Font of Divine Mercy remains filled long after Easter

Last weekend, the Church observed Divine Mercy Sunday, which was our annual opportunity to ask God our Father, to apply the infinite merits of the Cross to the plight of our actual world, in atonement for our personal sins and in reparation for our sins as a Church.  St. John Paul II incorporated this feast into the liturgical calendar while he was pontiff. He also insisted that it coincide with the Second Sunday of Easter. The Chaplet of Divine Mercy begins: “Holy Father, we offer you the body and blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement of our sins and those of the whole world.”
 

Since January 6, we have been struggling to contain our anger as armed perpetrators attempted to commit sedition in the very heart of American democracy: our Capitol. Divine Mercy Sunday affords us the opportunity to pray for our wounded country, for our enemies and those who are suffering from injustice throughout the world. The Chaplet continues: “For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
 

Then, there are social sins, not exclusively committed by Catholics but by fellow humans, either directly by acts or indirectly by omission. After all, to do nothing is also a moral choice. These social sins would include abortion, euthanasia, and embryonic stem cell use in developing medicines. Some would add silence in the wake of violence against Asian- Americans, and the inhumane treatment of “border boys” crossing from Mexico into the United States as social sins, as well as, the rampant increase of gun violence in our society. Divine Mercy Sunday encourages us to remember those whose lives have been destroyed or scarred by social sins. The Chaplet concludes: “Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and upon the whole world.”
 

Just because the liturgical feast has passed does not preclude our ability to make this beautiful devotional prayer part of our spirituality throughout the year. The font of Divine Mercy does not dry up with the recitation of night prayer on the Second Sunday of Easter. All of us should elicit the limitless merits of the Cross by appealing to the Father, through the Son and in the Holy Spirit to mediate healing where there are wounds, forgiveness where there are sins, atonement where ontic evil eclipses the potential for holiness.
 

Divine Mercy inspires countless sinners like you and me, to look up at the Cross and repeat the words coined by St. Faustina Kowalska, author of the Divine Mercy Novena: “Jesus, I trust in you.” Why? Because, if you or I cannot trust in Jesus, who suffered and died on the Cross, out of love for us and, for our salvation, who, then, can we trust?  “In the fullness of time, God sent us his only Son, not to condemn the world but to save it.” (Jn 3:16) Never have sweet words been uttered in the Gospel of John. In fact the whole purpose of his Gospel is for the reader to come  to believe that Jesus is God. Who can we trust? Jesus! This is why the beautiful prayer “Te Deum” ends with the words “You are our hope. And in you, we shall never hope in vain.” This writer encourages all to keep the prayers of the Divine Mercy Chaplet close to the heart and repeat them often. Jesus is our hope, the embodiment of divine mercy. There can never be a greater; there will never be an other!
 

Father Comandini is managing editor of “The Catholic Spirit”