Immeasurable Mercy
April 27, 2025 | Divine mercy Sunday, Year C
Acts 5:12-16; Psalm 118; Revelation 1:9-11A-19; John 20:19-31
Dear brothers and sisters, every second Sunday of Easter, we celebrate the Divine Mercy Sunday. It was established by St. John Paul II in April, 2000 during the canonization of Maria Faustina Kowalska who received in the 1930s, the message on the immeasurable Love God has for us. On St. Faustina's message taken from her Diary, #699, we read:
“On one occasion, I heard these words: “My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.”
Mercy Sunday
We may summarize the divine Mercy message using the ABCs.
A – Ask for His mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer, confess our sins, and ask for His mercy for ourselves, our loved ones, and the world. “The soul should not hesitate to ask for God’s unfathomed mercy, even if they feel their sin are great” (Diary #163)
B - Be merciful: God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. This means extending love, forgiveness, and compassion to everyone just as the lord recommended us: “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy (Mt. 5:7) or again; “Truly, I say to you whenever you did it to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to Me.” (Mt. 25: 40).
C - Completely Trust in Jesus: We should trust in God's mercy, knowing that His graces are available to those who trust in Him. The more we trust, the more we receive. St. Faustina said that the cause of our spiritual falls is that we rely too much upon ourselves and too little on God’s mercy (Diary 1488). Yet God’s mercy is greater than our sin. She said that: “Trust is the only vessel with which we draw graces from the Divine Mercy”
Jesus, I trust in you
Fr. Georges Roger BIDZOGO SAC