Dear Friends,

On this 8th day of Easter, the feast of Divine Mercy, we are invited to reflect on our Lord’s parting gift of peace, the lifegiving mission that is attached to our being a disciple of the Risen Lord, and the protection from all the doubts, fears and terrors that we experience in this life, within the sanctuary of His holy wounds … “He himself bore our sins in His body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

First, in the midst of the confusion of that very first Easter Sunday: with rumors abuzz that the tomb was empty; that someone had stolen the body of our Lord; that Jesus was alive; that He had been seen; Jesus enters the cenacle, where the Apostles were huddled in fear and confusion and guilt. Jesus enters the darkness of their minds and the void of their hearts in a flash of light and bids them “Peace!” He shows them His hands and side; they rejoice that it is He, but they must still be bothered by His wounds and still a bit incredulous. Jesus settles them and again wishes them, “Peace!” A week later, He appears to them again and this time, he invites Thomas to probe His wounds. What an odd thing! Is it to prove that it was He? Or, is it something more? Might it have been an invitation to be consoled and healed? Thomas, the famous doubter, is struggling with his faith. It seems that he is having a hard time believing the word of the Magdalene; the word of Peter and the other Apostles; in the resurrection and the word of Jesus Himself before He died. Thomas is wounded and beguiled by his own pride and stubbornness; and, Jesus’ invitation is not meant to prove anything, but to heal Thomas in the refuge of His Sacred Body and to protect Him within the shelter of His Holy Wounds. Could it be for Thomas and for all of us, who doubt; who allow our faith to be shaken by the scandals of the day; who are distracted by this news account or that one’s opinion; that we need to hear Christ beckon us into the communion of His Body and the protection of His Precious Blood? Could it be that His experience of doubt, fear, and terror, assist us in our daily lives? Yes, indeed; but it also readies us for the mission on which He sends us—the mission of forgiveness, the mission of reconciliation—of His Divine Mercy! On this Feast in our times, it is fitting for us to recall the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a martyr of the Nazi concentration camp, who said: “Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting today for costly grace. Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheap jacks’ wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. … Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite. What would grace be if it were not cheap? ... Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. (The Cost of Discipleship, pp. 43-45)

In the context then of the worlds, and I daresay, our own, mediocrity of faith; may these words of a prayer written by the late Fr. Karl Rahner, S.J., speak to the mystery we celebrate:

“Thanks to Your mercy, O Infinite God, I know something about You, not only through concepts and words, but through experience. I have actually known You through living contact; I have met You in joy and suffering. For You are the first and last experience of my life. Yes, really You Yourself, not just a concept of You, not just the name which we ourselves have given to You! You have descended upon me in water and the Spirit in my Baptism. And then there was no question of my convincing or rationalizing anything about You. Then my mind with its extravagant cleverness was still silent. Then, without asking me, You made Yourself my poor heart’s destiny.”

Be of good cheer, and blessed week!

Msgr. Grous