I met my wife, Jennine, in the US Air Force at Technical Training School in Denver, Colorado. A year later, we both transferred to the same base in Great Britain and were married and a year after that our first son was born.
A few days after the baby was born, I picked up Jennine and the baby from the hospital and we drove home. I remember as I was pulling into the driveway of our home in Bury St. Edmunds, England looking back in the rearview mirror and seeing our little bundle of joy in the back seat. At that moment it struck me. You’re a dad! You are now responsible for that little person in the back seat. I looked over at Jennine in the passenger seat and said, “Do you have any idea how to take care of one of these?” At that moment the idea of parenthood, of being a dad, hit me…it got “Real” for me.
Now for the 6-months leading up to that day, we had bought all the things people buy in order to care for their first child (and then figure out they do not need). We had painted and wall papered the nursery, read some books, gotten advice from many well-meaning people…but in the end, the concept of parenthood did not become “Real” for me until I pulled up into the driveway with our newborn son in the backseat.
We all have experiences where things become “Real” for us, haven’t we. We can sit and think about things, daydream about the future and then when it happens: Bam! it is like our eyes are opened and we think, this is “Real”!
Maybe it was the first day of Middle School or High School; you are walking down the hall ways and the upper classman all seem so intimidating and you think to yourself, I am here!
As we grow older those experiences can become even more profound. Maybe it was your wedding day? Or the day you bring your baby home for the first time. The first time you performed your job solo, without any help?
In the Divine Mercy Sunday Gospel, St. Thomas has a moment in his life where all of a sudden, Jesus became very “Real” to him. It was just seven days prior, the day of Jesus Resurrection, that the other ten Apostles encountered the risen Christ, but Thomas was not there. The other Apostles received the Holy Spirit and the authority to forgive sins. The other Apostles received their ordination as priest and bishops in the Church. The other Apostles encountered the Risen Christ and were changed, changed forever…
But Thomas was not there…
We can only wonder where he was? We can only wonder what he was thinking when he heard what had happened in his absence? Why, he must have thought, why didn’t Jesus wait for me to return? Why did he appear while I was not there?
Jesus did appear again the following week and this time Thomas was there and he did encounter the risen Christ! His words of witness to the living Christ have echoed throughout the ages, “My Lord and My God!” Like all of those who encountered the risen Christ, like all of those who had an experience where Jesus became “Real” to them, Thomas was changed and he went on to be a great evangelizer, teacher and bishop!
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became “Real” to St. Thomas on the Second Sunday Easter 2000 years ago. Thomas had walked with Jesus for a few years, had witnessed the miracles, listened to all of his sermons, watched him bring the dead back to life, but Jesus did not become “Real” for him until the encounter after his resurrection.
Has Jesus become real to us?
Have we experienced the living Christ in our lives?
How do we know?
Well, I suppose if we had a mountain top experience of Jesus, then we would know, right? Kind of like St. Faustina in a convent outside of Krakow Poland in the 1930’s, during her hours of Eucharistic Adoration, Jesus would appear to her and sit by her and talk with her.
Has that ever happened to you? It has never happened to me…I have never had a mountain top experience of Jesus in my life. So, if we have not had a mountain top experience, a moment that we can point to and say, “yup, that was when it happened, that is when I Jesus became Real for me”, then how do we know? How do we know whether or not we have really encountered Christ?
I think it all comes down to this: has He changed you? Does any of this, our Catholic faith make much of a difference in your day-to-day life? When we receive Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, when we hear the Word of God, when we go to the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, does it have any impact?
Are we closer to God now than we were last year? Are we any closer than we were 5-years ago? Do we go to Mass on Sundays because we want to? Or because we have to? Do we attend Mass because we love God with all our heart and all our soul and all our strength, or because we do not want to burn in hell? Or somewhere in between? Has our faith evolved from a sense of obligation to one of love yet?
When Jesus Christ becomes “Real” to us, everything changes. It may not happen overnight. It may happen over months, years and decades – but as he becomes more “Real”, he takes over more and more of our life. Other things become less interesting, less important. When Jesus Christ becomes “Real” to us daily prayer becomes the priority of our morning and no longer takes a back seat to aligning our fantasy baseball team lineup or scanning Facebook to see how many likes our latest post received.
Why is that? Why is it that once we encounter Christ, once he becomes real to us, that He becomes a priority? Because He brings us peace and consolation – He brings us joy! He fills our hearts with love and contentment. When Jesus becomes “Real” for us we do not wish for it to end so we constantly seek him.
Where do we find him? If we do not yet experience him in our daily lives – how can we make Jesus “Real” in our lives?
First and foremost, in the Eucharist. If you struggle with believing in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, then spend time with him in Eucharist Adoration. Just come in sometime this week and spend what time you have with Him. You do not have to sign up. Just walk in this week and spend time with him.
We are so blessed to have 24/7 adoration in our parish that begins on Mondays at 7:30 am and goes until 6:30 am on Fridays. WARNING: This may well lead to a desire to spend more time with Him and that is OK. It is OK to have a little bit of an addiction to one-on-one time with our Lord and Savior; it happens when He becomes “Real” to us.
Secondly, we find Jesus in the Sacred Scriptures. When we take time every week to ponder the Sunday Gospel and listen to Jesus speak directly to you through his Word, Sacred Scripture can become a profound way of encountering Jesus.
Another way for Jesus to become real for us to be healed by Him. Jesus healed many people during his time on earth as depicted in the Gospels. He wants to heal each of us from our physical, mental and spiritual afflictions. Through the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation we encounter the Divine Mercy of Jesus! We encounter His love and forgiveness – his mercy.
There is no better day of the Year to seek the Divine Mercy of Jesus than Divine Mercy Sunday. In accordance with the directions given mystically to Sister Faustina, The Feast of Divine Mercy of Jesus is celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter, the last day of the Octave of Easter. It is a relatively new celebration instituted by Pope St. John Paul II in the year 2000 only 62 years after the death of Sister Faustina, who was also canonized a Saint om the same day. On that day, John Paul II declared, “This is the happiest day of my life.”
Five years later, on April 2, 2005, Pope St. John Paul II died on the Vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday (the evening before the feast day). It is also no surprise that the Great Mercy Pope left us a message for Divine Mercy Sunday, which was read on the feast day by a Vatican official to the faithful in St. Peter’s after a Mass that had been celebrated for the repose of the soul of the Pope.
Repeatedly Pope St. John Paul II wrote and spoke about the need for us to turn to the mercy of God as the answer to the specific problems of our times. He placed a strong and significant focus on the Divine Mercy message and devotion throughout his pontificate.
So, what is the Divine Mercy of God all about?
The ABCs of Divine Mercy call us to the following:
A – Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon the whole world. He wants to heal us of the damage we have inflicted upon ourselves by turning away from him.
B – Be merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does to us.
Being merciful is about saying I forgive you! Maybe we need to finally forgive someone who has hurt us. Maybe today is the day we let go of the hurt, the resentment and ask Jesus to heal us.
C – Completely Trust in Jesus. God wants us to know that all the graces of His mercy can only be received by our trust. The more we open the door of our hearts and lives to Him with trust, the more we can receive.
The primary message of the Feast of the Divine Mercy of Jesus is three-fold: Ask for and trust in the Mercy of God and perform works of mercy for others. In addition to the ABC’s of the Divine Mercy:
- We are also encouraged to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy every day at 3:00 PM – the hour of Mercy.
- We pray the Novena of the Divine Mercy beginning on Good Friday and culminating on the Second Sunday of Easter also known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Copies of the Divine Mercy Novena will be available in the Gathering Space on Good Friday.
- Receive Holy Communion and the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation on Divine Mercy Sunday – Amazing graces available to those who take part in the Sacraments on these days!
What is so different about Divine Mercy Sunday? I just went to confession during lent, why should I go again?
Good question. If we go to confession and receive Holy Communion on Divine Mercy Sunday, the punishment due to our sins will be wiped away–completely. That is the one day of the year, Divine Mercy Sunday, in which it is possible to receive these Extra-Ordinary Graces! Ordinarily when we go to confession and confess our sins and our sins are forgiven, but the temporal punishment due to our sins remains. The remedy for temporal punishment is prayer, fasting and works of mercy. Divine Mercy Sunday is different.
Let me illustrate it this way: I am playing baseball in my backyard and I hit the ball through your window. My first inclination is to run, but then I remember that I am a deacon now, so I can’t do that. So, I go up to your door and tell you I am sorry and you forgive me. While I have been forgiven, the window is still broken and I need to fix it, because I broke it. The same holds true for our sins. We must remedy the damage we have inflicted upon God and others by our sins and that is called the temporal punishment for our sins.
What makes Divine Mercy Sunday different are the extra-ordinary graces available to us who take part in the celebration; those graces are the remedy. It is as if God not only forgives our sins, but fixes the window too. That is a very Big Deal!
On Divine Mercy Sunday at 3:00 PM we will be gathering in the main church for a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration and we will pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy together and conclude with Benediction. Confessions will be available.
Is it time? Is this year that I open myself up to Jesus so that I can receive his mercy, his healing, his consolation in my life?
- Pray the Divine Mercy Novena beginning on Good Friday. Divine Mercy Novena pamphets will be available in the Gathering Space for you to bring home and share with your family.
- Come back to Church on Divine Mercy Sunday at 3:00 pm for a Holy Hour and Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.
Just like St. Thomas in the Gospel, Jesus is waiting for each of us to encounter him so that he can become “Real” to us and change our lives forever!
