GOD’S MERCY IS HIS JUSTICE

V/​ I will turn to you O God, 

R/​ to God who gives joy to my youth

V/​ Give me the Wisdom that sits by your throne; 

R/ that I may be counted among your children

Lord, in your all-providential plan, you have led me to this moment to rediscover me in your Word and Wisdom. Aid me to make this time of meditation and prayer enriching, transforming, and liberating for my well-being and others. Amen!

GOD’S MERCY IS HIS JUSTICE

By Fr. Clement Obiorah

Divine Mercy Sunday, Second Sunday of Easter Year C

Acts 5:12-16; psalm 118(117): 2-4, 22-27; Revelations 1:9-13

27th April 2025

Today, we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, which invites us to reflect deeply on the boundless mercy of God, flowing from the heart of the Risen Christ. Mercy is the singular monument of God’s very nature as infinitely loving and just, in sustaining and sanctifying his people. St. John of the Cross captures this truth, for said he, “When individuals love and do good to others, they love and do good to them in the measure of their own nature and properties.” (LF 3, 6) Rightly so, “since God is omnipotent, He omnipotently loves and does good to you; …since he is merciful, mild, and clement, you feel his mercy, mildness, and clemency.” This nature is revealed in the unfathomable mercy of Jesus. This makes possible the support necessary for growth and maturation into our truest selves, especially in dire moments of uncertainty and trials.

In today’s first reading, we witness the early Church growing in faith and numbers through the powerful works of the apostles by the authority given to them by Christ (Luke 9:1). Our second reading from the Book of Revelation reminds us of Christ’s ultimate victory over sin and death. Despite present trials, Christ has triumphed – and so will his Church. In our Gospel reading, we perceive once more John’s singular purpose for writing his Gospel account, namely, that we may believe and come to eternal life. (Cf. John 20:31) To this effect, even after the resurrection, Christ still appears to his disciples, who, though scandalised by the cross and unsure of the resurrection, were significantly wounded through doubts, failures, denials and fears and in need of some support and accompaniment in their trial of faith.

This is essential to worship, through a shared hope and openness to life. Christ’s gesture of showing his wounds indicates his identification with our fragility and humanity, with the possibility of being offended and shows us how to let God’s grace through the cracks and differences. The breathing of the spirit brings a fresh perspective and peace, which conquers the culture of enmity, manifest in various forms of non-commitment to a shared value and hope, as in the case of Thomas. Gathered in one place, also reveals that Jesus is to be found in the community of faith, where new pathways are always discovered, breaking new ground even where others see only walls. My Lord and my God! As much as it is a personal confession of faith becomes the church’s liturgical confession and worship in the one spirit of reconciliation.

By all means, the church, as a reconciled and reconciling community, cannot forget that at the source of her gift and mission namely compassion. Pope Francis insisted that “this is the very foundation of the Church’s life… where there is mercy, there is the face of Christ.” The participatory gift of “being merciful as our Father is merciful” corresponds with the post-resurrection mandate, “as the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” It is with this divine authority that Jesus confers on his Church the divine power to forgive sin in the name of Christ. Real forgiveness is indeed divine. It is not simply ‘forgive-and-forget’, but forgiveness in the knowledge of our common brokenness that cannot be effaced. But, it can be an opportunity for a real revelation of love, solidarity and peace between the forgiver and forgiven.

Pope Francis says that of God’s nature, “He never tires of forgiving us – we are the ones who tire of seeking His mercy.” This resonates deeply, particularly with those who feel unworthy or distant from God. Finally, the ABC of devotion to the Divine Mercy invites us to Ask for mercy, Be merciful and Confident in God’s love and mercy. May we be true to these, and be true harbingers of peace.