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Divine Mercy Sunday message: ‘Ask for mercy, be merciful and trust in Jesus’

Leslie Miller | Catholic Herald Staff Writer

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge celebrates Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 19, 2020 at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington SCREENGRAB

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Bishop Michael F. Burbidge baptizes Craig Joseph Barnes April 19, 2020 at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More. SCREENGRAB

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Robert Steven Hinson Is confirmed April 19 at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington. SCREENGRAB

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Bishop Michael F. Burbidge welcomes Craig Joseph Barnes and Robert Steven Hinson into the Catholic Church April 19, 2020 at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington. SCREENGRAB

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Divine Mercy Sunday Mass is celebrated April 19, 2020 at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington. SCREENGRAB

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St. John Paul II named the Second Sunday of Easter Divine Mercy
Sunday — and April 30, 2000, the beloved Polish pope canonized St. Faustina
Kowalska, a poor nun who was a member of the Congregation of Sisters of Our
Lady of Mercy in Poland in the 1930s.

During a Mass livestreamed from the Cathedral of St. Thomas More
in Arlington on Divine Mercy Sunday 2020, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge spoke of
the constant need to “ask for mercy, be merciful and trust in Jesus.” 

St. Faustina’s notebooks, published as the “Diary of Saint Maria
Faustina Kowalska,” put a renewed focus on the mercy of Christ, and her vision
of him telling her to spread the words “Jesus, I trust in you.”  St. John Paul II called her “the great
apostle of Divine Mercy in our time.”

In his homily, Bishop Burbidge
reflected on the connection between mercy and peace, and on Jesus’ words, “Peace
be with you,” addressed to his disciples in his first appearance after his
resurrection. Even though Thomas showed doubt and a lack of faith, he noted
that Jesus did not say “Shame on you, Thomas” — he said “Shalom, peace be with
you, Thomas.”

“Like Thomas, there are times we are filled with doubt and
unbelief, especially in the midst of trials, perhaps like the ones we are
experiencing in these unsettling days,” Bishop Burbidge said.  “And it’s precisely in those moments that the
Lord is standing in our midst, longing to forgive us, to heal us, and to allow
us to begin anew.”

Bishop Burbidge called God’s mercy “a pure gift. It’s not
something we deserve. It’s not something we have to earn. Pure gift. And to
express our thankfulness for that gift, we in turn must be merciful. We must
forgive one another as the Lord has forgiven us.” He acknowledged that forgiving
one another is not always easy, but it’s possible, and will bring peace. 

“As you make your spiritual communion today, ask for God’s help,
renew your commitments to ask for mercy, to be merciful and to trust in Jesus,
the One who stands in our midst and says to us throughout this Easter season
and always, “Peace be with you.’ “

In a simple, intimate ceremony in the Cathedral’s sacristy, where
the Mass was celebrated, two men were welcomed into the church. Craig Joseph
Barnes was baptized, confirmed and received the Eucharist for the first time. Robert
Steven Hinson was confirmed and received the Eucharist.  New Catholics are usually welcomed in Rite of
Christian Initiation of Adults ceremonies at Easter Vigil Masses, but those
rites were postponed this year due to the coronavirus, and widespread
restrictions on large public gatherings. 

 

 

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