That sounds absolutely wonderful!
Our priest’s homily incorporated today’s Gospel with the picture of Divine Mercy.
I can post the link when it gets put on our church website.
The mural contains Jesus on the cross with the sun behind Him. Jesus is above Mary and the children of Fatima being illuminated by the sun. So this church allows for some interesting meditation -- just on this mural.
The Homily was wonderful. The priest EMPHASIZED the need to go to confession, and how if you don't, it is like giving food to a dead person. He promised the congregation that he would be a LION in the pulpit but a LAMB in the confessional.
This parish lost their pastor this week, as he is the Bishop-elect of the Diocese of Lake Charles. So this was this priest's first weekend at this parish.
The priest (Father Michael Russo) had lost his father two weeks ago. Though this had broken his heart, it was clear that it made him a very holy person by the personal loss for this DIVINE MERCY Mass.
There was one thing that marred the event. After the Mass, there was a line for the veneration of the relic of Saint Faustina. The woman ahead of me was not very pious about waiting in line -- she was talking to someone who was in line as though talking in a line to venerate a saint was okay.
Because she was facing the wrong direction in the line, I was unsure if she was in line, so I cut ahead of her. She then said she was in line, and I rebuked for talking in line with someone else.
I felt there should be reverence in the line to venerate the relic, and reverence in church in general, so I did not appreciate what she was doing.
My confrontation and rebuke stopped the talking, and she seemed properly prepared for venerating the relic when the time came.
But as she approached the front of the line -- she noticed that there were 4 or 5 people just a few feet away from where the relic was being venerated. This people were socializing and ignoring that people were trying to venerate the saint and give glory to God.
The expression on her face seemed to be one of surprise that people would act that way so close to the relic and it may have made her reflect on her own talking/disruption in line. (It seemed to be an expression of surprise/horror).
Too many people think it is okay to talk in church, but there are people who have trouble praying because of that.
In my confrontation with this woman, when she tried to justify talking in church, I finally said God is the important thing in church.
I was later having trouble with myself for the confrontation and I had stopped at Wendy's to get something to eat.
As I was praying about what I had done, a man who attended the service came up to me and started talking. It seemed to be God's way of letting me know not to worry about the rebuke.
But that is one of our duties -- to let our brothers and sisters know that if they are in sin that it is sin.
Saint Padre Pio was extremely good at this -- rebuking sinners -- especially people who were not contrite in the confessional.
He admitted to others that he enjoyed harsh rebukes of people.
Sorry for the long response.
It was Divine Mercy Sunday where God was showering us with graces. But maybe we should show God thanks by working as hard as possible to stop sin in our parish and in our lives... Sin hurts God the Father and Jesus as well as heaven. That is why Pope John Paul II cross was one with the limbs of the cross starting to buckle -- from the heavy weight of our sins.
Be merciful, yes, and accept God's mercy, and maybe we should also be as merciful to God by being as holy and saintly as possible...