Today is the feast day of the divine mercy. We have the Gospel of John relating how the apostle Thomas missed the appearance of Christ to the apostles and asked that he be given the opportunity to put his fingers in the wounds of Christ for him to believe that Christ really resurrected. In the Gospel, Christ greeted the apostles with "Peace be with you!". It really means that they are forgiven for having deserted and being unfaithful to Chrsit especially when He was being arrested, put to trial, made to suffer and crucified to His death. Christ was initiated reconciliation because He loved them and they needed His mercy.
But what is divine mercy? How does it differ from human mercy? Human mercy maybe defined as any human beings response to the need of another to satisfy or ease the others lack or misery. It is a feeling for and a decision to address the predicament of a needy. It can also be a feeling of empathy. The effort to extend oneself to the other and share in his situation. No matter how great, human mercy is limited. It may have everlasting effect but not because of its own merit but because of divine grace.
This brings us to divine mercy. Divine mercy goes beyond human mercy. It seeks to address not only the material and worldly need of a person, but more importantly, his moral and spiritual need. In other words, divine mercy is always salvific. Its purpose is always for the salvation of the recipient. Why do you think our petitions for healing were not answered in spite of our insistence and faith? Why do you think people continue to be poor in spite of the many prayers that had been uttered? Why do you think some relationships have been continuously rocked by division and misunderstanding in spite of the many pleadings and sacrifices had been made for its sake? Indeed, a lot of our needs had not been answered as expected. The answer is because God's concern are salvific matters. He may allow some things no matter how difficult and painful they will be for us, but He will never allow an opportunity for salvation to pass. His mercy is always available and effective to those who will need it because of their repentance. His mercy is always effective in response to a contrite and repentant heart.
Everywhere in scriptures, we can find this attitude of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. The parable of the prodigal son reflects the great mercy of God to the young son who got his share of the properties of his father while his father is still alive. After squandering the money and realize he had committed a great sin against God and his father, he repented and humbly walked back home to his father. The father unconditionally forgave his son. Unfortunately, the older brother did not follow the example of his father. It would have been the best opportunity to rise to the occasion and transcend his humanity by being merciful his younger brother. Worse, he was wanting in human mercy. The father in the parable is God and his forgiveness of his son is God's mercy. Embracing the child again in the family is like a sinner being accepted back in the family of God. The same happened to Peter, Magdalene, Zacchaeus, Matthew, the thief, Paul and all the sinners up to our time today. We have been constant beneficiaries of the great mercy of God in Jesus Christ. The Good news is that God will never run out of mercy! As long as there are people who are willing to repent, mercy will be available. The peace of Christ is reconciliation. The peace of Christ is an initiative to unite. The peace of Christ is divine mercy in action!
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