Divine Mercy: 2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy)

Listen to the homily here.

As I continue to read, write, learn after my stroke, I will begin adding my notes for these homilies.  Some day I will write the whole homily...some day!

Here are the notes that I preached this homily:

Divine Mercy—the second Sunday of Easter—Octave

I will speak this morning about some of the history for Divine Mercy and then move into the Gospel of John we read

The history of Poland

·      A beaten country for many centuries

·      After World War 1 in the 1930s…began with Nazism

·      Two important people…the first is a sister: Sr. Faustina

o   She was an uneducated nun in a convent of the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Poland during the 1930s. 

o   She began with a vision of Mother Mary

§  Not a story…not a hoax…not fake

o   Mother Mary was speaking to her in Poland

·      The second is a young man—named Karol Wojtyla

o   He was working in a quarry

o   His workers would let him quiet to read and pray

o   He was underground to studying in a seminary…underground

·      Go forward into 2000

o   Sr. Faustina was canonized

o   By a name you know…Pope John Paul II…now St. John Paul II

·      In 2002 St. John Paul II named our second weekend of Easter—the second weekend of our octave for “Divine Mercy”

o   This is the first time—after nearly 2000 years—JPII began Divine Mercy…only 14 years ago!

o   This is what he said: "This is the happiest day of my life."

What we heard in the Gospel of John:

·      Jesus “showed them his hands and his side.”

·      Think of the painting—image of Jesus Christ in mercy

o   His hands out with rays of two colors

o   Blue—bright for water…for Baptism

o   Red—red for death…for the Eucharist…

·      Sacraments

o   Baptism

§  How were you baptized?

§  In the family!

§  Through original sin!

§  The Spirit in your soul

o   Eucharistic

§  You can receive the Eucharist every day at Mass and Adoration

·      The last sacrament

o   “Jesus told his apostles: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.  Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’”

§  He saw his apostles…alive

o   For you…please consider a person you love who has passed away (for me it’s my Grandma Betty).  Can you imagine if they come from heaven to talk with you?

§  I know what I would do…I would pick her up, give her a hug, cry and then listen anything she has to say!

o   What did Jesus told her apostles—the first priests.

§  He allowed them to forgive sins…CONFESSION!

This weekend is powerful

·      Divine Mercy

·      The year of mercy through Pope Francis

·      Read our Bulletin Article

·      Look at the painting over the Hall Aquinas or on the cover of our bulletin

·      Listen to a book about St. Faustina or listen to a CD from Lighthouse of Mercy

This great year of mercy

·      Love

·      Compassion

·      Empathy

·      Forgiveness

·      Grace

·      Gift

Accept them!  They are free!  They are gifts!

They are from God!

They are from Jesus Christ—his ressurection and his rose from the dead!

They are from St. Faustina…St. John Paul II

http://bhadrich.podbean.com/e/divine-mercy-2nd-sunday-of-easter-divine-mercy/?token=3ae6e8008bd6697b18f6e97c94073ea3And that’s how our Catholic family rolls on