For the Second Sunday of Easter, Sunday of Divine Mercy…
“Do not be afraid.
I am the first and the last, the one who lives.
Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever.
I hold the keys to death and the netherworld.
Write down, therefore, what you have seen,
and what is happening, and what will happen afterwards.”
Revelation 1:17-19
As a writer, I’ve always been awestruck by the majesty and magnitude of the Gospel of St. John. He offers vivid descriptions of the encounters that both he and others have had with Jesus. John was no ordinary writer. He, indeed, was used mightily by the Holy Spirit to bring us a gospel, epistles, and his later writings—known as Revelation—from his exile on the isle of Patmos, recounting his mysterious and mystical encounter with the Risen Jesus.
John’s writings, deemed inspired by the Church, helped to shape the canon of the New Testament. They also help to shape us. In these words, we meet Jesus, in Spirit and in Truth.
Imagine Jesus asking you to write down “what you have seen.” Thanks be to God for the ministry of St. John!
Today, on Divine Mercy Sunday, this incredible feast comes to us by way of another saint who also wrote down what Jesus told her. She was Sr. Maria Faustina Kowalska, (1905-1938), an uneducated Polish nun. Now canonized, and known to many as St. Faustina, she kept a diary of the words spoken to her by Jesus. Today it is approved reading by the Church as a spiritual diary. While not Scripture, this diary points readers to faith in Christ. It includes a powerful devotion to Jesus as the Divine Mercy, and its influence led to a worldwide adoption of this feast day, plus a novena, a chaplet, and a well-known image of Jesus, painted by his directions to Faustina, with the famous prayer attached: “Jesus, I trust in YOU!”
I highly recommend exploring a deeper devotion to Jesus, the Divine Mercy. (Learn more here.)
In this Eastertide, may we all be open to sharing our own encounters with Jesus, whether in written form or in personal conversations, spreading his love and the richness of his mercy to others.
Jesus, may your oceans of mercy pour out over the whole world! And may I be a witness of your mercy and truth in my life.
