Whose Sins You Forgive Are Forgiven Them

04-16-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Manasseh Iorchir, VC

We celebrate today the Second Sunday of Easter. On May 5, 2000, St. Pope John Paul II decreed that the Second Sunday of Easter, the Octave of Easter, would be known and celebrated as Divine Mercy Sunday. The feast was established by the Pope after he canonized St. Faustina, a humble Polish nun to whom Jesus revealed His message of Divine Mercy. On this Sunday, reflecting on the immensity of God’s unfathomable mercy towards creation, we reiterate our constant need for it and express our unflinching trust in Divine Mercy.

The First Reading describes the workings and growth of the early- and post-Resurrection Church. It was a Church that was devoted to the teaching of the Apostles, to communal life, to the breaking of bread and to prayers. In the Second Reading, St. Paul attributes the new birth and the living hope, experienced through the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, to the Mercy of God. The Gospel passage tells the story of how, after His Resurrection, Christ conferred on the Apostles the power to forgive sin. St. John reports that Jesus appeared to the Apostles and greeted them with the words, “peace be with you”. Then He breathed and declared the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on them saying “whose sins you forgive are forgiven them…..”. By empowering the Apostles through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to forgive sins, Christ conferred on His Church the right and duty to profess and proclaim God’s Mercy, to introduce and make it incarnate in the world and in the lives of all people, and to call upon the Mercy of God, imploring it for the whole world. The Mercy of God finds its most living expression in the Sacrament of Reconciliation where the priest, acting in the person of Christ and in the name of the universal Church to whom this ministry was graciously given, forgives sins committed after Baptism.

Thus, the Holy Church invites us to contemplate and reflect on the unfathomable Mercy of God, the Divine Mercy that does not want any soul to perish, but seeks out in order to save the lost, the skeptic, the captive, the obstinate and the sinner. We are to reevaluate our attitude towards the Sacrament of Reconciliation. A few questions may help: When was the last time I went to confession? How regularly do I go to confession? When I go for confession, do I do a good confession or do I go just to fulfill my annual obligation? At confession, do I admit and feel sorrow for my sinfulness or do I try to tell the priest how good I am? Do I always complete the penance given to me at confession? Do I truly resolve to make amends and fully commit to discipleship?

Next, we are reminded to show mercy to others since we ourselves have received mercy. Mercy is God’s greatest attribute and if we desire to be Holy, as He is Holy, then we must show mercy to others. We can do this through merciful action, words and prayer. Mercy is love that seeks to relieve the misery of others. It is an active love, poured out upon others to heal, comfort, console, forgive and remove pain. God offers us His Mercy and demands that we off er others the same. “Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36).

Finally, to truly enjoy the benefits of Divine Mercy, we should trust God. Trust is the vessel with which we can obtain the treasure of mercy which flows from God’s fountain. God never rejects a contrite heart if we agree to let Him write the script of our life. Our trust is not merely believing that God will forgive us, it is the practical trust that enables self-surrender into the competent hands of our Creator whose mercy never fails.

May we be granted a reassurance of the constant availability of Divine Mercy. May we work to improve on our understanding and participation in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. May we be aided to show mercy, and may our trust in Divine Mercy never wane.

Please be kind and may God bless you.

Fr. Manasseh

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