49 Angle Road, Walkerville
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2 April 2017
The Fifth Sunday of Lent (John 11:1-45)
The raising of Lazarus in today’s Gospel shows us that all things are possible with God. We are so quick to write people off as being “a hopeless case,” or “beyond the point of no return.” But Jesus can even take a decaying corpse and breathe life back into it.
Sometimes a human soul can resemble Lazarus in the tomb: dead (from mortal sin), stained and corrupted. But the Mercy of God is waiting to restore it, waiting for the smallest gesture of repentance on behalf of the soul. Jesus told St. Faustina: “Tell souls where they are to look for solace; that is, in the Tribunal of Mercy [the Sacrament of Reconciliation]. There the greatest miracles take place [and] are incessantly repeated. To avail oneself of this miracle (...) it suffices to come with faith to the feet of My representative and to reveal to him one's misery, and the miracle of Divine Mercy will be fully demonstrated. Were a soul like a decaying corpse so that from a human standpoint, there would be no [hope of] restoration and everything would already be lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores that soul in full” (Diary 1448). To God, there is no such thing as a hopeless case, because He never ceases to pursue the lost soul and do all He can to woo it back to Himself.
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, thank You for never giving up on me no matter how big a mess I get myself into. You always make the first step in restoring me to Your friendship. Never let me turn a deaf ear to Your voice in my conscience, but may I always humble myself in repentance. Amen.
9 April 2017
Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord (Matthew 26:14 - 27:66)
Today, as every year on Palm Sunday, we hear two different Gospels: the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem followed by an account of His Passion and Death. The same crowd that one minute is cheering Him on, the next minute is crying out the stinging words: “crucify Him.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches who is responsible for crucifying Jesus: “The Church does not hesitate to impute to Christians the gravest responsibility for the torments inflicted upon Jesus, a responsibility with which they have all too often burdened the Jews alone” (598). In other words, every sinner, not excluding each one of us, is in part responsible for the torments inflicted on Jesus. St. Francis of Assisi wrote: “It is you who have crucified him and crucify him still, when you delight in your vices and sins.” Saint Faustina, understanding the effect of our sins on Jesus, wrote: “God gave me to know the whole hideousness of sin. I learned in the depths of my soul how horrible sin was, even the smallest sin, and how much it tormented the soul of Jesus. I would rather suffer a thousand hells than commit even the smallest venial sin” (Diary 1016). We also would be able to avoid sin more easily if we reflected on our own responsibility for the torments inflicted upon Jesus.
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, I thank You for all the sufferings You endured out of love for me. Forgive me for adding to them by so often choosing sin as the easy way out, or as the more pleasurable option. Give me special graces at every decisive moment, so that I may stop offending You and, instead, please You. I trust in You. Amen.
16 April 2017
Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (John 20:1-9)
This morning’s Gospel shows us the apostles Peter and John sprinting to the tomb of Jesus in hope of verifying Mary Magdalene’s testimony that the body of Jesus has gone missing. Lo and behold, when they see the burial cloths neatly folded up, they believe!
We can just imagine how things looked once the good news had changed the disciples’ moods and hearts. Jesus had predicted during the Last Supper: “Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy.” Picture the transformation that took place in those grief-filled hearts when they came to understand that Jesus had risen. Alleluia! And what joy must fill a person's heart when they actually see the Lord Jesus in all His glory. St. Faustina wrote: “During Vespers I saw the Lord Jesus radiant as the sun, in a bright garment, and He said to me, ‘May your heart be joyful.’ And great joy flooded me, and I was penetrated with God's presence, which for the soul is a treasure beyond words” (Diary 415).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, I have never seen you in your risen glory like St. Faustina and the apostles did, yet I sincerely believe in Your Resurrection. I know that You love me, so come into my heart, take away my sorrow, and give me Your joy. I trust in You! Amen.
23 April 2017
Divine Mercy Sunday (John 20:19-31)
This week’s Gospel about “doubting Thomas” shows the love and patience of our risen Lord towards people who guard themselves against being tricked. Thomas had a valid point, after all, for who had ever heard of someone rising from the dead? Surely Thomas had looked on as the dead body of Jesus was being taken from the cross just a few days earlier. And no one was going to fool him!
By showing the wounds in His hands and His side, Jesus chased all of Thomas’ doubts away. St. Faustina recorded an experience in her Diary that tells how Jesus feels about those who believe in His real Presence without seeing any physical evidence: “When I steeped myself in prayer, I was transported in spirit to the chapel, where I saw the Lord Jesus, exposed in the monstrance. In place of the monstrance, I saw the glorious face of the Lord, and He said to me, ‘What you see in reality, these souls see through faith. Oh, how pleasing to Me is their great faith! You see, although there appears to be no trace of life in Me, in reality it is present in its fullness in each and every Host. But for Me to be able to act upon a soul, the soul must have faith. O how pleasing to Me is living faith!’” (Diary 1420).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, You call “blessed” those who have not seen and yet believe. That group includes me! Yet I know I take for granted that I’ve always believed in You. I often forget that my faith itself is a gift. Thank You for that beautiful gift! Lord Jesus, continue to increase my faith. May it become ever more pleasing to You. Amen.
30 April 2017
The Third Sunday of Easter (Luke 24:13-35)
This Sunday’s Gospel shows the resurrected Jesus meeting up with two of his disciples as they walk along a country road. But the disciples are so distraught over what happened on Good Friday, that they can’t even recognize the Lord. They are bitterly disappointed at the horrifying way their expectations about the Messiah have been shattered. How could God allow such a thing to happen? But Jesus opens up the Scriptures to the two men, explaining exactly why the Messiah had to suffer. Things went the way they did precisely because God’s ways are not our ways. In the words of St. Paul, “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (1 Cor 3:19).
The Lord told St. Faustina not to think about the way things might turn out, but to trust in Him who is completely in control. She wrote: “As I was conversing with the hidden God, He gave me to see and understand that I should not be reflecting so much and building up fear of the difficulties which I might encounter. ‘Know that I am with you; I bring about the difficulties, and I overcome them; in one instant, I can change a hostile disposition to one which is favourable to this cause’” (Diary 708).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, give me the grace of deep trust in the Father’s plan for me. How often I think I know better than Him, and become angry that He makes decisions without consulting me. Give me the total conviction that He truly loves me and that He arranges every single detail for my eternal happiness. Amen.