April 7.   Sunday Easter 2.  Divine Mercy Sunday.  Fr Bryan decided to share some of his thoughts on this day. “How did the early Church grow?” he asked.  “Were the disciples all fired up immediately or did they need extra help, like we all do all the time. This Divine Mercy Sunday is celebrating God’s mercy, as an extra something available to us as a special devotion emphasizing the need to put our trust in God’s mercy.  It was started after St Faustina received visions of Jesus.  We also invite the Holy Spirit to help us examine our lives and, in justice, acknowledge ourselves to be sinners and in need of mercy and forgiveness.  We, priests, have been given special sacramental powers to forgive sins in the name of God and in all humility. I do wish that more people would appreciate what that can mean for them. It can even be a way of ‘touching” Jesus who is the Face of God’s mercy.  The Divine Mercy devotion can be promoted and prayed in parishes and families too.    

Reflect, share, pray. Scripture.   Jesus said, Peace be with you.   As the Father has sent me, even so I send you. And he breathed on them and said,  “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any they are retained.” John 20:19-31.  Pope Francis: “I ask God to prepare our hearts to encounter our brothers and sisters so that we may overcome our differences rooted in political thinking, language, culture and religion. Let us ask him to anoint our whole being with the balm of his mercy, which heals the injuries caused by mistakes, misunderstandings and disputes. And let us ask him for the grace to send us forth, in humility and meekness, along the demanding but enriching path of seeking peace.” FT254. Action. The Sacrament of Reconciliation has been quite widely forgotten in recent years.   Have you received this sacrament during this Easter season?