Divine Mercy
This was born out of a reflection I read in Spanish just before going to the II Sunday of Easter mass, also known as Sunday of Divine Mercy, and that I wanted to share with everyone here. I have to admit that the week following the Pascal Vigil was, paradoxically, one that got my heart a bit sad. Because of that sadness, I wasn't myself with those who I love. And, although my heart is still in the process of restoration, I have to confess that by reading this little extract, things suddenly became clear to me: My lack of peace and inner harmony was because I had deaf ears to God. I needed to return my gaze to He who is the owner of my life, the life of my love. Only Christ gives peace and inner harmony to heart (Well, in my case, it would be our blessed Mother that would pinpoint me the way to her son by telling me "Do as He tells you"). That this peace and inner harmony can only be achieved if I reconcile with God, with myself, then with my brothers and sisters, and then with creation. That, no matter what the circumstances may be, this Lord of eternal fidelities will always tell me "Peace be with you" so that I can embrace it to become, like him an agent of reconciliation in the world. I'll probably write more on the subject later on, but for the moment I'll translate that which resonated with my heart:
How many are afflicted day by day because of experiences that are marked by emptiness, loneliness, sadness and unhappiness; marked by suffering (physical or spiritual); marked by bitterness and resentments, of incomprehension and disputes? How many experience inner conflicts that evolve into so many anxieties, fears and dreads? How many, when experiencing the lack of harmony, intensely yearn for peace?
Many, when not knowing where to find that peace of heart that brings with it a profound joy, end up going over the paths of evasion. Superficial fun, ephemeral joy, drunkenness, a moment's pleasure, may seem to make us forget the sometimes unbearable burden of distress and pain that oppress the heart. Such "solutions" (or easy ways out) do not bring but a fake peace, an ephemeral euphoria. How many cry in secret, while externally forcing a smile and happiness, wanting to forget and hide their own load of suffering and anguish because they do not know what to do with it? The medicine that the culture of death offers ends up being worst than the sickness itself, and when the palliative effect of that which may seem to fill a void and bring consolation to a broken and divided heart wears off it doesn't bring but an even greater load of frustration, anxiety, a greater sensation of emptiness, of loneliness and senselessness in life. Trapped in this eroding spiral, without knowing where, or without wanting to find, the source of true peace, they end up consuming ever increasing "doses" of the same "drug."
Some others throw themselves at the search of peace and inner harmony following flashy and "novel" doctrines, therapies, philosophies, practices, oriental religions or pseudo-religions. Each one is free to take the path they so desire, but the sad and paradoxical thing is that many Catholics, when listening to the masters and gurus in fashion, explicit or implicitly have stopped listening to Christ -definite source of true peace- and the teachings that He had entrusted to his Church. How current are these words, said by God to his people through the prophet: "Two evils have my people done: They have forsaken me, the source of living waters; They have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water." (Jer 2, 13)!
To find the adequate medicine it is necessary a good diagnostic. From where do the lack of harmony and interior peace that the human being experiences come from? Why is it that I find myself so many times broken and internally divided? The word of God comes out to our aid: The lack of harmony and interior peace have their origin in sin, in the rebelliousness of man before God and his loving plan. When breaking up with God, when breaking up with the fountain of his own life and love, man gets broken interiorly and fall into a process of disintegration (even psychic), breaks the communion with his fellow human beings and with the creation as a whole. Sin, far from taking the human being to his summit and to the divine glory -as the old serpent sinuously had suggested (Gen 3, 5)- turned against him, sinking him in the abyss of death. The bitter fruits of this quadruple rupture are the loss of peace and inner harmony, which are expressed in the experience of void, loneliness, sadness, unhappiness, bitterness, anxieties, etc. From this lack of peace and harmony in the human hear, all other fights, disputes, divisions and even wars between countries arise.
So, What is the medicine? Where can we find the true and profound peace that our restless hearts long for? Through Christ, Saint Paul reminds us, "God has reconciled us to himself" (2Cor 5, 19). Because God loves us, he has sent his own Son so that in Him we may find the peace that we are in so much need of: "For He is our peace!" (Ef 2, 14) He, carrying our sins, reconciling us with the Father on the Cross, opens up for us the way to a profound reconciliation and harmony with ourselves, with our brothers and sisters and with the whole creation.
"Peace be with you!", is saying the Lord to us too, inviting us to embrace the gift of peace and reconciliation that He has obtained for us by his Passion, Death, and Resurrection, inviting us to embrace Him in our lives and to become agents of reconciliation in our families, within our circle of friends and in our work or study environments.
If you want to read the original Spanish document, you can find it here: Domingo II de Pascua
How many are afflicted day by day because of experiences that are marked by emptiness, loneliness, sadness and unhappiness; marked by suffering (physical or spiritual); marked by bitterness and resentments, of incomprehension and disputes? How many experience inner conflicts that evolve into so many anxieties, fears and dreads? How many, when experiencing the lack of harmony, intensely yearn for peace?
Many, when not knowing where to find that peace of heart that brings with it a profound joy, end up going over the paths of evasion. Superficial fun, ephemeral joy, drunkenness, a moment's pleasure, may seem to make us forget the sometimes unbearable burden of distress and pain that oppress the heart. Such "solutions" (or easy ways out) do not bring but a fake peace, an ephemeral euphoria. How many cry in secret, while externally forcing a smile and happiness, wanting to forget and hide their own load of suffering and anguish because they do not know what to do with it? The medicine that the culture of death offers ends up being worst than the sickness itself, and when the palliative effect of that which may seem to fill a void and bring consolation to a broken and divided heart wears off it doesn't bring but an even greater load of frustration, anxiety, a greater sensation of emptiness, of loneliness and senselessness in life. Trapped in this eroding spiral, without knowing where, or without wanting to find, the source of true peace, they end up consuming ever increasing "doses" of the same "drug."
Some others throw themselves at the search of peace and inner harmony following flashy and "novel" doctrines, therapies, philosophies, practices, oriental religions or pseudo-religions. Each one is free to take the path they so desire, but the sad and paradoxical thing is that many Catholics, when listening to the masters and gurus in fashion, explicit or implicitly have stopped listening to Christ -definite source of true peace- and the teachings that He had entrusted to his Church. How current are these words, said by God to his people through the prophet: "Two evils have my people done: They have forsaken me, the source of living waters; They have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water." (Jer 2, 13)!
To find the adequate medicine it is necessary a good diagnostic. From where do the lack of harmony and interior peace that the human being experiences come from? Why is it that I find myself so many times broken and internally divided? The word of God comes out to our aid: The lack of harmony and interior peace have their origin in sin, in the rebelliousness of man before God and his loving plan. When breaking up with God, when breaking up with the fountain of his own life and love, man gets broken interiorly and fall into a process of disintegration (even psychic), breaks the communion with his fellow human beings and with the creation as a whole. Sin, far from taking the human being to his summit and to the divine glory -as the old serpent sinuously had suggested (Gen 3, 5)- turned against him, sinking him in the abyss of death. The bitter fruits of this quadruple rupture are the loss of peace and inner harmony, which are expressed in the experience of void, loneliness, sadness, unhappiness, bitterness, anxieties, etc. From this lack of peace and harmony in the human hear, all other fights, disputes, divisions and even wars between countries arise.
So, What is the medicine? Where can we find the true and profound peace that our restless hearts long for? Through Christ, Saint Paul reminds us, "God has reconciled us to himself" (2Cor 5, 19). Because God loves us, he has sent his own Son so that in Him we may find the peace that we are in so much need of: "For He is our peace!" (Ef 2, 14) He, carrying our sins, reconciling us with the Father on the Cross, opens up for us the way to a profound reconciliation and harmony with ourselves, with our brothers and sisters and with the whole creation.
"Peace be with you!", is saying the Lord to us too, inviting us to embrace the gift of peace and reconciliation that He has obtained for us by his Passion, Death, and Resurrection, inviting us to embrace Him in our lives and to become agents of reconciliation in our families, within our circle of friends and in our work or study environments.
If you want to read the original Spanish document, you can find it here: Domingo II de Pascua
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