It was a lovely surprise, albeit slightly daunting (I was on lector duty), this morning when the Coadjutor Archbishop Monsignor William Goh dropped by to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday with the parishioners of Saint Teresa.
In his characteristic fiery style he gave us a homily that challenged us to be more faithful by being more merciful. He commented that many of us do not experience God's mercy, not because God is not merciful, but because we lack faith.
Whenever disaster strikes and we seek miracles, we tend to seek out alternatives before we finally turn to God, usually as a last resort. He sees this as the mark of the individualistic Christian, one who prizes independence, instead of one who in humility knows he or she is only a part of the body of Christ, who is the head.
Our Coadjutor Archbishop then reminded us that Satan loves the individual Christian for it is easy to go after him or her, rather than a community who is not so susceptible to his lies.
Monsignor Goh also stressed the healing power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, for it is here that we can truly experience the Lord's Divine Mercy. Something most of us do not avail ourselves of often enough.
When I was younger I used to think it was quite pointless to confess my laundry list of sins, receive absolution, then repeat my sins again. Why bother going for Confession since I was going to sin again? I did not want to be a hypocritical Christian so I did not go regularly.
I, of course, had a very immature understanding of what the Sacrament was all about. And it is also the pride thing that makes it uncomfortable for me to confess my sins and shortcomings. (It is still not easy...)
Then I committed mortal sin, and because I was not ready to stop, I stayed away not just from Reconciliation, but from receiving the Sacrament of the Eucharist for a protracted period. Those were truly dark years.
It was only when I finally rejected and confessed my sins that I allowed myself to experience the healing love of His Divine Mercy. That was my point of conversion. My resurrection from the dead.
In this personal experience of hesed which is Hebrew for a love that endures beyond sin and betrayal, space and time, that is healing and forgiving like a mother's unconditional love for her child, I fell in love with Jesus. He was my knight in shining armour, The One who believed in me and loved me for who and what I am.
Now in this covenantal relationship with Jesus, my heart desires only more of this undeserved love, thus making it easier for me to refrain from sin. I will never stop sinning for it's just not humanly possible, but there is always the divine grace of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Pope John Paul II who canonized Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska and designated the Sunday after Easter as the Feast of the Divine Mercy in 2000 said, "There is nothing more man needs than Divine Mercy – that love which is benevolent, which is compassionate, which raises man above his weakness to the infinite heights to the holiness of God."
JPII also called Divine Mercy the Easter gift that the Church receives from the risen Christ and offers to humanity.
Thus as Christians, we can and should engage in works of mercy such as:
Mercy is what our fragmented, disenfranchised and broken world needs, and mercy is what we can give. As Monsignor William Goh reminded us in his closing, if we are not compassionate, forgiving and merciful, then we have not truly experienced Divine Mercy.
In his characteristic fiery style he gave us a homily that challenged us to be more faithful by being more merciful. He commented that many of us do not experience God's mercy, not because God is not merciful, but because we lack faith.
Whenever disaster strikes and we seek miracles, we tend to seek out alternatives before we finally turn to God, usually as a last resort. He sees this as the mark of the individualistic Christian, one who prizes independence, instead of one who in humility knows he or she is only a part of the body of Christ, who is the head.
Our Coadjutor Archbishop then reminded us that Satan loves the individual Christian for it is easy to go after him or her, rather than a community who is not so susceptible to his lies.
Monsignor Goh also stressed the healing power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, for it is here that we can truly experience the Lord's Divine Mercy. Something most of us do not avail ourselves of often enough.
When I was younger I used to think it was quite pointless to confess my laundry list of sins, receive absolution, then repeat my sins again. Why bother going for Confession since I was going to sin again? I did not want to be a hypocritical Christian so I did not go regularly.
I, of course, had a very immature understanding of what the Sacrament was all about. And it is also the pride thing that makes it uncomfortable for me to confess my sins and shortcomings. (It is still not easy...)
Then I committed mortal sin, and because I was not ready to stop, I stayed away not just from Reconciliation, but from receiving the Sacrament of the Eucharist for a protracted period. Those were truly dark years.
It was only when I finally rejected and confessed my sins that I allowed myself to experience the healing love of His Divine Mercy. That was my point of conversion. My resurrection from the dead.
In this personal experience of hesed which is Hebrew for a love that endures beyond sin and betrayal, space and time, that is healing and forgiving like a mother's unconditional love for her child, I fell in love with Jesus. He was my knight in shining armour, The One who believed in me and loved me for who and what I am.
Now in this covenantal relationship with Jesus, my heart desires only more of this undeserved love, thus making it easier for me to refrain from sin. I will never stop sinning for it's just not humanly possible, but there is always the divine grace of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Pope John Paul II who canonized Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska and designated the Sunday after Easter as the Feast of the Divine Mercy in 2000 said, "There is nothing more man needs than Divine Mercy – that love which is benevolent, which is compassionate, which raises man above his weakness to the infinite heights to the holiness of God."
JPII also called Divine Mercy the Easter gift that the Church receives from the risen Christ and offers to humanity.
Thus as Christians, we can and should engage in works of mercy such as:
Corporal Works
| Spiritual Works
|
Feed the hungryMercy is what our fragmented, disenfranchised and broken world needs, and mercy is what we can give. As Monsignor William Goh reminded us in his closing, if we are not compassionate, forgiving and merciful, then we have not truly experienced Divine Mercy.
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