Corpus Christi Blog

Like many elements of our Catholic faith, the Divine Mercy devotion is deeply rich and powerful in numerous ways. It is relatively new compared to the rest of our Catholic history, although the message originates with Jesus. For three years, Jesus spent time with His disciples, teaching them, healing the sick, and forgiving sins. In fact, this act of forgiving sins was one of the most shocking things Jesus did! In the Gospel of Mark, we hear:

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Child, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, ‘Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?’” (2:5-7).

We have spent the last several weeks of Lent looking at the Passion narrative from the perspective of various characters in the story. When you consider each of the different perspectives, you can see how the situation got out of control through sin (Caiaphas), difficult circumstances (Pontius Pilate), or how God still provided blessings in the midst of the pain and chaos (Veronica, Simon of Cyrene, the Centurion, and the good thief). When we consider other perspectives, we can get a clearer sense of the big picture. It is a skill that we can employ, not only when we read the gospel stories, but also in our own lives, today, to give us empathy and understanding when approaching a difficult situation that is imbued with the effects of sin.

We have finally made it to Palm Sunday and Holy Week, the final week of Lent. Hopefully, you have all done well this Lent and allowed the Lord to transform you through the sacrifices you’ve offered to Him. Did you notice the times throughout the last several weeks in which you struggled, or even fully dropped the ball on your Lenten promises? More importantly, like several characters in the Passion narrative, did you pick yourself up from your stumbles and falls and try again? Like the apostles, perhaps you fell asleep for a moment, but managed to grab a spiritual cup of coffee and woke back up. Perhaps you tried very hard to keep on track and do the right thing in a particular moment, like Pontius Pilate, but found yourself surrounded by opposition, making it very hard to follow through with your best intentions. Regardless of how your Lent has gone thus far, it is not over yet, and you can still make this Holy Week your best one ever. Re-commit to your Lenten promises now and ask God to help you finish strong as you persevere with Christ in His final moments of life.

Last week, we made a close examination of the darker and more sinful parts of ourselves as we considered the perspectives of Barabbas and the crowd. This week, we will highlight the better and more virtuous parts of our human nature as we consider those who were kind and offered works of charity to our Lord during His great suffering.