November 22, 2005 The Eucharist and The Divine Mercy

by Fr. William H. DeVille
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At the Last Supper, the night before He died on the Cross, Jesus said, "Take and eat, this is my body which is given for you... take and drink this is my blood which is poured out for you... do this in memory of me."

I'd like to begin with a story I used in my homily last Sunday; – a story about a man who died and was shown into God's office for the particular judgment. What a magnificent office. One wall was a huge window looking down on Earth. The Earth was beautiful with its blue waters, green forests and white clouds. But there on the table was a pair of glasses. No one was around so the man tried them on, and looked down on Earth again. This time he saw hunger and poverty, sickness, and so much inhumanity among people that he could not bear it. Just then he heard a voice behind him, "Take off my glasses." He did so, and awaited his punishment. But after a pause, the voice gently asked, "What did you see?" "I saw hate, corruption and evil," the man answered. "Did you feel any love or compassion?" the voice asked. "None!" said the man. "I would destroy the whole planet without any hesitation or regret." "That's why you can't use my glasses," said God. "You may not see what I see, unless you feel what I feel."

As I recall, the very first Encyclical that Pope John Paul II wrote, back in 1980, was on the mercy of God (Dives in Misericordia). In it he speaks of the "concept of mercy in the Old Testament." The Pope states that "we have to refer back to it in order that the mercy revealed by Christ may shine forth more clearly. By revealing that mercy both through His actions and through His teaching, Christ addressed himself to people who not only knew the concept of mercy, but also as the People of God of the Old Covenant, had drawn from their age-long history a special experience of the mercy of God. This experience was social and communal, as well as individual and interior."

The word "Mercy" is usually used in the Old Testament to translate the Hebrew word, 'hesed', although scholars agree that this is an inadequate translation – since there is no English word which is an adequate translation. Father John McKenzie (in his Dictionary of the Bible) says: The meaning of hesed is most clearly seen by studying the words with which it is associated – especially 'emet' (which signifies solidity, steadfastness, loyalty). Thus hesed (mercy) in the Bible is associated with the quality which makes someone dependable and worthy of faith. Hesed is something one can "do" for another - either God or human. In Scripture, the word implies doing something one is not obliged to do, but which the object of the deed depends on him to do.

The Pope goes on in his Encyclical to say, "It is significant that in their preaching the prophets link mercy, which they often refer to because of the people's sins, with the incisive image of love on God's part. ... When He finds repentance and true conversion, He brings his people back to grace. In the preaching of the prophets, mercy signifies a special power of love, which prevails over the sin and infidelity of the chosen people."

In a later chapter, Pope John Paul speaks of the incarnation of mercy. He writes, "(God's) invisible nature becomes in a special way 'visible', incomparably more visible than through all the other 'things that have been made': it become visible in Christ and through Christ, through His actions and His words, and finally through His death on the cross and His resurrection." ... "Christ confers on the whole of the Old Testament tradition about God's mercy a definitive meaning. Not only does He speak of it and explain it by the use of comparisons and parables, but above all He himself makes it incarnate and personifies it. He Himself, in a certain sense, is mercy. To the person who sees it in Him – and finds it in Him – God becomes 'visible' in a particular way as the Father who is rich in mercy." (Cf. Decree on Divine Revelation of Vatican Council II)

"The truth, revealed in Christ, about God the 'Father of mercies', enables us to 'see' Him as particularly close to man especially when man is suffering, when he is under threat at the very heart of his existence and dignity. And this is why ... many individuals and groups guided by a lively sense of faith are turning, I would say almost spontaneously, to the mercy of God. They are certainly being moved to do this by Christ Himself, who through His Spirit works within human hearts..."

Recognizing the Mercy of God, then, is nothing new. But a special devotion to honor God's Mercy is recent.

On February 22, 1931, a young Polish nun, Sr. Faustina Kowalska, saw a vision of Jesus with rays of mercy streaming from the area of His heart. He told her to have an image painted to represent this vision and to sign it, "Jesus, I trust in You!" Calling her the Apostle and Secretary of His mercy. He ordered her to begin writing a diary so others would come to know and trust in Him. This is the decade that led up to World War II, and to the Holocaust.

In a series of revelations that followed between 1931-1938, He taught her that His mercy is unlimited and available even to the greatest sinners. He revealed special ways for people to respond to His mercy in their lives, and He gave her several promises for those who would trust in His mercy and show mercy to others.

By the time she died, devotion to The Divine Mercy had already spread throughout Easter Europe. In July of 1940, Fr. Joseph Jarzebowski, a Polish priest who belonged to the Marian Fathers, fleeing from war-torn Poland, prayed to the merciful Savior to help him escape, vowing to spend the rest of his life spreading the Divine Mercy Devotion. He arrived safely in America in 1941, and the Marian communities in Detroit and Washington, D.C. were soon distributing Mercy of God materials.

Tom Turner, a man from Holy Spirit Parish came to me sometime in the 90's, while I was Pastor at Sacred Heart Church, and asked if we would celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday at the church. I agreed, and since then there has been a full church on that Sunday after Easter. And it has spread to other churches in Columbus. A few years ago, Pope John Paul II made that the official name for that first Sunday after Easter. A number of churches in our diocese now foster this devotion.

What is the Divine Mercy Devotion? It is really as simple as "A-B-C":

Ask for His mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly. He wants to hear from us.
Be Merciful. God not only wants us to receive His mercy, but also to have it flow through us to others.
Completely trust in Jesus. God, it seems, wants us to know that the graces of His mercy are dependent upon our trust in Him.

I received this story by fax some months ago. It's called "Shadow of the Cross" and the author is "Unknown".

In 1967 while taking a class in photography at the University of Cincinnati, I became acquainted with a young man named Charles Murray who also was a student at the school and training for the summer Olympics of 1968 as a high diver.

Charles was patient with me as I would speak to him for hours about Jesus Christ and how He had saved me. Charles was not raised in a home that attended any kind of church, so all I had to tell him was a fascination to him. He even began to ask questions about forgiveness of sin.

Finally the day came that I put a question to him, *I asked if he realized his own need of a Redeemer and if he was ready to trust Christ as his own Savior. I saw his countenance fall and the guilt in his face. But his reply was a strong "no."

In the days that followed he was quiet, and often I felt that he was avoiding me until I got a phone call – it was Charles. He wanted to know where to look in the New Testament for some verses that I had given him about salvation.

I gave him the reference to several passages and asked if I could meet with him. He declined my offer and thanked me for the Scripture. I could tell that he was greatly troubled, but I did not know where he was of how to help him.

Because he was training for the Olympic games, Charles had special privileges at the University pool facilities. Sometime between 10:30 and 11:00 that evening he decided to go swim and practice a few dives. It was a clear night in October and the moon was big and bright.

The University pool was housed under a ceiling of glass panes, so the moon shone across the top of the wall in the pool area. Charles climbed to the highest platform to take his first dive. At that moment the Spirit of God began to convict him of his sins.

All the Scripture he had read, all the occasions of witnessing to him about Christ flooded his mind. He stood on the platform backwards to make his dive, spread his arms to gather his balance, looked up to the wall and saw his own shadow caused by the light of the moon. It was the shape of a cross. He could bear the burden of his sin no longer. His heart broke, and he sat down on the platform and asked God to forgive him and save him. He trusted Jesus Christ twenty some feet in the air.

Suddenly, the lights in the pool area came on. The attendant had come to check the pool. As Charles looked down from his platform he saw an empty pool which had been drained for repairs. He had almost plummeted to his death, but the cross had stopped him from disaster.

On a more personal level, if not quite so spectacular, I remember a young man, he was a gay man who became a Catholic after he became ill with AIDS. He went to live with his mother in another part of town, but one Sunday, his mother called to say he had asked for me to come. I went there after the Sunday Mass, and gave him absolution, the Anointing of the Sick and Holy Communion. Then he died. He had been hanging on for me to come there. The nurse said that it was the most peaceful death he had ever witnessed. His former partner told me that in his diary, this young man had recorded about a thousand sexual contacts.

The prayer that Jesus asks is: "Jesus, I trust in you." This signature is always to be on the portrait of Jesus as Merciful Savior He asked Sister Faustina to have painted.

Our Lord also taught Sister Faustina a special prayer, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. In her diary she describes Our Lord saying to her: "Encourage souls to say the Chaplet ... Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy... Through the Chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with my will." (Diary 1541, 687, 1731) Explaination of the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

An important part of this devotion is the Feast of Mercy. Jesus also requested that the Sunday after Easter be established in the Church as the Feast of Mercy: "On that day," Jesus revealed to Sister Faustina, "the very depths of my tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of my mercy."

Pope John Paul II believed this, and declared that the Sunday after Easter should be called Divine Mercy Sunday.

On Good Friday 1937, Jesus dictated the intentions for a Novena of prayer that He wanted Saint Faustina to say before the Feast of Mercy. Explaination of the Divine Mercy Novena.

Another way to practice this devotion is the Hour of Great Mercy. Jesus told Sr. Faustina, "At three o'clock implore my mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in my Passion .... This is the hour of great mercy .... In this hour I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of me in virtue of my Passion." (Diary 1320)

Especially, though, Jesus impressed upon Saint Faustina that the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist are special fountains of mercy which should be received frequently with great trust and love. He even made receiving these two Sacraments a necessary condition to obtain His promise for the Feast of Mercy: "The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment." (Diary 699)

After all, in the Eucharist we are making present and receiving intimacy with Christ's Sacrifice of which He said: 'This is my Body, which will be given for you."

Finally, Jesus told Saint Faustina that God expects us to let His mercy flow through us to others. He told her: "I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere." (Diary, 742)

We recall what Jesus said about the Last Judgment in Matthew's Gospel, "Whatever you did to the least of my brothers, that you did unto me." (Matt: 25:40)

In his Encyclical on the Eucharist, Pope John Paul II wrote: "Significantly, in their account of the Last Supper, the Synoptics recount the institution of the Eucharist, while the Gospel of John relates, as a way of bringing out its profound meaning, the account of the 'washing of the feet', in which Jesus as the teacher of communion and of service. (John 13:1-20) The Apostle Paul, for his part, says that it is 'unworthy' of a Christian community to partake of the Lord's Supper amid division and indifference towards the poor." (cf 1Cor 11: 17-34).

To return to Pope John Paul's Encyclical on Mercy, we read: "Jesus Christ taught that man not only receives and experiences the mercy of God, but that he is also called 'to practice mercy' toward others; 'Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.'The Church sees in these words a call to action, and she tries to practice mercy." He goes on later: "In reciprocal relationships between persons merciful love is never a unilateral act or process. Even in the cases in which everything would seem to indicate that only one party is giving and offering, and the other only receiving and taking (for example, in the case of a physician giving treatment, a teacher teaching, parents supporting and bringing up their children, a benefactor helping the needy), in reality the one giving is always also a beneficiary. In any case, he too can easily find himself in the position of the one who receives, who obtains a benefit, who experiences merciful love; he too can find himself the object of mercy."

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church,we read, "The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity; it is also a work of justice pleasing to God.

In Saint Luke we read: "He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food must do likewise." and "But give for alms those things that are within; and behold everything is clean for you." And in Saint James: "If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled', without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit?"

We have just completed The Year of the Eucharist, I want to conclude tonight with a paragraph from John Paul II's Encyclical on the Eucharist: "Proclaiming the death of the Lord 'until He comes' (I Cor 11:26) entails that all who take part in the Eucharist be committed to changing their lives and making them in a certain way completely 'Eucharistic.' It is this fruit of a transfigured existence and a commitment to transforming the world in accordance with the Gospel which splendidly illustrates the eschatological tension inherent in the celebration of the Eucharist an in the Christian life as whole: "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev. 22:20)

Questions

Question: I worry about people who don't really know Christ. Or even if they do they turned their back on him. I always worry about that.

I do too.

Followup: Some people are not Lucky enough to have the right contacts, how do they get that chance?

Remember last Sunday's Gospel, Jesus judged everyone. I mentioned in my homily then, a good person can go through their life and not discover God, but they will always see their neighbor, there is always someone to love.

Question: If you pray the chaplet of mercy for someone who is dying God grands them mercy, right?

It is true. It's not magic or anything but God does grant them mercy, it's very powerful. I try to say it everyday, not at 3pm because I'm busy then but I do try to everyday.

Question: You said we completed the Year of the Eucharist, has the new year been designated anything?

Not that I know of. I'd recommend, if you're interested, look up the National Catholic Register, they always have a good coverage of the bishops conference.

Question: Can you recommend spreading this devotion in our parishes.

Yes! Talk to your pastor. I say it every Sunday before 9am mass. The Chaplet is real nice when it's sung. As far as spreading the devotion, talk to many people about it, especially your pastor.

Question: What other parishes besides Sacred Heart does the Divine Mercy Chaplet?

I know Fr. Lutz does it at Holy family and Fr. Pendolphy. Every week before the devotion the Catholic Times lists places where it's said.

Question: What would you recommend is the best path to get back closer to God?

Reading the bible in a prayerful way is definitely a way of getting closer to God. The thing I would recommend, which is hard to do, is spend time before the blessed sacrament. That is extremely valuable. The archibishop of Milwaukie writes a column. One column was about the miracles that happened before the Eucharist. The Eucharist does bring about many miracles. You don't have to say anything, just be present there.

Question: Do you think it's unfortunate consequence of Vatican II is the decline of sacrament of penance?

I think that's sad and unfortunate, yes. I don't think that's going to last though, it's going to come back. People are going to realize it's more of an act of conversion.

Question: Father, we appreciate you having confession for us.

A number of priests think it's separate from communion so it's not like a "filling station" but I feel it just helps make it easier for people to get there.

Question: What would be a good book to learn about the Catholic religion?

The Catechism is a real thick book but there is a condensed version. The old Baltimore catechism is real good too.