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Rejoice and be Glad!

Rejoice and Be Glad for this is the day The Lord has made, Alleluia!!

This is what Del & I pray every morning and evening in prayer as part of our Liturgy of the hours, and frankly, I've been having some trouble with rejoicing and being glad these last few days.  I know I'm not alone, it's particularly difficult out int he world around us right now.  

Life is not fair sometimes - our world has been turned upside down!  I think of the uncertainty all around us - our students in their graduation years who won't be able to celebrate as they planned, the coupes planning to be married soon whose plans are now up in the air, those that have been laid off or furloughed with out warning and are somewhat unprepared, those that are sick, we may have loved ones who are lonely in the hospital, in nursing homes or shut in, or just unable to fo and visit them, there are so many personal examples of how life as we know it has changed what we do each day.

In the Gospel this weekend, we see Thomas "doubting" that Christ has come back to life.  He said, "I'll never believe it without probing the nailprints in his hands ..."  I wonder, how would we have responded?  I think I might have responded the same as Thomas.  After all, Jesus was crucified, rose and He has appeared to the Apostles.  Thomas' world has now been turned upside down.  I think Thomas might have been feeling how unfair life is, for what ever reason , he left the house, and of course, that was the time that Christ appeared to the other Apostles.  Why was he left out?  But, we might ask - why was Thomas not present when the other Apostles saw the Resurrected Christ?  Could it be that Thomas is labeled unfairly?  He was perhaps, the only one of the Apostles courageous enough to leave the house, as we read that the others stayed behind locked doors because they were afraid.  

The Apostles, those that Jesus himself hand picked, do not have a great history of standing by Him throughout His passion, crucifixion and death.  They in fact scattered at His arrest out of fear, while Peter, who became the first Pope, denied Jesus three times.  And now we see Thomas doubting the Resurrection, demanding more proof.  

Putting myself in the time and place of Thomas, I can feel for how he might have been feeling!  He was likely very downhearted after the crucifixion and also likely devastated that he wasn't there with the other Apostles to witness to the Risen Christ.  He probably felt hurt - life isn't fair!  He might have wondered if Jesus felt he wasn't worthy enough to be there with the others.  But,  Thomas didn't continue doubting: it is Thomas who is noted to have said, "My Lord and my God" when he did see the Risen Christ and probed the wounds in his hands by himself.  He became a faithful disciple of Jesus, preaching the Word for almost another 40 years, until he was martyred for his faith in God.  

I'm sure we all have doubts - perhaps we ask God, "Where are you?"  and especially now - "Why did God allow this to happen?"  Could a better questions be - "What is the will of God for me at this point in history?" "How does He want me to respond?" "How can I respond in faith, hope and with love for God to what's happening in our world today?"  

Though we may have doubt, we turn to Him with faith and trust.  In the words of St. John Paul II, "There is nothing more that man needs than Divine Mercy - that love which is benevolent, which is compassionate, which raises man above his weakness to the infinite heights of the holiness of God."  These words are so appropriate and fitting for us right now.  The Sunday after Easter, is designated as the Feast of Divine Mercy - this Sunday, April 19, for this year.  God gave us the gift of St. Faustina, to whom he revealed His great Mercy.  Faustina reminds the world of God's merciful love for all of us.  Faustina's example of faith and belief in the mercy of God, of her simple confidence in God and His desire for us to love our neighbor is what the message of mercy is all about.  We are called to trust in the merciful love of God.  He promises that if we trust in His Divine Mercy, we will be filled with a profound peace at the hour of death.  The more we trust, the more grace we will receive. He teaches us to have mercy for those in our world - by our actions, our words, and also by our prayers.  In this context it becomes not so much that "life isn't fair," and instead it becomes - "what can I do and how am I called to be more merciful to all around me?" 

Therefore, Rejoice and be glad, for this is the day The Lord has made, Alleluia!  God's mercy has no end!

 

 

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