Divine Mercy

Understanding the meaning of God’s mercy

04/07/2024

Jn 20:19-31 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

This past Friday Fr. Cassian Elkins came to Immaculate Conception and gave a moving presentation on the devotion to the Divine Mercy. Today is Divine Mercy Sunday and I want to share with you three insights from Fr. Cassian’s presentation that really impacted me. And then I will share a little news with you that I hope might make more sense in the context of the Divine Mercy devotion.

First, Fr. Cassian noted that the image of the Divine Mercy, as shown to Sr. Kowalska, depicted Jesus with two rays of light streaming from his heart, from his right side. Of the two streams of light, one was blue and the other red. The blue was symbolic of water and the red of blood, like the water and blood that gushed from Jesus’ side when the soldier pierced his side with a lance as we read in Jn 19:34.

But what I did not know is in that moment Jesus’ Body also remarkably resembled the Temple in Jerusalem. How so? Well, at the Passover, thousands of sheep were sacrificed on the altar in Jerusalem. Millions of gallons of blood from those animals flowed below the altar into a channel that then mingled with another channel carrying a stream of water from the Kidron Spring.

Both channels, therefore, with water and blood, flowed out from the right side of the Temple in Jerusalem on Good Friday. In other words, just as God’s mercy poured out on the Jewish people by the blood and water of the Passover lambs, so God’s mercy would pour out on all humanity by the Blood and Water of the Pascal Lamb (Jesus) that takes away the sins of the world.

In the gospel today, do you recall where Thomas the Doubter wants to insert his hand to find faith in Jesus? It is no coincidence he wants to put his hand into Jesus’ side where the merciful Blood and Water washed the world. Thomas, of course, was not at the Cross, so all he had only heard were eye-witness accounts – the rumors – of the pierced side of the Savior, like the Temple. And Jesus says to Thomas, “bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving but believe.” That is, like Thomas 2,000 years ago, Christians today touch the fountain of mercy, the Eucharist and Baptism, symbolized by the Blood and the Water. That is where we, too, come to believe.

The second memorable image that left a deep impression on me was what Fr. Cassian’s grandmother taught him about touching the holy water when you enter church. She said that after you dip your fingers in the holy water, you should always let a few drops fall to the ground before you make the Sign of the Cross. Why? She said those few drops would descend to Purgatory and give refreshment and relief to the suffering souls in Purgatory. Grandmothers make the best theologians!

And I think that is a great custom for two reasons. First, it reminds us that God’s mercy pours out not only through the sacraments (like Baptism), but also through the sacramentals (like holy water). And whenever we bless others or ourselves with holy water, that blessed blue stream bursts forth from Christ’s pierced side again to save us.

And secondly, that gesture reminds us that most people go to Purgatory after death, not straight to heaven. I know it is common to comfort someone (or ourselves) after someone dies by saying, “Well, at least they are in a better place, and not suffering anymore.” I don’t say this out-loud, but I think in my mind: “Well…not exactly.” You see, when we die, we are not perfect, far from it.

We may have many disordered affections (bad habits) that need to be purged and purified and that process will not be painless. Every Lent when we give up some of our excessive pleasures we get a preview of coming attractions, namely, Purgatory. So when we let slip a couple of drops of holy water, we give a great deal of comfort to the poor souls in Purgatory. And we hope someone will let fall a few drops for us after we die, too.

Here is the third insight Fr. Cassian shared. God’s mercy does not consist in giving us what we want but rather what we need. We get our wants and needs mixed up all the time. That is what a good TV commercial is designed to do: make you think something you just want is something you need. And what’s more, the things we need are things we really don’t want, like salads and exercise and prayer and more milk and fewer martinis.

In this context I want to share with you what Fr. Bala and I will no longer be taking care of Our Lady of the Ozarks Shrine but rather the priests of St. Joseph in Fayetteville will have that pleasure. My Winslow vacation is over. That change will take place on June 17. No change is easy, but it can be an opportunity to ask ourselves about our “wants” versus our “needs”. God’s mercy consists in giving us more of what we need and less of what we want.

Fr. Cassian also shared the process of how gold is refined. He said the original gold nuggets are subjected to intense heat while the dross and the imperfections are slowly melted away. Fr. Cassian asked the goldsmith how he knew if all the dross had been removed, and he replied, “When I can see my reflection in it.” That is the process of the divine mercy, too. God turns up the heat in our lives – burning away our wants – until he beholds his own reflection in us. Divine Mercy brings forth the “image and likeness” of God in us.

                                                            Praised be Jesus Christ!