Divine Mercy Sunday - Year B (April 4, 2021)
Rev. Nicholas Adam
Carmelite
Monastery - Jackson, Mississippi
As Therese of Lisieux neared death
at the Carmel infirmary, she is reported to have shown impatience with a
“tiresome sister.” After the encounter, the dying saint was corrected for her
behavior. And she responded, “oh! How happy I am to see myself imperfect and to
be in need of God’s mercy so much even at the moment of my death!” The Little
Flower, Saint Therese, was happy to be corrected and chastised for her
imperfection. She was thrilled to be reminded of her human frailty so she could
rest in the embrace of her loving God one more time while on this earth. What
an incredible example for the rest of us. It is a mercy to be corrected. It is
a mercy to fail. It is a mercy to be wrong, as long as it leads us into the
arms of our Lord.
Divine Mercy
is all around us. The Lord is constantly asking us to recognize that he is God
and we are not. And blessed are those who have not seen, and yet still believe.
We do not have the benefit of Jesus Christ incarnate walking about, but we do
have the grace of the sacraments, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist,
and the witness of the saints to strengthen our faith. And one of the best ways
of coming to be more merciful ourselves is to recognize within ourselves those
things that need healing, that need forgiveness, and those things that have
been healed and forgiven.
To see
ourselves imperfect is not to be downtrodden or lacking in self-esteem. Our
knowledge of our brokenness avails us of the mercy of God, who is waiting to
take what is broken and mend it. When we get corrected by a sister carmelite or
a superior or a bishop or a brother priest or a spouse or a parent, do we see
this as an opportunity to be healed of something that is broken within us? Do
we see it as an opportunity to at least for a second be rid of our pride and
self-reliance?
These days
Pride is extolled as virtue, and yet it is the root of our sinfulness. We think
we deserve better than we have, and so we seek after more, and we reject any
assertion that we don’t deserve the very best, even when those assertions are
accurate. The Catechism says that pride is at the root of envy. Envy is sadness
at the success of another, what could be more prideful than that.
And so we
should rejoice at those times when our pride is threatened. When we get
corrected, when we get embarrassed, not because we are gluttons for punishment
or trying to be stoic, but because our pride could block us from receiving
God’s mercy, and God is so merciful that even moments of being brought low,
perhaps especially moments of being brought low, can bring us into contact with
his overwhelming and incredible mercy.
If St. Thomas
were prideful, St. John’s gospel would have been much longer. He would have
spent many verses explaining his thought process to Jesus. “Lord, here’s why I
said what I said,” “and yes of course I wanted evidence that you were alive
because I KNOW that you died!” “Is that really too much to ask?” But Thomas is
too interested in the immensity of the mystery of loving the Lord Jesus to
worry about getting his feelings hurt. He doesn’t say anything, he stands by
what he already said: “my Lord, and my God.”
God has
brought us new life through baptism into Christ. That is enough. And whenever
we get shaken by something someone says or our pride takes a shot, see it as a
moment of grace, an opportunity to run to the arms of this loving God that has
revealed himself to us. If the Church were filled with less prideful people,
maybe we’d look and sound a little more like that Church in 1st Century
Jerusalem. One in heart and mind, one in doctrine and action. A little more
peace-filled, a little less fear-full.
There has
been a baby bust in the age of Corona. It was speculated that the birthrate
would skyrocket, but instead we have been reading reports of a dramatic drop in
births especially in wealthy nations such as our own. Could this be because we
are too pride-filled. We believe that we are owed perfection and therefore
anyone we bring into this world deserves that same perfection. But that model
of perfection is built on created realities, observable signs: wealth, health,
assurance of a certain level of living. But God’s love and mercy is so abundant
that it is a available in any circumstance at any time. Why wouldn’t you bring
new life into a world so filled with this love. But that’s the thing...God’s
love is self-less, it is giving, it is not about getting and taking. We are all
afraid because we no longer recognize on the national level any God, much less
the God who died for our sins and rose to defeat death.
But you do
not need to be afraid, just humble. We know how much we need God’s mercy just
to make it through today. Of course to breath and walk and talk, but also just
to deal with the uniqueness that is you and me. It is hard to live, but it is
good to live. It is good to live because the Lord is with us, showering us with
his mercy, if only we are not too prideful to receive it.
No comments:
Post a Comment