Fr. JC Maximilian

I was asked to give the homily for the start and end of a Forty-Hours Devotion at Divine Mercy Parish in Trenton. As I type this I realized that I was preaching the start and end of the first Forty-Hour Devotion at that parish; last July 1, three parishes — Holy Cross, St. Stanislaus and Ss. Peter & Paul — were merged into the new Divine Mercy Parish. The pastor is my spiritual director, and when he was the pastor of the three named parishes (yes, he was pastor of three parishes at once, before they were suppressed as three individual parishes to create the new one) he help an annual Forty-Hours devotion around the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in September, and I have tried to make the closing Mass for that the last several years. He is what I said last night, then I need to write my homily for this weekend.

Friday in the Octave of Easter
Start of the Forty Hours Devotion
at Divine Mercy Parish, Trenton
April 21, 2006
Fr. John C. Garrett

What do we mean by Divine Mercy? I know that for the past week, as you have been participating in this Divine Mercy Novena, you have been learning about this very thing. I would like to just add a few of my own thoughts. St. John, in his first epistle, states the simple truth about God when he says, “God is Love” (1 John 4:16). Love is not merely what God DOES, it is the entire BEING of God. Every other characteristic that we can apply to God – such as He is kind, He is just, etc. – must be just one form of manifesting that God is Love. So what is Divine Mercy? Simply put, Divine Mercy is God’s love encountering sin. Divine Mercy is God trying to dispel the misery that comes as a consequence of our sins. Our sins separate us from God, so in His mercy God offers to remove the defects that keep us from living His life to the full, so that we can live in the freedom of a child of God. Of course, since God is love, He does not force His gifts of love upon us – we must respond to God’s love, experienced in our sinfulness as Divine Mercy, by lovingly accepting God into our lives.

When I was growing up, I would often visit my grandma and grandpa Foley, and one prominent image in their dining room was a framed print of the Divine Mercy image. One of the mysteries of my grandfather, who was very English/Irish, was that he had a devotion to the Divine Mercy image and Sr. Faustina. This was before the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, who really did so much to make this devotion more widely known outside of Poland. How and why my grandfather developed his devotion to the Divine Mercy image I never found out, but it was a part of my childhood long before I understood what it was all about.

Probably the most distinctive feature of the Divine Mercy image is the two set of rays, one red and the other white, emanating from the from the heart of Jesus. What do these rays mean? I will let St. Faustina explain them using the words she received from the Lord in prayer:

“The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls . . .

“These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized heart was opened by a lance on the Cross.

“These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him. (#299, Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska).

Blood and water. Two profound realities for us Catholics, for they are connected with two of our sacraments; the Eucharist and Baptism. Since you are going to be hearing from me twice during this Forty Hour Devotion, I would like to focus my talks on the two rays pouring out from the Heart of Jesus; on the Eucharist and on Baptism.

In tonight’s Gospel reading we hear the Risen Jesus ask the Apostles, who had been fishing all night, if they have “caught anything to eat?” Then Jesus provides them with food to eat. In light of this reading, and since we beginning a 40-Hours Devotion, I would like to begin with focusing on the red ray in the Divine Mercy image, which represents the Eucharist.

“The Sacrament of the Eucharist is key to the devotion of The Divine Mercy. The Eucharist is so central to the life of Sister Faustina that most of the pages of her Diary have some reference to it” (Rev. George Kosicki, Tell My Priests, p. 35). This is most fitting, for the Second Vatican Council taught in the document, Lumen Gentium, the Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life” (#11). So many volumes have been written concerning the Most Blessed Sacrament that it would not be possible to discuss it all in a single homily. I would like to focus on several of the Fruits of Holy Communion (see Catechism of the Catholic Church #1391-1401).

The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist is an intimate union, a true oneness, with Jesus. St. Faustina experienced this oneness with Christ Jesus most profoundly. Once she had a vision of the Sacred Host and heard the voice of Jesus say to her, “In the Host is your power; It will defend you” (#616, Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska). The Eucharist preserves, increases and renews the life of grace that we receive in Baptism. Again St. Faustina speaks to us, “One thing alone sustains me, and this is Holy Communion. From it I draw my strength; in it is all my comfort” (#1037, Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska).

The Eucharist also separates us from sin. During the consecration, the priest repeats the words of Jesus, who said at the Last Supper after taking the cup of wine and declaring it His most Precious Blood, which is “shed for the many for the forgiveness of sins.” This is the very definition of Divine Mercy I gave at the start of this homily; that Divine Mercy is God’s love as it encounters sin, and removes the defects of sin that keep us from being one with God.

“The Eucharist strengthens our charity, which tends to be weakened in daily life; and this living charity wipes away venial sins. By giving himself to us Christ revives our love and enables us to break our disordered attachments to creatures and root ourselves in him” (CCC #1394). The Eucharist draws us into an ever-deeper relationship with Christ Jesus, sharing in His life, which makes it more difficult to commit mortal sin.

Most of what we have been discussing is specifically speaking about the reception of the Eucharist in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. However, as we begin tonight the celebration of 40-Hours, it is important to recognize the relationship of Eucharistic Adoration to the Mass. In a letter to a bishop in Belgium on the 750th Anniversary of the first celebration of the feast of Corpus Christ, two years ago, Pope John Paul II noted that Eucharistic Adoration extends Holy Communion in a lasting way, “and prepares us to participate more fully in the celebration of the Eucharistic mystery” (USCCB, Committee on the Liturgy, Thirty-One Questions on Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, October 2004, p. 2). In Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside of Mass (1973), three purposes of Eucharistic exposition are listed. First, Adoration of the Eucharist, exposed on the Altar, clearly acknowledges Christ’s marvelous presence in the sacrament. Secondly, this acknowledgement should lead us to a fuller participation in the celebration of the Eucharist, which should culminate in reception of Holy Communion. Finally Adoration fosters the worship that is due to Christ in spirit and truth.

As we begin this 40-Hour devotion, let us in our contemplation of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, allow the Blood of Christ pour over us. Let us permit the red rays that we see emanating from the heart of Jesus in the Divine Mercy image enlighten our souls so that we admit our faults, so that we receive the God’s mercy in our lives. Let us allow Our Risen Lord to feed us with the Bread of Life, so that nourished by His Body and Blood, we can be witnesses to His infinite love, so often manifested as His Divine Mercy.