Divine Mercy Sunday

This past Sunday was Divine Mercy Sunday.   One of my favourite Sundays of the year.  It is not an official holiday or a Holy Day of Obligation, but if the world really understood what this day celebrates, it would be!  I remember as a child playing a game called 'Mercy'.  It's where two people clasp there hands with their fingers entwined together then when someone yells 'go', each person tries to bend back the wrist of the other person until they call 'Mercy!'  When you couldn't stand the pain any longer is when you would finally yell out.  Well, our souls are very similar.  When they are in pain they are crying out for God's Mercy.  For without it we are unable to gain eternal salvation with Him. We are sinners.  Because of Adam and Eve we are born into sin.  We cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven with this sin staining our souls.  Because of Gods great mercy for us, He sent His only son to suffer and die on the cross so that this sin can be removed.  Christ then rose from the dead to give us everlasting life!  Is there any greater gift that God could have given us?  Even the gift of life means nothing if after we die there is nothing more.  But why did He give this to us?  Why did He sacrifice His only son for us, mere sin stricken mortals?  Why?  Because of his bountiful mercy for us.  But it is a gift we have to be willing to accept.  We accept it by acknowledging our sin and asking for forgiveness.  This is the beautiful part of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  It is through this sacrament that we receive the gift of mercy.  Will we sin again?  Probably, but Gods mercy is endless.  He knows we are human but just asks that we admit our weakness and ask Him for the strength and desire to grow closer to Him.  We pray "God have mercy on me a sinner!"
There is a picture I'm sure most of you have seen.  It is a picture of a garden cottage and Jesus is standing at the door.  However the symbolism of this picture is missed by many.  If  you look closely, you will see that there is no door knob on the door.  Jesus is waiting for us to open the door to Him.  Waiting for us to open our hearts to Him.  Will you open the door and accept Gods mercy?

Grace is God giving us what we do not deserve,
Mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve.

I hate my life!

Ok, well maybe I don't hate my life, but maybe I should. This past Sunday's Gospel reading had me really thinking. Especially John 12:25 "Who ever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life." I certainly did not understand that. I read it over and over. Then it dawned on me, "in this world" What is different about this world than Christ's heavenly kingdom world. Well, for one thing, stuff. Material things. This is what most of us live for. A nice house, an expensive car, jewelry, toys, country clubs. These are the things that we love that make us happy. I think Christ is asking us to hate that stuff. Maybe not hate, but certainly not love more than we love Him or others. We can enjoy these things but not at the expense of others. Also, we may hate our lives because of pain and suffering, trials and tribulations. The crosses that we have to carry. But these are things that can bring us closer to God. If, because of having to endure these things, we hate our lives, we can take comfort in knowing they are helping to preserve us for an eternal life with Christ free of them.
I'm not completely sure this is what Christ meant when He said what He did, but it's something worth thinking about.