Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Jerome,
May the blessings of the Risen Lord remain with you.
Last Sunday we celebrated the solemn commemoration of Jesus’ Resurrection. We professed the work of God when the Second Person of the Holy Trinity won victoriously over the power of death brought to us by original sin. Yet, though we were saved from death, our human nature remains fragile because of the ambitious desire of Adam and Eve to be like God and to assume in themselves the power of God. Though restored to life by the Resurrection of Jesus, the brokenness of our human soul remains. Concupiscence is the result of original sin which leaves us vulnerable to make choices that are only apparently good. We become unable to fully discern the decisions and choices that are absolutely good in themselves.
It is during these moments of vulnerable decisions that we need to be inspired by the Holy Spirit so we can avoid committing sin and other decisions that may result in a hurtful consequence to others and to ourselves. To achieve this spiritual disposition requires the grace that flows from the mercy of God and which is given gratuitously to whom God chooses to reveal His mercy. The Sunday of Divine Mercy emphasizes this reality of our human condition. Our spiritual vulnerability to commit actions and decisions that separate us from the Divine presence and from each other is a result of original sin. More so, this Sunday of Mercy is a ratification of our need for Divine Grace that can only be received by opening our heart to the promptings of the Holy Spirit who provides for us a deep sense of spiritual conversion and change of heart.
Our challenge today is to honestly and consciously contemplate whether our heart is disposed to the work of God who re-creates us each day. We are God’s project who are always confronted by our free will to make decisions and choices that will bring us the ultimate fulfillment of our desires. Jesus instituted the seven Sacraments so that we could always have access to God’s mercy whose primary outcome is to bring us closer to His presence and life eternal.
The Sunday of Mercy reminds us that God is never tired of bestowing upon us His grace. He remains forgiving each time we ask pardon for our offenses and failures. In the end, the decision is ours whether we would allow our heart and our soul to be penetrated by the grace and mercy of the One who loved us first.
I pray that this Sunday be particularly an experience for all of us of God’s unfathomable mercy.
Sincerely in Christ and Mary,
