Published on 9 April 2024

Homily by Father Emmanuel Schwab

2rd Easter Sunday – Year B

Divine Mercy Sunday

1st reading: Acts 4,32-35

Psaume : 117 (118),2-4,16ab-18, 22-24

2rd reading: 1 John 5,1-6

Gospel: John 20,19-31

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The other day I gave my name and phone number to someone who, to remember it, wrote my name and phone number in the palm of their hand. She wrote it on her skin.

In the book of Isaiah there is an astonishing word: astonishing when we contemplate Jesus. This word that God speaks to his people is this: “I have engraved you in the palms of my hands” (Is 49,16).

When Jesus presents his hands to Thomas, Thomas can contemplate how his name is engraved in Jesus' hands. These are the nails that carved the name of Thomas, our twin, into the hands of Jesus. These are the nails that carved each of our names into the hands of Jesus. Each of us, while contemplating Jesus, can exclaim: “You have engraved my name in the palms of your hands”, that is to say, realize that in his Passion, Jesus gave himself entirely for me …Not just “for us”.

This “for us”, in a certain way, has no meaning until it becomes “for me”, and when it becomes “for me”, I then understand that it is "for everyone". The experience of meeting Jesus is always an intimate experience, and we find in Thérèse, in different places, expressions which would suggest that Jesus came just for her, and that he belongs entirely to her. But at the same time, in this extremely intimate experience that Thérèse had of her relationship with Jesus, an immense desire grew within her to save souls, that is to say, for all men to be saved.

It is by discovering how much I myself have been loved by Christ that I discover at the same time that what he did for me, he did for everyone. What is God's mercy? It is this love which never ceases to lower itself to its creature in order to raise it to Heaven. The mercy of God is the love which stoops as low as his creature has fallen, to raise it up and draw it into the movement of the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension, to draw it into the heart of the Holy Trinity. What fascinates Thérèse is this lowering of God in Jesus, who lowers himself in the Incarnation, who lowers himself in the mystery of the Cross, who lowers himself in the Eucharist, to take us to the very heart of divine life and allow us to live in the fullness of life.

How do we receive this mercy of God for us? As long as we remain with the idea that, since God is merciful, it is not a big deal to sin, it is because we have not understood mercy, we have not understood the greatness of this love . But if we truly understand the greatness of Jesus' love for us, the greatness of Jesus' mercy for us, how is it possible that there is not in our heart the desire to respond, not to the height of God's gift - because this gift will always exceed us - but through a love of reciprocity. We in turn seek to love him more than ourselves as he himself loved us more than himself. The heart of the Christian's life is love for Jesus. And this love for Jesus will be translated through very concrete love for our neighbor.

When Thérèse contemplates the mercy of God, the mercy of Jesus, she sees all the attributes of God through this filter. There is this very beautiful passage in manuscript A (MsA, 83v°), she says:

I understand, however, that not all souls can be alike; there must be some from different families in order to specially honor each of the perfections of the Good Lord. To me He gave His infinite Mercy and it is through it that I contemplate and adore the other Divine perfections!… Then all appear to me radiant with love, Justice itself (and perhaps even more than any other) seems to me coated in love...

And there, this extraordinary definition of God's justice:

What a sweet joy to think that the Good Lord is Just, that is to say that He takes into account our weaknesses, that He knows perfectly the fragility of our nature. What would I be afraid of?

But what is interesting about Thérèse is that she is not going to take this weakness as an excuse to say "I can't do it and it doesn't matter if I commit sins", she is going to take advantage of this weakness to say: “Since I am weak and by myself I can do nothing, then I give myself entirely to the mercy of Jesus, to the love of Jesus, so that he realizes in me all that that he asks us, so that Jesus realizes holiness in me.”

And this is a constant task. Very often, deep down, when we sin, it is because we have left Jesus aside and we rely on our own strength. But none of our efforts can prevail against the Enemy who is more powerful than us alone. Jesus is more powerful than the Enemy, and therefore we must stay with Jesus, we must remain united with Jesus throughout the day. When Saint John tells us that Jesus came by water and blood and he insists: “Not just water, but water and blood,” what does that mean ?

John's baptism is a symbolic act which means: sin leads you to death. And baptism is drowning; but John brings out from the water the one who receives this baptism, saying to him: “God will be gracious to you, enter the promised land and live in righteousness.” When Jesus receives this water baptism, he consents to die the death of sinful man, but it is still only a symbolic act. He will have to live it in his flesh and shed his blood until death.

Likewise we received baptism. In this baptism, we were placed with Jesus, we were clothed with the holiness of Christ, but we must display this holiness throughout our lives. It is not only through the water of baptism, but it is also through the blood of the gift of ourselves in charity that we must accomplish what the Lord has done for us. This mercy of God that we have received, it is a question of living it in our turn by showing mercy to our brothers.

What is difficult is accepting that you are in debt. In worldly logic, we do not like to be in debt, we must always “give back”. I was invited, so I have to invite, I have to reciprocate to be “even”.

But not with God… I cannot give the equivalent.

I can only welcome an immense donation by saying thank you. And I live this thank you concretely, day after day, giving myself out of love for my brothers. God has shown me mercy; the only action of thanks that I can truly achieve is to show mercy to my brothers, to love them with gentleness and patience, to love them with true charity that comes to us from God, as Jesus did for Me.

And when we come to celebrate the Eucharist, we enter into this thanksgiving of Jesus who gives up his life and who draws us into his offering. When I come to commune, I come to commune with the Body delivered and the Blood shed. I come to become “one” with Jesus who gives himself, to give myself in turn… this is how I truly enter into the mercy of God.

Amen.