Divine Mercy Sunday

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Mercy of God is immense, but we need to do our part. And our part is not simply to wait for Mercy, as if doing nothing, but to receive the Mercy of God, to grasp it, to welcome Mercy. To prepare a welcome party for someone is not always simple. It is easy to be welcomed, but not so easy to be welcoming.

1. A very well-known joke comes in handy here. There was this guy on the roof of his own house, the whole town flooded, the waters still coming up, and someone in a rowboat comes and says, “Come in, hurry!” “God will save me.” he replied, and stayed where he was. Another group passed by in a motor boat and said to him, “Hurry man, there is still room here in our boat, the waters are rising!” “Thank you, friends, the Lord will save me, I have faith in His Mercy.” A helicopter passed by last, when the water was already at the poor man’s neck, and dropped the rope ladder. A voice from the helicopter above shouted, “Grab the ladder, we must go!” But the man said “God will help me! Thanks anyway.” The man finally drowned in the floodwaters, and upon meeting the Lord he asked, “But, Lord, I trusted in Your help, and You let me down!” “My little child, who in the world do you think sent the rowboat, the motor boat and a helicopter?!”

The joke is perfect. Because the Mercy of God is like that. He saves your life, but He does not do for you what you can do yourself. The guy could not save his life without a boat at least. God sent him even a helicopter! The guy wanted God to appear from Heaven and carry Him in His own arms to dry ground. God, however, did not treat him as a child, but as an adult.

We don’t appreciate people treating us like children when we are adults, or explaining to us things anyone would know—as if we were ignorant—or giving us alms as if we were beggars when we are not. God is good. A good person knows how to help you without disrespecting you or belittling you.

The Mercy of God dignifies us, makes us feel worthy, because God gives us only what we know we need from Him, and not what we can actually do ourselves. Even better: He gives us both the ability to do certain things by ourselves, and the light to see that there are certain things we cannot do without His help. And, even though God is always helping us, sometimes His help comes to us through another person, or through a book, or through an action we could take. Sometimes, God sends us that helicopter…

2. Today, Divine Mercy Sunday, I want you to realize how many rowboats, and motorboats, and maybe helicopters God is sending your way. I would like you to realize that the floodwaters are rising, and we do not know how much time we still have to get into the boat.

First, a clarification: the Mercy of God requires humility. God does not give His grace to people who are not open to seeing how much they need, how poor they are. The first grace we need to ask God to give us, out of His Mercy, is this, “O Lord, let me know how much I need You, let me know my poverty, let me see my darkness, my sins, my ignorance.” The reason Jesus did not heal the blindness of the Pharisees is that they thought they were not blind (John 9:40). He could cure only the blind who asked Him, “Let me see again.” If we do not see what we need, we cannot ask for it. If we do not ask, how can we expect to receive? The first thing is to ask God for light. And may we be always open to listen.

Now, what do I mean with “the waters are rising”? St. Paul says that whoever is standing, take care not to fall (1 Cor 10:12). Sometimes we Christians live in peace, and we think that we are in peace because we are doing good. When we are in peace, we pray a little bit, but not too much. We try to avoid occasions of sin, but not too much. We perhaps even try to grow in our spiritual life, but without challenging ourselves too much. One day the test comes, a temptation arises, or even persecution, and because we were doing just enough to make do, we fall. Feeling a little too comfortable, we became weaker, and when the war came, we were defeated. These times are difficult. Jesus promised that we would be tempted and persecuted. We must not grow lazy in our spiritual life. In time of “peace”, that is, when there is no evident crisis, no emergency, we must always try to grow, so that in bad times we are able to keep our faith. If you feel you are in a sort of springtime season of your life, store food for the winter. If you don’t, you are planning your own ruin. We all will face temptations and we need to be ready.

Now, what are those boats or helicopters God is sending our way? The good advice of a relative, a friend, a priest, etc.. Do not think that God will enlighten you directly, if you do not listen to those people who speak on God’s behalf. At the gate of Heaven some people will complain to the Lord, “But you, Oh Lord, didn’t tell me that this was a mortal sin! You did not appear to me to tell me that by doing this I would not make it to Heaven.” “Did I not send your mother, your grandmother, father so and so, the Pope, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Bible… did I not send you all those people to tell you?” Other helicopters that God sends us are the Sacraments. Why do we not use the Sacraments more often? Etc.

Today, I simply invite you to welcome God’s Mercy. God is being very good to us, but we need to open our eyes and look, open our ears and listen, so that we may take hold of His gifts, welcome His Mercy and forgiveness, and so be saved from the flood. Oh, I can hear a helicopter…