Some Thoughts

04-03-2016Weekly ReflectionFr. Brian Jazdzewski

Happy Easter! He is Risen, Indeed He is Risen! I hope you've had a chance to browse the pages of the most recent issue of Catholic Life. Even if you cracked the cover open, you were able to see Bishop Callahan's article reflecting upon a local to global view of Divine Mercy. The article is not academic; rather it's quite reachable and puts today's Divine Mercy Sunday and the Year of Mercy into common terms. I encourage you to read it, or read it again. Also, on the outside of the back cover of the same issue, you'll find a simple explanation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet. If you are unable to attend the devotions at St. Lawrence this weekend, perhaps you'll take some time to pray the chaplet today. Or, you may consider making the Divine Mercy Chaplet part of your weekly or daily devotions. Then, if you want to get a little deeper into the issue, there is a lengthy article about Divine Mercy near the center of the magazine. Happy reading and happy praying.

I really do want you to consider just what Divine Mercy means to us. Simply put, Jesus died on the cross so that God's mercy could come to us who are often times unworthy to receive it. God's grace, in this case, ought to remind us of the deep gratitude we ought to have toward God and live our lives in a manner which reflects that gratitude. We ought to be deepening our faith, and our witness to our faith, daily. Consider two early disciples whose lives we've watched once again in these Easter days. I'm referring to Peter and Mary Magdalene. In both cases, they made poor individual choices, countless times, until they had an encounter with Jesus. In both cases, they received Jesus' Divine Mercy which gave them another lease on life. In both cases, they were so fixated on Jesus' death because they never wanted to be separated from His love, which His death momentarily caused. That fear of separation caused both of them to be among the first to arrive at Jesus' tomb, only to find the tomb empty. Remember, shortly after they saw the empty tomb, they had the first encounters with the Risen Lord. Immediately they proclaimed the message that Jesus is Risen from the dead, they shared the Resurrection message. We might consider that among the many people who encountered Jesus, Peter and Mary Magdalene received such a profound sense of Divine Mercy that they wanted to remain close to Jesus and lead others to Him; especially His Divine Mercy. Leading people to Christ was their call, and its our, too. Because we experience the mercy of Christ, we want others to have the same opportunity. We respond to our baptismal call and proclaim the message of the Gospel, especially of His Divine Mercy. Through our experience of Divine Mercy, we become more merciful toward ourselves and the other people God puts into our lives.

Switching gears a bit, those of you who accompanied Our Lord through our local celebration of the Holy Triduum shared the experience of music and singing which helped engage our souls. More than one person remarked to me how nice it was to have a collective choir effort from members of our cluster churches. Some of these people commented on how nice it would be if we could have some assembly of a choir for funerals and something like a monthly choir rotating through our cluster churches. Ideas like these are seeds which bring roots to these concepts. I'd encourage you to join me in thanking the musicians and singers and invite them to put some energy to staying together for the future.

And, continuing with the theme of gratitude, there were kind and generous souls who aided in decorating, cleaning, serving, reading, helping with Holy Communion, ushering and praying for our Holy Triduum worship to be worthy. Again, for those who attended in our cluster, you experienced moving liturgical celebrations. These celebrations come with sacrifice and I know I share the sentiments of many in extending a sincere word of gratitude. Along those lines, Deacon Wendt and I have received greeting cards and gifts during these most holy days, and on his behalf I thank you. My continued hope and prayer is that the sense of spiritual renewal which continues to be part of some of your lives will contagious. Its people like you who will be like Peter and Mary Magdalene and proclaim the saving message of Jesus. In these Easter days and weeks, continue to invite Divine Mercy more profoundly into your lives so that we all continue to invite God's mercy into our lives and through our choices become more merciful to the people with whom we interact. Happy Easter everyone!