Although moved by a mother’s plea for pardon of her soldier son, Emperor Napoleon stated that since it was the man’s second
major offense, justice demanded his death.

"I do not ask for justice," implored the mother, "I plead for mercy." "But he does not deserve mercy,” said Napoleon. "Sir," cried the mother, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for." The compassion and clarity of the mother's logic moved Napoleon to respond, "Well, then, I will have mercy."
 
The Second Sunday of the Easter season, Divine Mercy Sunday, invites us to reflect on God’s infinite love and mercy for His people, as detailed in the Bible and lived and taught by Jesus. His Divine Mercy encourages us to practice corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
 
St. Faustina of Poland is the apostle of Divine Mercy. At 10:00 AM on April 30, 2000, the Second Sunday of Easter, His Holiness Pope John Paul II celebrated the Eucharist in Saint Peter’s Square and proceeded to the canonization of Blessed Sister Faustina. This new Saint invites us by the witness of her life to keep our faith and hope fixed on God the Father, rich in mercy, who saved us by the
precious Blood of His Son. 
 
During her short life, the Lord Jesus assigned to St. Faustina three basic tasks:
 
1. To pray for souls, entrusting them to God's incomprehensible Mercy;
2. To tell the world about God's Generous Mercy;
3. To start a new movement in the Church focusing on God's Mercy.
 
At the canonization of St. Faustina, Pope John Paul II said: “The cross, even after the Resurrection of the Son of God, speaks, and never ceases to speak, of God the Father, who is absolutely faithful to His eternal love for man……Believing in this love means believing in mercy." 
 
“The Lord of Divine Mercy,” a drawing of Jesus based on a vision given to St. Faustina, shows Jesus raising his right hand in a gesture of blessing. His left hand is on his heart, from which gush forth two rays, one red and one white. The rays streaming out have symbolic meaning: red for the blood of Jesus, which is the life of souls and white for the Baptismal water which justifies souls. The entire image is symbolic of the mercy, forgiveness and love of God, and contains the message, "Jesus, I trust in You!" (Jezu ufam Tobie). 
 
Lastly, we are grateful to all who worked together in celebration of the Holy Week services. To the many volunteers who decorated and prepared our church, the heavy lifters team who setup our indoor/outdoor church, the Liturgy Planning Committee members, Worship Ministry coordinators and their team, lectors, communion and music ministers, traffic control team and all our parishioners who joined us in our Triduum services and Easter Sunday Masses—it is so good to see everyone gathering together as one parish family, joyfully celebrating and sharing our faith and love in Jesus Christ.
 

Fr. Ben