Devotion for today: Come near to God and He will come near to you.

Mark 1:14-15: After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.  “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Today we will conclude our discussion of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We have covered all the aspects of a good confession, emphasizing the need for true sorrow for our sins. In that light we looked at the need for penance given to us by the priest. Why receive penance? In our Catholic faith, we believe the steps of a good confession to be: know my sins, be sorry for my sins, make up my mind not to commit these sins again, tell my sins to a priest and do the penance the priest gives me. Well, there are several obvious reasons. First of all, we know that if our child does something wrong and says he is sorry, we accept the apology, but we also let the child know that his actions carry consequences. He must do something to make up for the wrong he has done. If he has stolen something, he must apologize and return the item. If he has broken curfew, he is usually grounded so that he will appreciate the gift of freedom and trust given to him by his parents. If an adult is speeding, he is given a ticket to remind him of the “cost” of breaking the law. It is the same with our sins. They not only offend and hurt God, they offend and hurt our fellow man, since there is no private sin. All sin makes us less good, and thus takes away from the gift we can be to others. Secondly, sin is to be mourned. Along with feeling remorse, a true penitent should also feel a sense of sorrow for the wrong he has done. We long for a way to replace the sin which is now out of our behavior with something that is pure and good. We pull weeds and fill the empty space with a beautiful flower. That is what penance does for our souls. We say we are sorry, the priest prays the words of forgiveness, and now we proceed to enter into prayer, works of mercy, and restitution for what we have done. Prayer fills our soul with the music of God’s love; works of mercy remind us of our true calling as Christians, and restitution makes us one again with the one we have offended. We are not called to obsess over our sins. We do need to believe it is ok to be a little sad once in awhile. In a world filled with distractions to keep us happy and numb, we must be willing to call ourselves to responsibility for our behavior, to feel the sadness over what we have done, and to know that our sadness will be turned to joy when our union with God is complete. On our knees, in complete humility, filled with sorrow and repentance, we confess to our priest “in persona Christi” and listen to his words. We make a good Act of Contrition and resolve to leave these sins forever, and we wait to hear a way we can return to God’s grace and help restore the well-being of the world we have somehow diminished. We leave the church feeling renewed and refreshed, light and joyful. We are a new creation, and we will shine before men. How awesome is that!!!

In the Latin Rite the proper form of absolution is as follows:

God the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

For pastoral reasons the priest may shorten the formula to:
I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

AN ACT OF CONTRITION: My God,
I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.
In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good,
I have sinned against you
whom I should love above all things.
I firmly intend, with your help,
to do penance, to sin no more,
and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.
Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us.
In His Name, my God, have mercy. Amen.

Devotion for today: “Through the Pierced Chest of the Crucified Christ, Divine Mercy reaches humanity”

For “Meditative Monday” today I have chosen a passage from Sunday’s Gospel for our reflection, along with a wonderful commentary by Monsignor Francesco Follo. I think it clarifies the beauty of God’s divine mercy.

John 20:24-29

Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

PARIS, April 05, 2013 (Zenit.org) - Mercy is God's charity By Monsignor Francesco Follo

Through the pierced chest of the crucified Christ, divine mercy reaches humanity. Jesus is "Love and Mercy personified" (Saint Faustina Kowlaska, Diaries 374). Mercy is the "second name" of Love (Dives in misericordia, 7) caught in his most deep and tender meaning and in his ability to take charge of every need, above all of the need of forgiveness. "The great wound of the soul is the great mercy of God" (Saint Eusebius).

Jesus "uses" the ointment of his chest's sore to cure Thomas's heart, which has been wounded by incredulity. The medicine of his mercy is greater than human sins. He goes to Thomas, to his disciples and to every one of us and doesn't ask "What did you do?" but "Do you love me?" as He did to Peter on the lake's shore after the resurrection. The answer that Peter and we have is our pain, but that's enough for Him. In the same way He did with Peter, He confirms us in his merciful love, a love that makes free, heals and saves.

We are poor and fragile things, but we can rejoice if we say, "My God I trust you" (as suggested to Saint Faustina by Jesus; Diaries, 327) because the announcement of this mercy is source of gladness: Jesus is mercy. He is the envoy by the Father to let us know that the supreme characteristic of the essence of God is mercy.

We should ask ourselves if we are always conscious of the fact that we live because of God's mercy and of his charity that gives us life, freedom, love, hope, forgiveness and all graces. We should also ask ourselves if we practice charity. Charity is a fact that touches the roots of man's life because it is acceptance of the way of living of Christ, who "for your sake became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich" (2 Cor 8:9). It is the acceptance that Christ is the richness of our life and that we must follow him without regretting what we leave behind. (Mt 19, 21)

Charity – mercy is not pure and simple philanthropy, but it is the love for Christ that we reach through our poorest brothers:  "whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me." (Mt 25). This is why Christ accepts the fact that the most expensive perfume is "wasted" on him instead of being sold to get money for the poor. Christ is the valid foundation of every love for the poor.

Devotion for today: The Heart of Christ!

Excerpt from Pope John Paul II's Homily
On the first universal celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday, 2001.

His "Sacred Heart" has given men everything: redemption, salvation, sanctification. Saint Faustina Kowalska saw coming from this Heart that was overflowing with generous love, two rays of light which illuminated the world.

The two rays, [according to what Jesus Himself told her], denote blood and water (Diary, 299). The blood recalls the sacrifice of Golgotha and the mystery of the Eucharist; the water, according to the rich symbolism of the Evangelist John, makes us think of Baptism and the Gift of the Holy Spirit (See Jn 3:5; 4:14).

Through the mystery of this wounded Heart, the restorative tide of God's merciful love continues to spread over the men and women of our time. Here alone can those who long for true and lasting happiness find its secret.

"Jesus, I trust in You!"

This prayer, dear to so many of the devout, clearly expresses the attitude with which we too would like to abandon ourselves trustfully in Your hands, 0 Lord, our only Savior.

You are burning with the desire to be loved and those in tune with the sentiments of Your Heart learn how to build the new civilization of love. A simple act of abandonment is enough to overcome the barriers of darkness and sorrow, of doubt and desperation. The rays of Your Divine Mercy restore hope, in a special way, to those-who feel overwhelmed by the burden of sin.

Mary, Mother of Mercy, help us always to have this trust in your Son, our Redeemer. Help us too, St. Faustina, whom we remember today with special affection. Fixing our weak gaze on the divine Savior's face, we would like to repeat with you: "Jesus, I trust in You!" Now and for ever. Amen

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http://www.divinemercysunday.com/popes-homily.htm