubting was in His past, he had repented from it, and now he moved on to trust fully in Christ. All of us doubt, all of us are sinful, all of us at times lack perfect trust in Christ's mercy. Why do we act as if we are not in need of Christ's mercy? The issue is not our past, but our future.
Oscar Wilde states: "Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future." How true is this quote? To name a few: Peter denied Christ three times, Paul put Christians to death, Thomas doubted, Augustine indulged in sexual encounters outside of marriage, and this list goes on and on. Despite all of this each of them came to encounter the mercy of Christ and they in return moved away from their sinfulness. They realized that to encounter the mercy of Christ meant abandonment and moving forward instead remaining stuck. How have we remained stuck and have failed to move forward to accept Christ's mercy, which sometimes might not come easily? Holy Communion has been made available to all, but all do not accept to order their life to worthily receive such a gift. It would not be charity nor would it be merciful to allow all to come forward and receive our Lord, after all scripture does tell us: "whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord."
Therefore we cannot allow our serious sin to keep us away from Communion. Yes, we should not receive our Lord who is present in the Eucharist if we have committed a serious sin. To refrain from receiving communion is okay, but of course we should not become content with always coming up to receive a blessing. By the fact that we continue to come and attend the Mass and are unable to receive communion should create a longing in our heart to either (A) Return to the Sacrament of Confession or (B) Make haste to fix the situation that is keeping us from the Eucharist. We must remember that God is merciful and that the door to His mercy is always left open, but we must first do something with this invitation.
From the Acts of the Apostles we were told: "The community of believers was of one heart and. mind." It is through the Eucharist that we are able to show and proclaim that we are of "one heart and mind." May we not be content with being of many hearts and minds with the doubt the raises inside of us, but instead may we remember that God is merciful and in return allow ourself to be moved towards that mercy.
Glancing at the image of Divine Mercy we see the words: "Jesus I trust in You." These words are simple to say, but are most difficult to take to heart. In this midst of fear, doubt, and temptation towards sin we must take these words to heart. In taking these words to heart we glance at Christ and realize as Thomas did that He has triumphed over the tomb. Through our trust firmly placed in Christ we will and can discover the same joy that came over Thomas in our Gospel. From the water and blood that spring forth from His side we are reminded of our own baptism and precious gift of the Most Holy Eucharist. From His hand raised in a manner of blessing we are reminded of the Sacrament of Confession where we come to be absolved from all of our sin. May we truly come to proclaim with great faith this day and always "Jesus I trust in you." May we proclaim this trust through a complete outpouring of self and truly allow ourself to be sustained by the life that is given to us by the seven sacraments.
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