Pope John Paul II shows us what Mercy is all about

Divine Mercy Sunday, May 1, 2011
Fr. Joseph Eddy, O. de M.
Gospel: John 20:19-31 Jesus appears to Thomas
(Sorry, no audio)

Full homily text: This May there is great rejoicing in the Church — amidst all that is wrong in the world and even at times in the Church. We rejoice to know that today our beloved John Paul II is going to become Blessed John Paul II.  This is yet another step to his eventual canonization as a Saint of the Roman Catholic Church. How this man has touched the lives of so many of us!! In fact, it is amazing to realize that this great holy man of our time is also the most viewed person in all of history. Think about it! Who has been seen by more people than the “traveling Pope”? He has traveled all over the world and been seen via television by so many others. It’s hard to believe that any person in the past one hundred years has had a greater positive impact on the world.

Fr. Joseph Eddy is the vocation director of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, founded to redeem Christians whose faith is in danger. The Order’s student house in the U.S. is in Philadelphia.

Is God calling you to become a Mercedarian friar? Visit Fr. Joseph’s Facebook page, or the website of the .

And, yet, not all people were fans of him when he was alive. Many criticized this Pope and disagreed with his stance on multiple issues. In fact, thirty years ago he was almost assassinated by a trained expert Turkish gunman who was a member of a militant fascist group. The Pope truly almost died that day. He lost three-quarters of his blood and went through five hours of surgery. The gunman was quickly apprehended and sentenced to life in prison.

Pope forgave his would-be assassin

Most people where understandably angry at this person.  He had tried to kill the Vicar of Christ, a man who dedicated his life to the service of others in Jesus name.  Justice says that the man deserved death for such a crime. But Pope John Paul II stunned the world by going to visit this man in prison on Christmas 1983. There the two exchanged private words and the Pope forgave his would-be assassin.

Justice is the virtue of giving another person what is their due.  As Americans, we think of ourselves as being a just society. Our legal system was set up by our founding fathers to preserve a civil society by giving justice to those who are wrong. The penal system is to punish those who infringe upon the rights of others.  We think that we are doing all of this properly in the sight of God, who alone knows the human heart. But, are we?  Clearly God can see into the depths of the person and understand all sides of the human experience. In God’s eyes, we all fall short because of Original Sin. When our first parents chose to “be like God,” they separated themselves from the communion that God intended. We all share in this tendency to sin. Sin is a lack of love. It creates division between persons and God. Our sins, especially mortal, are an offense against the nature of God, who is love.  Strict Justice would mean that we should be condemned for eternity. We choose by our own actions to seek not God, but ourselves.

But, as the second reading says the Father “in his great mercy gave us new birth… through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”  Jesus was sent to be the expiation for our sins. His Precious Blood flowed through his Sacred Wounds bringing us remission of our sins. This was the cost of our sins: the brutal death of the Father’s only Son.

God offered Mercy instead of justice

God confounded the Devil by not expecting strict justice, but instead offering Mercy. Full freedom from our sins is offered in Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection. And when he stands before his disciples who have rejected him and abandoned him, Jesus says “Peace be with you.” Three times we hear it in the Gospel today. Not punishment, but peace is offered.

The image of the Risen Christ with his pierced hands must have astonished the disciples. Jesus is risen, but he still bears the wounds of the cross.  Once these wounds were a source of pain, but now they are his trophies. They show the depth of his love for mankind.  Jesus proudly extends his hands and shows his wounds of love.  We deserve strict justice, but God shows us mercy. Mercy is the disposition to be kind and forgiving. It is to love beyond what is reasonable.  Jesus shows us this love. He extends his wounded hands to each of us if we seek it. We seek Jesus’ forgiveness through his Body the Church, through the sacraments, especially frequently using the sacrament of confession.

Going beyond justice

What happens when we experience God’s mercy? We need look no further then the life of Blessed John Paul II. This holy man extended his arms to the one who attempted to kill him. Justice said that the assassin did not deserve pardon, but Jesus teaches us to go beyond strict justice. Jesus demands that his disciples come to him for mercy and show that mercy to others. This is how true peace is established in the world, through Mercy. On this Divine Mercy Sunday, let us praise the Father for teaching us a new concept, Mercy. Let us show it to others and pray for an outpouring of it on our world. “For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have Mercy on us and on the whole world!”