Divine Mercy Sunday
Knights of Columbus Board Meeting
Boston, Massachusetts
April 6, 2024
Our Need for Divine Mercy
As car owners, we know the importance of taking care of our vehicles. From time to time the oil needs to be changed, the onboard computer needs to be reconfigured and the tires need to be rotated. And if you are not yet driving an EV, you will find yourself pumping gas.
No, this isn’t a homily out of the pages of Car and Driver, but it is a homily about our continual need for Divine Mercy. Sometimes, we may think about our need for God’s mercy much as we think about the occasional servicing that our cars require. We may go to confession with about the same frequency that we change the oil in our cars; or seek God’s mercy only when only when our “onboard computer” (i.e., our heart and soul) are out of kilter because of a difficulty or crisis. And going to Mass on Sunday? That’s like going to the filling station. We go to Mass so as to “fill up” for the week ahead, but come away disappointed if there isn’t enough “octane” in the homily. As for rotating tires, I leave that to you to figure out.
Divine Mercy: A Way of Life
Now, please don’t get me wrong. I do not wish in any way to discourage any Catholic for any reason from going to Confession and taking part in Mass . . . even if it’s comparable to changing the oil, fixing an onboard computer, or fueling one’s car. But I also think that Divine Mercy is more than an occasional “fix”, and more than a tankful of “fuel” to get us from point “A” to point “B”. Rather, Divine Mercy is a way of life.
Why do I say that? For one thing, the way of life of the earliest Christ community as described in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles . . . What do we see? We see a community of believers of one heart and mind. A community of believers who shared what they had with one another, such that no one in the community was needy. We see a community that listened attentively to the Apostles who bore witness with great power and conviction to the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, his victory over sin and death, the unending wellspring of Divine Mercy. In a word, we see a community steeped in God’s mercy.
As you reflect a second time on this reading, of what does it remind you? It reminds me of a community of believers founded on the principles of charity, unity, and fraternity . . . yes, our very own Knights of Columbus! We are founded on the intense apostolic ministry of Bl. Michael McGivney, a holy priest who bore witness to Christ, the Resurrection and the Life. He did this by his preaching and administration of the sacraments, but also by his pastoral love for the widow and the orphan, by his willingness to stand by a condemned man when no one else would, and by his deep concern for the faith-life of the men of his parish, husband and fathers who could so easily be drawn away from God’s mercy.
From his priestly heart there came forth a fraternal society that has borne witness to Divine Mercy for more than 140 years. Our bedrock principle is charity, and even as we say that the words of the beloved disciple John echo in our hearts: ‘it is not so much that we have loved God but that God has loved us, and sent his Son as offering for our sins.’ So also, the teaching of Pope St. John Paul II’s echoes in our hearts, viz., that we who are sinners always experience God’s love as mercy, for God is constantly stooping down to forgive us, to redeem us, to elevate us. Taking our first principle seriously means being a community of mercy, a community that bears witness to the gift of Divine Mercy. And how to do this?
We do this by being what Bl. Michael called “practical Catholics” – and by that he did not mean we should do as little as possible, as if we were members of “Our Lady of Minimal Obligation Parish”! Rather, it means, that we should immerse ourselves in the sacramental life of the Church, finding therein the font of mercy, the wherewithal to keep our fraternal relationships in good repair. Constantly aware of our own need for God’s forgiveness, we are more likely to forgive a brother knight who has offended us, and more likely to reach out in love to a fellow knight & his family in time of need. Being a “practical Catholic” means allowing Divine Mercy to open our eyes to human need, needs we can address concretely and realistically, just as Bl. Michael McGivney teaches us to do. A constant awareness of our need for Divine Mercy unlocks our generosity and strengthens bonds of solidarity among ourselves and with those in need, reminding us of Bl. Michael’s vision of the Knights as a mutual aid society.
God’s Mercy Is Always New
But let’s step back for one more brief moment. Imagine how ‘new’ the earliest Christian communities were, that is, what a contrast they were to the harsh pagan society that surrounded them . . . communities of mercy planted in a society that showed little if any mercy, especially to its weakest and most vulnerable members . . . so new, in fact, that these Christian communities came to the attention of the authorities who did their best to shut them down by relentless persecution.
Some 142 years ago, the Knights of Columbus appeared as something new, something heretofore untried in the long history of the Catholic Church. His “start-up” was criticized and some even thought it should be shut down. Yet, Bl. Michael persisted in founding something truly “new” . . . not only because of his natural talent because he was always in touch with that which always new, viz., Divine Mercy. For, as Scripture says, “God’s mercies are new every morning” (Lam 3:22-23).
Divine Mercy is the source of our newness as an Order and remains the reason why we strike a contrast to the society around us. The philosopher Charles Péguy said that nothing is as old as today’s newspaper, for it tells the same old story of violence, division, & grasping for power & fame. As the leadership of the Knights of Columbus, let us tell the new story, let us sing the new song of mercy and redemption, acclaiming with one accord,
“by what Water we have been cleansed,
by whose Blood we have been redeemed,
and in whose Spirit we have been reborn.”
Christ is Risen, indeed he is truly risen! Alleluia, Alleluia!