Fr. Marvin’s Reflection - April 12, 2026
Divine Mercy Sunday was instituted by St. Pope John Paul II, five days after the canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska, This beloved saint was a humble Polish mystic through whom Jesus revealed the depths of His merciful heart. In her Diary (entry 699), she records the Lord's words: "My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and a shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy."
In today's Gospel (Jn 20:19–31), the disciples were huddled in a room for fear, and in the middle of that fear, Jesus arrived, spoke "Peace be with you," and showed them the wounds of His passion. He didn't scold them for hiding. He didn't remind them of their failures. He simply gave them peace and then a mission. He entrusted to the apostles His mission of preaching the "Good News" of God's love, mercy, forgiveness, and salvation. Mercy received is always mercy to be shared.
Nothing escapes His merciful gaze, nothing is trivial to His loving heart. He longs to pour His mercy and love into each of us. No sin is too old. No wound too deep. No soul too far gone.
As Jesus told St. Faustina, "Let the weak, sinful soul have no fear to approach Me, for even if it had more sins than there are grains of sand in the world, all would be drowned in the unmeasurable depths of My mercy."
That ocean of mercy is not a distant promise because it is available to you right now. The door to His mercy is never closed. Go to Confession. Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Spend time before the Blessed Sacrament today. Let the Blood and Water that poured from His side wash over whatever you have been carrying. Stop holding your sin tighter than you hold His mercy.
"O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You." (Diary, 186–187)
In Christ,
Fr. Marvin
