Imagine what happened at the Resurrection. As Jesus rose, He pushed open the stone blocking at the entrance of the tomb. Setting out from there, Jesus left behind the coldness, the darkness and the dryness of death to welcome the new light and life He is now to share with His waiting disciples. On the contrary, though, the disciples locked themselves in an isolated place, huddled in fear of the Jews! They were filled with fear, and as with Thomas, with unbelief, that what they witnessed happened to Jesus who was with them for three years indeed happened!

The Gospel narration this weekend, on Divine Mercy Sunday, tells something very powerful: Jesus’ first act of mercy to His disciples was to unlock the doors of their fears and to lead them out of their isolation, to set them free! Jesus wants His disciples to live in the freedom He now enjoys.
When Jesus appeared to His disciples that first Easter, He said, “Peace be with you.” As you can imagine, that greeting meant more than “hello” or “good morning.” Jesus, in fact, desired to communicate to them something of enormous value. The peace which Jesus won for us had cost Him His blood, His very life. What that peace involved, Jesus tells us clearly: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them.” To His apostles, Jesus communicates the Holy Spirit with the power to free men from their sins. And that freedom or absolution comes only through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Today, people struggle for freedom: young people yearn for freedom to be themselves, to choose their friends, to belong to their cliques and to do what they intend to do; consumers seek for the freedom to accumulate what they desire and what they feel they need; advocacy groups fight for the freedom to accomplish their goals, not matter what the cost may be; almost all of us bask in the freedom of the internet world where we can travel, study, recreate, pray, research and explore whatever we want.

The freedom Jesus gives, however, is a different freedom. It is the freedom to be like Him, to do as He did, to give our lives for our brothers and sisters as He offered His. Ultimately, mercy results not so much from human effort as from God’s free gift, as the mercy of Jesus is expressed in His act of setting people free. Receiving this mercy, this freedom, let us then pray for the grace to set people free by our words and acts of kindness, forgiveness, understanding and mercy!

Here at Saint Raymond’s, we have an opportunity to experience the Lord’s mercy and enriched by it. Join us on Divine Mercy Sunday for Adoration, Eucharistic Procession, confessions and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We also have invited Father Aris Martin, SVD, to give a presentation on Mercy.

Jesus, King of Mercy, I Trust in You!

Peace and blessings,

Fr. Erick

(For Divine Mercy Sunday)