“Peace be with you,” Jesus greets his disciples after the Resurrection when he enters the locked room where they are cowering in fear. “Peace be with you,” he says again.
In John 14: 27-29 Jesus says: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.” Initially, when Jesus told his friends he was leaving peace with them, he was preparing them for his death. Over and over Jesus warned his followers about what was to come. He wanted to comfort them. “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, 'I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.”
What is this peace that Jesus is talking about? It is not peace, as our world understands it. The peace that Jesus gives does not grant us immunity from pain and suffering, or even death, rather it enables us to face all these painful realities and triumph over them in union with the victory of Christ himself. Just as Jesus comes to the disciples hiding behind locked doors, he comes to us today bringing his peace and empowering us to rejoice in his Resurrection. He invites us to share in his Resurrection and life of glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He invites us to join his pain and suffering with our own pain and suffering so that dying with him we may also rise with him and share in that peace which the world cannot give.
Today is Divine Mercy Sunday. God’s intense desire for mercy is revealed through the birth, ministry, crucifixion, death and resurrection of his son, Jesus Christ. Through his teaching, healing and miracles Jesus demonstrated God’s kingdom of mercy, peace and love. On this Divine Mercy Sunday 2021, let’s remember the words of Jesus in St Matthew’s Gospel, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Matt 9: 12 -13). We are all sinners and we all are in desperate need of God’s mercy.
Prayer of Entrustment to the Divine Mercy
O Lord, our God.
We place our trust in You,
Because you are mercy itself.
We repent of our sins and turn to You for mercy.
We trust You to provide for our every need, according to Your will.
Help us to forgive others as You forgive us.
We promise to be merciful by our deeds, words and prayers.
Though we have fears because of human weakness, we rely on Your infinite goodness and mercy.
We entrust to You the future of our planet, our Church, our nations, our families and all our needs.
With loud cries we implore your mercy on us and on the whole world.
Look upon us, created in your image and likeness.
Form us in the Heart of Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit into the living images of mercy.
May all come to know the depth of Your mercy and sing the praises of Your mercy forever.
Amen!
