Divine Mercy for the contemporary generation

By Msgr. Anthony S. Czarnecki, retired diocesan priest
Special to The CFP
 
Last Sunday, the second Sunday of Easter, we were still overwhelmed by the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection. The universal Church also celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday.  
On April 30, 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized the Polish visionary Sister Faustina Kowalska – the 21st century’s first canonization – and proclaimed the Second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.  
I had the privilege of being part of this inspiring celebration on that beautiful sunny morning at an outdoor Mass in front of the St. Peter’s Basilica. St. Peter’s Square, bedecked with Easter flowers, surrounded by carved portals of the ancient buildings and the famous Lorenzo Bernini Colonnade of Saints, held a large number of people from across the world, spreading through Via della Conciliazione to the Tiber River.
St. John Paul II quoted Jesus’ words to St. Faustina, recorded in her Diary: “Humanity will not find peace until it turns trustfully to divine mercy” (p. 132).  
“It is not a new message but can be considered a gift of special enlightenment that helps us to relive the Gospel of Easter more intensely, to offer it as a ray of light to the men and women of our time,” the pope said.  
Easter morning teaches us that we can obtain eternal salvation only through God’s love, revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We could ask why Jesus rose, and answer, “For the same reason he came into this world – out of love for humanity.”
What, then, is mercy? The word mercy is derived from the Latin word “misericordia,” which is comprised of two words: “miseria,” which means misery, including extreme poverty, desolation, grief, and the cry for pity and compassion, and “cor,” which means the heart. Therefore, mercy refers to the human heart witnessing inadequacy and sadness and responding, to do something to alleviate another person’s misery.
In several places in the Bible the word mercy appears. God’s mercy is described as great, gentle, abundant and accessible to all people who have faith. St. John Paul II said mercy is the second name of love, which embraces people wounded by evil, sickness, loneliness, suffering and death. Mercy is the most desirable reaction of God to human misery, because it gives us something which we desperately need. Briefly, we could say that mercy is God’s answer to the mystery of evil – the mystery of iniquitatis (injustice and inequality).
The history of humanity is a story of sin, forgiveness, and the love of God for man. For this reason, God, in his unending goodness, revealed that his love is greater than justice. Merciful love is obtainable by anyone who asks for it.
The promise of Jesus for Divine Mercy Sunday is something greater than a plenary indulgence. It is a day where the floods of God’s mercy are open, all the dams are opened, and the streams of God’s love come upon humanity. But that mercy cannot be obtained by people who do not ask for God’s love, who do not have the characteristics of a penitent. St. John Paul II said, “we have to develop in ourselves the imagination of God’s merciful works.”  
It is possible to encounter a situation in our daily lives which appears as an opportunity to practice a merciful deed.  
Allow me to share a personal experience. On an Easter Monday, returning by train from New Britain, Connecticut, to Washington, D.C., after visiting my mother, I went to the café car to get a cup of coffee. Several men were in line ahead of me. It was quiet and our attention caught a little girl not older than 5, who tried to pay for her items. She was so tiny she could not reach the counter; she had to step back to be seen. She reached into every pocket and pulled out crumpled up single dollar bills and a few coins, placing this all on the counter. The barista counted the money and told the little girl, “You have $8; your total is $11.” So he took away a few small potato chip bags and something else. The little girl said, “But I need it” and she started to cry. This caught people by surprise. I stepped forward and asked how much she needed. The barista said she needed $3. I paid $11 and placed her items and her crumpled single dollar bills into her basket. The little girl looked at me, and almost whispered the words, “Thank you,” and ran away to a passenger car.
I have not experienced in my life the gaze of an angel, but the eyes of that little girl full of tears, that looked at me, and the hardly audible words, “Thank you,” sounded like an angelic voice.
In James 2:13, it is written, “Merciless is the judgement on the man who has not shown mercy, because mercy triumphs over judgement.” In society, justice is based on rules; mercy is based on love. Justice is what a person deserves, but mercy is something that person desperately needs.
St. John Paul II, in his apostolic letter on the International Day of Youth, March 1985, asked if the contemporary generation, living in the world of enormous technological achievements, understands eternal life.
We could rephrase the question and ask if the generation of the 21st century, which focuses its attention and energies on self, lives in an illusion, poisoned by dehumanizing ideologies. Can one reach beyond the horizon of this life? I would say that it would be impossible without the special grace of God.  
Divine Mercy is not only for one day; it’s for every day. To obtain God’s mercy, you have to ask for it, like the good thief on the cross – a public sinner who was converted. The cross is not a sign of defeat but a sign of victory, a throne of God’s mercy.
Some biblical scholars say that, before the end of the world, there will be an abundance of God’s grace and mercy, like Jesus gave the good thief, and people will turn and believe in Jesus.