Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

Divine Mercy Sunday

Divine Mercy Sunday

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This weekend end is an unusual, wonderful, seasonal combination of themes, ceremonials, rituals.  Early today, (the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday) millions were glued to the TV as in Rome a good and holy man was laid to rest.  Our Gospel reading from John rings out a message of PEACE.  Jesus comes through locked doors to greet His mother and friends proclaiming: “Peace be with you!”  An unbeliever has his faith boosted when Jesus says:  “I’m here, see me!  I’m real!  Yes, you can touch me.”  In my mind’s eye I see Peter trying to keep up with the younger guys, I spy Mary Magdalene trying to “up the tempo” of Mother Mary and some other ladies who are walking sedately and chatting quietly.  All are mystified and inspired and ever so grateful!

Here at home, as in the Gospel reading, it is the evening of the first day of the week.  The faith community is gathered behind locked doors, for fear of the unknown.  Suddenly, this evening,  Lynn and Judith will appear in our midst bringing greetings of PEACE.  The community rejoices and we pray them a blessing: PEACE BE WITH LYNN AND JUDITH!

We are grateful for their presence and grateful that we live in this time and space – in this Jubilee Year of HOPE.  This weekend’s liturgical readings for Divine Mercy Sunday combine MERCY with HOPE – and HOPE with KINDNESS.

KINDNESS (it seems to me) is the virtue par excellence of a person who is truly patient, a person like Pope Francis.  In an early interview, Pope Francis said he hoped that his legacy would be expressed in this way: “He was a good guy doing good things.”  Kindness rubs off.  Isn’t this the shining image we have in Francis!?  Kindness is fueled by MERCY.  MERCY, one author offers, is not one aspect of the Gospel of Jesus; MERCY is the very center of the Gospel.

Divine Mercy is offered to us in the Eucharist, in each celebration of the sacraments, (all seven of them), and in every sacramental exchange of hope and kindness and mercy.

To paraphrase Abbot John in the Dove and the Hawk series by Penelope Wilcock: we re – member Christ in communion – Christ will re – member us in the coming of his kingdom.  We are healed, we are made one with each other, we regain our integrity as Christ’s kingdom comes on earth.  Where (he asks) does Christ come into his kingdom?  It happens wherever, and whenever, we allow it.” We allow it in every act of HOPE, every act of KINDNESS, and certainly in every act of MERCY.   We allow it every time the Eucharist is presented to us, the “BODY of CHRIST” (That’s the moment of invitation).  It happens when we allow it to happen – when we affirm it with our AMEN.

Yes, Jesus stands at the door and knocks.  We just have to turn the key and open the door. Even an auto-button won’t open a locked door.  That’s your part, our part.  Turn the key to let the door swing open.    It’s true that the turning of the key is a life-long process. [But, praise GOD!] It’s the gift of a moment. A lifetime made up of a sequence of moments giving us the chance to say “I hear you …  I’m coming! I was waiting for your knock.”    “Please, do come in.  May I offer you some refreshment?”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

 

First Reading:   Acts 3:42-47         Second Reading:  1 Peter 1:3-9
Gospel:   John 20:19-31
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Second Sunday of Easter – Divine Mercy Sunday

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Tomorrow has been known as “Low Sunday” – a lesser Easter celebration – or “Quasi-modo Sunday” from the first two words of the Entrance antiphon at Mass: “Like newborn infants” (speaking especially about those baptized at Easter).  It is the day that the newly baptized officially put away their white robes. Hence, it is known liturgically as the “Sunday of putting away the albs.”   And yes, the name of this feast is the origin of the name of the hunchback, Quasimodo, in Victor Hugo’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” The foundling was so named because he was discovered at the cathedral on the second Sunday of Easter.

On that Second Sunday of Easter in the Jubilee Year 2000, at the Mass for the canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska, Pope John Paul II made a surprising announcement. “It is important that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church, will be called ‘Divine Mercy Sunday.”   Clearly it is not a new feast but neither is it an optional title for this solemnity; rather, Divine Mercy is the integral name for this Feast Day.

The Gospel begins with the risen Christ appearing to the apostles on Easter night. Jesus calms his disciples by saying and giving them “Peace.” He shows them the scars of his Passion, his wounded hands and side, the evidence of his saving work through his suffering, death and resurrection.  Then he breathes on them and explains what the divine breathing means with the words, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven, whose sins you retain are retained.” He gives to the apostles, from the treasury of divine mercy, the power of mercy for penitents and the assurance there is nothing to fear.

The story of St. Faustina reveals the inspiration behind the Divine Mercy devotion. On February 22, 1931, at the age of 26, Sister Faustina experienced a life-changing vision of Christ. She saw him wearing a white robe and raising his right hand in blessing with his left hand resting on his heart from which flowed two rays of light. Jesus told her, “Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the prayer, Jesus, I trust in you.”  Faustina could not paint but eventually she persuaded her spiritual director to find an artist to create the painting that was named The Divine Mercy.

Thankfully there is a trend among media services to make an effort to balance stories of horror and tragedy with illustrations of mercy.   For many people there are two stories that continue to stand out – The first is that of an Amish community that walked to the home of the man who had killed 5 of their children to tell his widow they forgave her husband for what he had done, and consoled her for the loss of her spouse. They buried their anger before they buried their children.

The other well-known story of forgiveness, you may recall, was depicted on the cover of TIME magazine 1984.  It pictured a prison cell where two men sat on metal folding chairs. The young man wore a black turtleneck sweater, blue jeans and white running shoes. The older man was dressed in a white robe and had a white skullcap on his head. They sat facing one another, up close and personal. They spoke quietly so as to keep others from hearing the conversation. The young man was an attempted assassin; the older man was Pope John Paul II, his intended victim. At the end of their 20-minute meeting, Ali raised the pope’s hand to his forehead as a sign of respect. John Paul shook Ali’s hand tenderly.

John Paul II and the Amish Christians teach us that forgiveness is central. They believe in a real sense that God’s forgiveness depends on their extending forgiveness to other people. That’s what the mercy of God is all about.  They are but two examples of God’s divine mercy in action, the same divine mercy whose message St. Faustina witnessed, the gift of mercy we celebrate on Divine Mercy Sunday.  This is also a good week for our prayer intention for vocations, formators and those they guide and mentor.  May God, in wisdom and mercy, see fit to bless us with the grace to persevere in our own vocations, and for insight and fortitude for all those involved in the ministry of religious formation.

 

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

 

First Reading:   Acts 4:23-35         Second Reading:  1 John 5:1-6
Gospel:   John 20:19-31 
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Divine Mercy Sunday

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Yesterday, the Second Sunday of Easter, in days gone by, was known as “Low Sunday” – a lesser Easter celebration – or “Quasi-modo Sunday” from the first two words of the Latin entrance antiphon at Mass: “Like newborn infants” speaking about those baptized at Easter.  It is the day that the newly baptized officially put away their white robes, hence, it was known liturgically as the “Sunday of putting away the albs.”   And yes, the name of this feast is the origin of the name of the hunchback, Quasimodo, in Victor Hugo’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” The foundling was so named because he was discovered at the cathedral on the Second Sunday of Easter.

For centuries the Easter liturgies have proclaimed the mercy of God.  From Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday to the Eighth Day of Easter, the divine love song of mercy is chanted with abundant alleluias.   In tomorrow’s responsorial psalm we will sing three times, “His mercy endures forever.”

In the year 2000, at the Mass for the canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska, Pope John Paul II made a surprising announcement in his homily.  “It is important that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church, will be called ‘Divine Mercy Sunday.’ ”   Clearly it is not a new feast, but neither is it an optional title for this solemnity; rather, Divine Mercy is the integral name for this Feast Day.

For many people there are two contemporary stories that continue to stand out in memory.  One is the story of the Amish community that walked to the home of the man who had killed 5 of their children to tell his widow they forgave her husband for what he had done, and they consoled her for the loss of her spouse. They buried their anger before they buried their children.

The other well-known story of forgiveness that you may recall was depicted on the cover of TIME magazine in 1984.  It pictured a prison cell where two men sat on metal folding chairs. The younger man wore a black turtleneck sweater, blue jeans and white running shoes. The older man was dressed in a white robe and had a white skullcap on his head. They sat facing one another, up close and personal. They spoke quietly to keep others from hearing their conversation. The young man was an attempted assassin; the older man was Pope John Paul II, his intended victim. The pope held the hand that had held the gun whose bullet had torn into his body.  At the end of their 20-minute meeting, Ali raised the pope’s hand to his forehead as a sign of respect. John Paul shook Ali’s hand tenderly.  When the pope left the cell he said, “What we talked about must remain a secret between us. I spoke to him as a brother whom I have pardoned and who has my complete trust.”

Our Gospel (you’ll recall) begins with the risen Christ appearing to the apostles on Easter night. Jesus calms his disciples by saying and giving them “Peace.” He shows them the scars of his Passion, his wounded hands and side, the evidence of his saving work through his suffering, death and resurrection.  Then he breathes on them and explains what the divine breathing means with the words, “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven, whose sins you shall retain are retained.” He gives to the apostles, from the treasury of divine mercy, the power of mercy for penitents and the assurance there is nothing for us to fear.  That’s what the divine mercy of God is all about.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

First Reading:  Acts 4:232-35         Second Reading:  1 John 5:1-6
Gospel:   John 20:19-31
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Divine Mercy Sunday

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In our missalettes, this Sunday is labeled: Second Sunday of Easter OR Sunday of Divine Mercy but according to liturgical guidelines the reverse would be more appropriate.  During the Jubilee Year 2000 Pope John Paul decreed: “It is important that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church will be called “Divine Mercy Sunday”.  It is this love which must inspire humanity today, if it is to face the crisis of the meaning of life, the challenges of the most diverse needs and, especially, the duty to defend the dignity of every human person.”  The decree continues: “While “Divine Mercy” is clearly not a new feast, neither is this now an optional title for this solemnity.”

But, In a by-gone tradition, tomorrow was known as “Low Sunday” – a lesser Easter celebration or “Quasi-modo Sunday” from the first two words of the Entrance antiphon at Mass.  Some places also refer to this Sunday as the “Sunday of putting away the albs – the white baptismal robes.”

Here’s another bit of trivia.  In England, there was a strange custom, on the Monday and Tuesday after Low Sunday, between the hours of 9 a.m. and noon.  Those two days became known as “Hoke Day.”  (“Hoke” – related to “hocus pocus” – actions performed in an exaggerated or overly sentimental way.)  On Monday, men “captured” women to auction.  On Tuesday, the women reciprocated by capturing the men for ransom and both days the money was given to the Church.

The Gospel for this feast begins with the risen Christ appearing to the apostles on Easter night.  Jesus calms his disciples by sharing with them “Peace.”  He shows them the scars of his Passion, his wounded hands and side, the evidence of his saving work through his suffering, death and resurrection.  Then he breathes on them and explains what the divine breathing means with the words, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”  He gives to the apostles, from His treasury of divine mercy, the assurance, so important to remember, that there is nothing to fear.

A trend that became more prominent since COVID times is one among media services –  the practice of closing the evening news with a pleasant event in hopes that in some small way it will balance the stories of violence, horror and tragedy.  The newscaster shares illustrations of volunteer service, almsgiving, one-on-one forgiveness and kindness and similar examples of “divine mercy” in action.  Some of these incidents, like this one in 2006, seem to keep resurfacing.  You may remember the story of the Amish community that walked to the home of the man who had killed 5 of their children to tell his widow they forgave her husband.  They consoled her for the loss of her spouse.  They buried their anger before they buried their children. 

Another not-to-be-forgotten story of forgiveness was depicted on the cover of TIME magazine in 1984.  Two men sit knee-to-knee, up close and personal in a prison cell.  The younger man wears a black turtleneck sweater, blue jeans and white running shoes.  The older man is dressed in a white robe and a white skullcap on his head.  The two spoke quietly, so discretely that no one else was privy to the words that passed between them.  The young man was an attempted assassin; the older man was Pope John Paul II, his intended victim.  The two men gave living witness to the words, that 26 years later, the intended victim, Pope John Paul spoke in his declaration on the first DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY.  In the picture on the journal is of the pope holding the hand that had held the gun with the bullet that had torn into his body.  At the end of their 20-minute meeting, raising the pope’s hand, Ali pressed the pope’s hand to his own forehead as a sign of respect.  John Paul shook Ali’s hand tenderly.  When the pope left the cell he said, “What we talked about must remain a secret between us.  I spoke to him as a brother whom I have pardoned and who has my complete trust.”  John Paul’s deed has become an icon of living mercy.

These, and other stories, teach us that forgiveness is central.  They show us in a real sense that God’s forgiveness depends on our being the first to extend forgiveness, starting with forgiveness of self for shortcomings. That’s what the mercy of God is all about.  This is the gift of mercy we celebrate on Divine Mercy Sunday.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

Kindly include in your prayers a remembrance of our monastery cook, Shawnn Leach, who passed away at home on Thursday afternoon.  At this time any information and arrangements are pending.  May Angie, his wife, and Shane, his son who found Shawnn in distress at home, be comforted by faith and caring friends.  May Shawnn rest in peace!

First Reading: Acts 4:232-35             Second Reading: John 5:1-6
Gospel: John 20:19-31
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Divine Mercy Sunday

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In a by-gone tradition, tomorrow was known as “Low Sunday” – a lesser Easter celebration – or “Quasi-modo Sunday” from the first two words of the Entrance antiphon at Mass: “Like newborn infants” referring to those baptized at Easter.  It is the day that the newly baptized officially put away their white robes, hence, it is known liturgically as the “Sunday of putting away the albs.”  And yes, the name of this feast, Quasi-Modo is the origin of the name in Victor Hugo’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”  The foundling was so named because he was discovered at the cathedral on the second Sunday of Easter.

Another bit of trivia: in England, there was a strange custom on the Monday and Tuesday after Low Sunday, between the hours of 9 a.m. and noon.  These two days became known as “Hoke Day.”  (“Hoke” – related to “hocus pocus” is to perform in an exaggerated or overly sentimental way.)  On Monday, men “captured” women to auction.  On Tuesday, the women reciprocate by capturing the men for ransom and both days the money was given to the Church.

Now leap ahead to the Second Sunday of Easter in the Jubilee Year 2000.  At the Mass for the canonization of Faustina Kowalska, Pope John Paul II made a surprising announcement in his homily: …” from now on throughout the Church, the second Sunday of Easter will be called ‘Divine Mercy Sunday.’ ”  Thus, while it is clearly not a new feast, neither is it an optional title for this solemnity; rather, Divine Mercy is the integral name for the Second Sunday of Easter.  For centuries the Easter liturgies have proclaimed the mercy of God.  In tomorrow’s responsorial psalm we will sing four times, “His mercy endures forever.”

The Gospel for this feast begins with the risen Christ appearing to the apostles on Easter night.  Jesus calms his disciples by sharing with them “Peace.”  He shows them the scars of his Passion, his wounded hands and side, the evidence of his saving work through his suffering, death and resurrection.  Then he breathes on them and explains what the divine breathing means with the words, “Receive the holy Spirit.”  He gives to the apostles, from His treasury of divine mercy, the assurance there is nothing to fear.  So important to remember especially this year.  Think of it – this is our second celebration of Easter in pandemic times.

Pious devotions such as the rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet foster the virtue of trust in God’s mercy making participation in the sacraments, especially the liturgy of Eucharist and Reconciliation, more vital and fruitful.

There is a trend of late among many media services (thankfully) to close the evening news with an effort to balance stories of violence, horror and tragedy with illustrations of volunteer service, almsgiving and one-on-one forgiveness and kindness and other examples of “divine mercy” in action.  Stories that stand out: heroism and neighborliness in times of COVID, floods and tornadoes, the expanding problem with world hunger, homelessness and closing of businesses; over-crowded hospitals, death, dying and stranded migrant children.  And it is likely you may recall earlier stories.  Like the one from 2006, the story of the Amish community that walked to the home of the man who had killed 5 of their children to tell his widow they forgave her husband for what he had done, and they consoled her for the loss of her spouse.  They buried their anger before they buried their children.

Another not-to-be-forgotten story of forgiveness, you may recall, was depicted on the cover of TIME magazine 1984.  Two men sit knee-to-knee, up close and personal in a prison cell.  The younger man wears a black turtleneck sweater, blue jeans and white running shoes.  The older man is dressed in a white robe and a white skullcap on his head.  The two spoke quietly so as to keep others from hearing their conversation.  The young man was an attempted assassin; the older man was Pope John Paul II, his intended victim.   The pope held the hand that had held the gun with the bullet that had torn into his body.  At the end of their 20-minute meeting, raising the pope’s hand, Ali pressed to his own forehead as a sign of respect.  John Paul shook Ali’s hand tenderly.  When the pope left the cell he said, “What we talked about must remain a secret between us.  I spoke to him as a brother whom I have pardoned and who has my complete trust.”  John Paul’s deed has become an icon of living mercy.

These, and other stories, teach us that forgiveness is central.  They show us in a real sense that God’s forgiveness depends on our being the first to extend forgiveness – starting with forgiveness of self for short-comings.  That’s what the mercy of God is all about.  These are but a few examples of God’s divine mercy in action.  This is the gift of mercy we celebrate on Divine Mercy Sunday.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress

 

 

First Reading: Acts 4:232-35     Second Reading: John 5:1-6   Gospel: John 20:19-31
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