Low Sunday 16 April 2023 Mercy for all
Resurrection is a big miracle and so is it a miracle when
someone is converted to the true faith.
Even God finds that one hard insofar as He gives people free
will, and does not force them to repent.
When God stops the storm, that storm has no choice; but
sinners do have a choice.
We have a choice too, and we can use it for the best
possible result as we receive the Good News, persevere in it, and make it known
to others that anyone/everyone can be set free from the degradation of sin;
that they can turn from darkness to light, death to life through contact with
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
St Thomas came to faith through touching Our Lord. Not
everyone can do that but everyone can come to the same faith as Thomas reached.
My Lord and my God! is our response.
He has claimed us as His own, and He wants us to claim Him
in return. We have come to know Him, to whatever degree so far. There is much
more to know; we build on what we already have.
We come to grasp the radical nature of our faith - that once
we have put our hand to the plough we must not look back (Lk 9,62).
And part of the momentum of knowing Him is to offer to
others what we have learned.
We assure others that if they take Him at His word they will
find the happiness that can be found nowhere else.
I will see it when I believe it – this is the correct
way to put it.
Blessed are those who have not seen and [still] believed (Jn
20,29).
Today is a chance to reaffirm our faith the Resurrection and
all that goes with that.
There are many opposing forces, but the force of Christ
Risen beats them all.
Today has more recently been called Divine Mercy Sunday.
Blending with the image of the Sacred Heart from earlier times, both devotions
bring out very strongly Our Lord’s desire to save sinners. That is what He came
for and what He has been doing ever since.
This is one of the most challenging parts of our religion –
that we are supposed to want our enemies to be forgiven and saved; and we hope
to meet them in Heaven!
Further, that we love people before they are loveable, treat
them better than they treat us, and generally wish good upon them.
This may be hard, especially at first, but Christ Himself
carries most of the momentum here. He loves our enemies even if we do not.
If we ask on our own behalf (pray for them), then He can
reach deeper into the hearts of those presently resisting Him, and bring about
a change of heart in them.
Why does God love sinners so much? It is because He can see
the goodness within. He is repairing damaged goods.
We are part of that process, both in being repaired
ourselves and in helping others to make it happen to them.
One example of major conversion : three thousand on one day
(Ac 2,41). When people realize they will repent, if only the candle will stay
alight in a very cold wind.
Eastertide is to help people grasp the magnitude of what we
believe. It is not just bodies rising, which is great, but lives coming out of
the cold and dark, the swamps of sin; of dark hidden places coming into the light.
Such is the joy of freedom discovered. This is Christ risen
and what he is offering every person is new life, mercy, and faith. Every day
is another chance to accept those things, but they must be accepted and not
just taken for granted.
Moved by gratitude and a sense of urgency, we gladly take
our place following Christ, believing in
Him, offering Him to others, praying that as many as possible will join us on
the path to salvation.
No comments:
Post a Comment