Holy Week begins with our Lord, humbly riding on a donkey coming into Jerusalem as the Messiah – the anointed One who brings salvation to all humanity. Jesus enters the city triumphantly, where He knows that He will be mocked, tortured, striped and crucified…and where He will ultimately conquer sin and death through His own death and resurrection.
The passion of our Lord depicts a most perfect picture of God’s love for all of humanity. As Jesus says in the gospel of John, “No one takes my life from me. I freely lay it down.”
Then on Holy Thursday, we will celebrate the institution of the Holy Eucharist where Jesus says, “This is my body, which will be given up for you. This is My blood, which will poured out for you.” He’s telling his disciples what is to come, His passion will begin soon.
On Good Friday, our Lord offered himself as the ultimate sacrifice, once and for all. For all the sins of humanity, He sweat drops of blood in the garden, for the sins of impurity, He was flogged by the soldiers. For the sins of pride, He was crowned with thorns, for the sins of greed He was nailed to the cross. When His Sacred Heart was pierced, the source of mercy was opened wide.
All the sins of humanity were inflicted upon the one who was innocent, righteous, and true. The perfect sacrifice, to reconcile all of humanity to God.
As we journey together, we come to the most solemn celebration of the year, together we will celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ at the Easter Vigil Celebration. The Easter celebration will last eight days and concludes on Divine Mercy Sunday.
Then, on that day, the very depths of the Lord’s tender mercy are opened. He will pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of His mercy. Our Lord explains that the Fount of His mercy are the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation.
In receiving these Sacraments, what is the vessel through which these graces flow? That vessel is TRUST. To trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Divine Mercy poured out for all humanity.
Trust requires a conversion of the heart and soul and gives us the wisdom to seek out His mercy, it allows us to be merciful to others, and finally, it allows us to say, not my will Lord, but Your will be done, especially when we are suffering or struggling.
As Jesus told St Faustina, “Every time you go to confession, immerse yourself entirely in My mercy, with great trust, so that I may pour the bounty of My grace upon your soul. When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself and waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy they draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity.” My friends, when we run to the confessional, this is an act of humility and God pours out His graces on humble souls who trust in Him.
Another quote from the diary of St Faustina, our Lord tells us: “My mercy is greater than your sins and those of the entire world. Who can measure the extent of My goodness?” He goes on to say, “For you I descended from heaven to earth; for you I allowed Myself to be nailed to the cross; for you I let my Sacred Heart be pierced with a lance; thus opening wide the source of mercy for you. Come then with trust to draw graces from this fountain. I never reject a contrite heart. Your misery disappears into the depths of My mercy. You will give me more pleasure if you hand over to me all your troubles and griefs, I shall heap upon you the treasure of My grace.”
The message we need to remember as we celebrated this Easter Octave and Divine Mercy Sunday is that God loves us. Everyone of us, no exceptions, no matter how great or how small our sins might be. He wants us to trust in Him and then with a repentant or contrite heart, to run to His mercy in the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. He will do the rest….
Jesus, I trust in You. Jesus, I trust in You. Jesus, I trust in You.