2ND SUNDAY OF EASTER A/ DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY
LIVE IN MERCY
Imagine this scenario:
Your three kids and a cousin
asked your permission to buy ice cream just around the corner.
But on their way home, a drunk
driver slammed into them killing them all instantly.
How would you feel? Towards the children?
Towards the driver?
This incident really happened in February
2020 in Australia, to the family of Danny and Leila Abdallah, parents of six
young kids.
If you look at their photos, if
you see the videos, you will see how they felt. The grief of the family was
unimaginable.
Danny and Leila expressed how
much love and longing they have for their kids, Anthony, Angelina and Sienna,
and their cousin Veronique.
But what about the driver? They have
all the reason in the world to hate him, to wish him dead, to press for the gravest
punishment, to demand his blood for the blood he spilled through negligence and
carelessness.
In her first public statement,
Leila however said: “I think in my heart, I forgive him… I’m not going to hate
him–it is not who we are, and it is not what our religion tells us.”
The Abdallah family was from
Lebanon and belonged to the Catholic rite called Maronites. They were very
devout members of their parish.
Even for Christians, forgiveness
is a very difficult challenge. But hearing the words of a grieving mother, full
of compassion, love and mercy, so many people around the world realized how
important it is to live the example of Jesus.
Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, a
week after the celebration of Easter. Jesus reminds us that his Death and
Resurrection are the most important acts of mercy in all history.
For all the sins of humanity, God
did not retaliate with violence but with the offering of his Only Son. For the
death of Jesus on the Cross, the Father responded not with hate but with new
life, by the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead!
In Easter, Jesus shares the gift
of peace, not an illusory or idealistic peace, but a real one.
This peace comes from
forgiveness. After saying “Peace be with you,” he spoke of forgiveness to his
disciples (Jn 20).
Because Jesus has forgiven, the
disciples too, must be instruments of pardon and reconciliation.
This enabled the Christian
community to flourish, to grow, to live in charity and peace with their
neighbors, and to become strong in faith (Acts 2: 42-47).
Believing in the Resurrection
means sharing the peace of Jesus through forgiveness, an act that is one of the
most difficult things to do. Forgiveness is an act of God’s mercy. Forgiveness
is our experience of the most tender and courageous act of love in history.
Can you speak of forgiveness in
your life today?
Is there a pain you continue to
harbor in your heart?
Are you still angry about
something done to you in the past?
Have you offered to the Lord your
difficulty to forgive?
Are you ready to experience
peace, by sharing peace through your forgiveness?
Jesus reminds you of his mercy on
your sins and weaknesses. Be his instrument of mercy to others today!
Pls share with a friend…
