JESUS I TRUST IN YOU

Hello Everyone.  I hope this message finds you well in these difficult times.  I have been at the rectory since this all began and have been spending time daily in prayer and at Mass in the Church.  I have specifically been praying for all my parishioners and the St. John the Evangelist school community.   

 

As we approach Holy Week, one of the things that we think about is God’s great love for humanity - so great that He sent His Son to die on the cross that we may have life.  Holy Week starts with Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, continues with His Last Supper and the Institution of the Eucharist, His suffering, crucifixion and death on Good Friday, which is also the completion of the Eucharistic sacrifice begun on Holy Thursday.  It all concludes with the marvelous Resurrection of our Lord, the conquering of sin and death! 

 

As we have more time to think of things, people may be questioning “Why has this pandemic happened?” There seems to be as many opinions on it as there are people.  Even from the Church, we seem to have conflicting views.  At this time, it is important to go back to the truth of our faith.  Firstly, that all suffering, sickness, disagreements, imbalances of power, discord with nature and death are a result of original sin and personal sin.   We see this clearly in the book of Genesis.  Secondly, that God does not will evil, but does allow evil which is a result of sin.  One could say that God permits evil to occur.  Our free will and the free will of others also have a great effect on the outcome of events.  At the same time, He has the absolute power to stop it but often waits for us to turn to Him, acknowledge His supreme power and to place our trust in Him with a deep conviction of the heart.  We see this dynamic throughout the Old Testament.  Now, it would be erroneous to say that every time a person suffers some evil, it is because of their personal sins.  Jesus himself suffered grievously, and yet was sinless.  Mary the Mother of God was also sinless and yet 7 swords pierced her heart, and she also suffered.  At the same time, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, we hear that certain painful events and even death are a direct result of someone’s personal sin.   

 

Perhaps this is now the time to turn back to Him and trust Him with a deep conviction in our hearts.  The most fundamental thing to remember is that whatever God permits to happen, He does so with the purpose to bring souls to the joys of eternal life.  Each single soul is precious to Him and He does not wish for it to be lost.  It is marvelous that God’s love never abandons us.  Between World War I and World War II, with all the death and suffering that it brought, Jesus reached out to a Polish nun named St. Faustina Kowalska to make known once again His great mercy and love for humanity that was first shown by the pouring out of blood and water from His wounded side as He hung upon the cross.  His love and mercy is as ever present for us today as it was at the first Holy Week.    There is a Divine Mercy Novena that starts on Good Friday and concludes with the celebration of Divine Mercy on the second Sunday of Easter.  This novena and instructions on how to pray the Chaplet can be found here. I warmly invite you to pray this Novena and maybe even with your family, if possible.  Especially at this time when the reality of death is present on many people’s minds, let us enter more deeply into the reality that we can assist souls to move from this life to the loving embrace of our Heavenly Father with our prayers.  Jesus especially commended the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for this purpose.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if during this period of fear and uncertainty, we became first line responders in the spiritual realm?  We can assist in a very real and beneficial way those that must depart from this life.  Please help me do this.   

 

Someone had forwarded me an aspect of the Divine Mercy devotion that I did not know of when reading St. Faustina’s diary- the practice of placing an image of Divine Mercy on your door.  It is a wonderful way not only to proclaim your trust in His Mercy, but Jesus told St. Faustina herself that “When chastisements for sins come upon the world and your own country will experience utter degradation, the only refuge will be trust in My mercy. I will protect the cities and homes in which The Divine Mercy Image is found; I will protect the persons who will venerate [honor] this Image. The only refuge will be trust in My Mercy”  (attributed to Bl. Sopocko, St. Faustina’s confessor).  Please find more details on this practice at the Divine Mercy Website.