Mercy Sunday 2020
I am reliving these moments with Our Lady. With great longing, I am waiting for the Lord’s coming. Great are my desires. I desire that all humankind come to know the Lord. I would like to prepare all nations for the coming of the Word Incarnate. O Jesus, make the fount of Your mercy gush forth more abundantly, for humankind is seriously ill and thus has more need than ever of Your compassion. You are a bottomless sea of mercy for us sinners; and the greater the misery, the more right we have to Your mercy. You are a fount which makes all creatures happy by Your infinite mercy.
—Sr. Faustina’s Diary
Are we as a species, ill? One way to look at insanity is that someone will do the same self-destructive act over and over again without understanding what they are doing. I wonder if we are like that as humans. We can’t seem to get off of the cycle of hurt, revenge, more revenge, greed, abuse of all kinds, and cultures that are more often than not actually anti-human. Where we judged only by appearances. The church has often fallen into the trap of seeking to show forth a holy façade, but hiding many evils. I also know that I am a big part of the problem. I have carried my own load of insanity, illness, and yes, sin.
It is not neurotic to admit need, or weakness, or the desire for mercy. To deny is actually what can drive anyone deeper into insanity. Our ‘illness’ is so common that it is considered normal! Well maybe it is, without mercy, for all we have is ourselves and our constant running around in circles.
Today is ‘Mercy Sunday”, a day in which Jesus shows us His desire to bestow on us what we actually desire deep within. To be seen, understood, and receiving something that we cannot demand, a pure gift…..God’s loving mercy.
Mercy can only be consciously be experienced when we open up our hearts to the truth about our situation, which is not a pretty one, but the light needs to be allowed to show us our inner woundedness, sinfulness, and self-absorption so that we can be free to look to that which created us for a loving relationship, an eternal relationship, the only kind of relationship that will fill our restless hearts.
Today, even one cannot receive the sacrament, will not stop the grace the special grace that is offered to all today. In fact, because of the longing for the Sacrament, the Spiritual -Communion may even be deeper, because of the present situation making us more aware of our love of this powerful sacrament given to us by our loving Father.
Br. Mark Dohle, OCSO
Holy Spirit Monastery
