042714‐ Homily for Divine Mercy Sunday St. John’s in Rapids City and St. Mary’s in Hampton The Lord has shown us his body piercings. It is fashionable right now in some social circles to get tattoos and various forms of body piercings. As I was perusing Facebook, I noticed the latest craze of Body Piercings is something they called Cheek gauges. Kids will pierce their cheeks, and put one of these spools in the hole to keep it open. You can see into this hole the teeth of the person; a person could literally put their fingers into the flesh. While this might be fashionable right now in some social circles, for some of us we would view this as a sign of being rather indiscreet. And for modesty sake some body piercings should only be shown to a select few. But In today’s gospel, the Lord quite openly shows off his body piercings. He invites Thomas to put his finger into his side. But the body piercings that Our Lord received was not done for cosmetic reasons. The body piercings that Our Lord received were not inflicted upon him for sake of being fashionable. These marks upon his sacred flesh are not signs of him being indiscreet, but rather they are signs of his Divine Mercy for us. As we look at the body piercings of the Lord, we are reminded that Divine Mercy can overcome all sin and evil. We are reminded that the nail marks in his hands and feet, the hole that was left in his torso by the spear that pierced his side are a result of his crucifixion; that that same man who was crucified on Good Friday is the same man who rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. We are the ones who places those marks on his body, because every sin we commit, not matter how small, made it necessary for Our Lord to die upon the cross in reparation for our sins. As we look at the body piercings of Christ we are reminded of what human sin can do. And yet, despite our sins killing him, by the fact that the same man was no standing in front of the apostles showing them the nail marks, it shows no sin is big enough to overcome the power of Christ. Divine Mercy can overcome any sin. As we look at the body piercing of the Lord, we are reminded that when it comes to Divine Mercy, no one is left behind. For whatever reason, Thomas wasn’t there on Easter Sunday. He missed out on a big event. The Lord could have said, “Sorry Thomas. You snooze you lose.” But the Lord didn’t say that. Instead, He came back a week later, giving Thomas the opportunity to see his wounds. And then he came back even later for a guy who was truly no good‐ a guy called Saul, who would later be known as St. Paul. And He keeps coming back in one way or another. Keep in mind that what I am about to tell you is private revelation, but the church has given its sanction to this belief, but we are mindful of the story of St. Faustina, who in Poland in the 1930’s received messages from Our Lord Jesus Christ, that he wanted the world to know of his Divine Mercy. It is a result of these revelations that this image has come to us. Obviously, the Message of Divine Mercy is not new; it is the same message that Our Lord gave to the apostles from the very start. However, the reason that was given for the most recent encounter with the risen Lord is that Our Lord had forgotten what Divine Mercy was all about. And it wasn’t too long after those revelations that World War II broke out, a conflict that would engulf the entire world in blood. Divine Mercy is constantly being offered to us, but we need to respond. St. Thomas in today’s gospel gives us an excellent example of how to respond. There is a famous painting that was created in 1601 by the famous Italian artist Caravagio, and it shows St. Thomas digging his finger into the side of Jesus. He is shown examining the pierced side of Jesus very closely, but as we hear in today’s gospel St. Thomas did not have to stick his finger into the Lord’s side. Upon seeing the wounds of Christ he simply drops to his knees and says “My Lord and my God.” His response shows that he places his faith in something that goes beyond what he sees. He could have said, “Oh well, Jesus must have been faking his death, or he was resuscitated in some way” or He could have said, “Well, this man must be an imposter. This is someone who is posing as Jesus, because there is no possible way that Jesus could have risen from the dead.” Instead of disbelief, who looked underneath the sign of the risen human being of Jesus and is able to see the God that is within. And we are challenged to do the same. Divine Mercy can overcome any sin. Divine Mercy is offered to all; no one is left behind. But it is up to us to respond to that offer of Divine Mercy.