How The Risen Christ Is With Us

The Lord is God, and he has given us light. Join in procession with leafy boughs… Psalm 118:27

Alleluia! He is risen! This is our song, and the glory of God among us is what our lives are about. But it’s difficult to stay in this light. Easter may have come, but what difference does it make?

Today—as you walk the dog, pay bills, face the same problems you had last week and the week before—do you wonder if Easter has really come among us? Yes, it has. And we can help one another to know the presence of the risen Christ in our midst.

How do we recognize him? The risen Christ comes in mercy—which flows through our lives as oil spreads through your car engine and allows it to run. He comes in rejoicing—sometimes exuberant and dancing, like children at a bonfire; sometimes solemn and silent, like parents with a newborn baby. He comes in light—which like the Easter fire and be divided among many candles yet be undimmed. He comes into failure and suffering. He comes in our thanksgiving and proclamation. He comes in everything that happens to us. Let us, like the disciples, give thanks, bless God, and join the procession that draws us upward to the light. (Mary Marrocco)

Sr. Faustina and the Image of the Divine Mercy

“St. Faustina of Poland is the well-known apostle of Divine Mercy. On the 30^th of Aapril 2000, the Second Sunday of Easter, at 10:00 AM, His Holiness Pope John Paul II celebrated the Eucharist in Saint Peter’ Square and proceeded to the canonization of Blessed Sister Faustina. The new Saint invites us by the witness of her life to keep our faith and hope fixed on God, the Father, rich in mercy, who saved us by the precious blood of His Son. During her short life, the Lord Jesus assigned St. Faustina three basic tasks:

1. To pray for souls, entrusting them to God’s incomprehensible Mercy

2. To tell the world about God’s Generous Mercy;

3. To start a new movement in the Church focusing on God’s Mercy.

“At the canonization of Sr. Faustina, Pope John Paul II said: ‘The cross, even after the Resurrection of the Son of God, speaks and never ceases to speak of God the Father, who is absolutely faithful to His eternal love for man. …Believing in this love means believing in mercy.’ The Lord of Divine Mercy a drawing of Jesus based on the vision given to St. Faustina, shows Jesus raising his right hand in a gesture of blessing, with his left hand on his chest from which gush forth two rays, one red and one white. The picture contains the message ‘Jesus, I trust in You!’ (Jezu ufam Tobie). The rays streaming out have symbolic meaning: red for the blood of Jesus which is the life of souls, and white for the water which justifies souls. The whole image is symbolic of the mercy, forgiveness and love of God.” (Fr. Tony Homilies – 2007)

Divine Mercy Sunday will be celebrated at Precious Blood with a special service today, April 19, at 2:30 PM.