I want to share a beautiful homily
given on Sunday, March 29, 2020, just two days ago, by Fr. Chris Alar,
MIC, at the National Shrine of Divine Mercy. Fr. Alar speaks to us of
the power of the Divine Mercy Image, and urges us to place the image on
our front door and in our homes, with great reverence and trust. He
urges us to pray the Chaplet, and to take this time of quarantine to
draw close to God. I have included a link to the video of the Mass on
Sunday as well.
Holy Mass from the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, Stockbridge, MA
Well, Good Morning!
I
often travel around the country and, oftentimes, I speak with young,
grade-school children or youth; and I always like to ask them, "What is
the shortest verse in all of scripture?" And, Father Anthony just read
it: "Jesus wept." It is the shortest verse in all of scripture.
Now
I think it applies to what we're going through here in the world right
now today. I hear from time to time - if you go onto the Internet - that
God wants this, that God is slamming mankind for sins. And in some
ways, yes, sin obviously has consequences, and we reap what we sow.
There is no question about that. But in God's Ordained Will, He doesn't
want sickness and death. Did He want Lazarus to die? Well, if He did, He
wouldn't have wept.
So, you see, this is a
consequence. He does not, in His Ordained Will, want the coronavirus or
any deaths from it; but, in His Permissive Will, He allows it. Why?
Because, again, we were given Free Will. But Death is not the final
word. The Resurrection is. So, we see what He did with Lazarus. Was
Death the final word? No! Death wasn't the final word. What did Jesus
do? He came and He resurrected Lazarus. That is Life. That is what has
the final word.
You know, we often, in religious
life, refer to the term, "Are you a Martha? Or are you a Mary?" And what
we mean by that is, are you the kind that spends more time out and
about in your ministry, or in silence of prayer in the chapel? Now, from
time to time, I've been accused of being a little bit more of a Martha
than a Mary. And, I understand that; it's very true in some sense. But
we must find our Mary time.
Now, why do I bring
this up? Because earlier in a different passage we heard Jesus say Mary
has found the better half. "Martha don't worry, Mary is doing something
beautiful." Contemplative. Quiet. In prayer. But I call this passage,
The Vindication of Martha. Because, what is Martha doing? She ran out to
meet Jesus. When it said, Mary sat at home.
Well,
here's the point. If you've been like me, and been a Martha, for too
long maybe - and I mean, that's not a bad thing - maybe now is our time
to be a Mary. God wants to bring a greater good out of even these worse
tragedies, like the coronavirus. But God's giving us an opportunity to
be a little bit more like Mary, to stay at home.
Now,
does that mean we want to be confined? Of course, not. But make the
most of it. Time with your family. Time with God. Time in prayer.
Self-reflection. These are all things we never have time to do. And now,
God's giving us that opportunity. With sports being canceled right now -
I'm guilty. I'd probably be trying to watch a little bit of the NCAA
tournament. I try every year to watch a little bit of it. Not this year.
Let's use this time in prayer. Restaurants are closed. Events are
closed. So, this is your time.
Now, in why we're
home, we've been sending out this video. You may have received it. If
you haven't, you can find it on our webpage at https://www.thedivinemercy.org/.
Just scroll down on the left under "Articles." And it's called, "Seal
The Doorposts!" And I want to finish with a couple words about this,
because it applies again to being home. Just like we talked about Mary,
and just what you are experiencing right now.
I
bring this up because this video has given - it's a short 4-minute video
- and it is giving instruction that you, as the laity, by the Catechism
have the ability to bless certain items. And the image of Divine Mercy
is one item you can actually bless by making the sign of the cross over
the image, and saying, "Lord God, I seek your blessing upon this image.
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." And place that image on your doorpost; on
your outside door - or inside, if you cannot do it outside.
This
is very important, we believe, because in Exodus 12, remember the Angel
of Death that passed from the door, house to house, and would strike
death and, if they found the blood, the blood of the slain lamb on the
doorposts, they would pass by that marked house. Now, if that was the
power of the blood of the lamb, how much more power do we have in the
Blood, the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ? If we place this image upon
our doors - or again inside, if you can't outside on the door - the
power of the Precious Blood has everything.
It is
the Blood that brings us the Holy Spirit, as Father Seraphim says. And
this image gives us protection. Protection. And listen to this, I had
the honor of sitting with Father Seraphim and our provincial Father
Kazimierz who has joined us today for Mass, and they both are fluent in
Polish. And they translated something from the writings of Blessed
Michael Sopocko that is not in the Diary of Saint Faustina. But is so
powerful that we put it in this video - that we hope has been shared to
you - that gives you an idea of the promises made by Jesus through this
Image of Divine Mercy. Listen to the words that Saint Faustina told to
her confessor, Blessed Michael Sopocko, that Jesus said:
"When
chastisements for sins come upon the world, and your own country will
experience utter degradation, the only refuge will be Trust in My Mercy.
I will protect the cities and the homes in which the Divine Mercy Image
is found. I will protect the persons who will venerate or honor this
Image. The only refuge will be Trust in My Mercy."
And then Jesus continues in His words to Faustina, that Blessed Michael Sopocko told us:
"Let
everyone procure for their homes this Image. Because there will yet
come trials. And these homes and entire families, and everyone
individually who will hold this Image of Mercy in deep reverence, I will
preserve from every sort of misfortune. The time will come when all
those who do so will give witness to the miraculous efficacy and to the
special protection of Mercy flowing from this Image."
That
is amazing! And this is what we ask you to do. Post an image - it could
be any Image of Divine Mercy - you have a little prayer card... Go to
our webpage https://www.thedivinemercy.org/divinemercyimage.
Get one for free. There is no cost. Just go there. Download it. Print
it. And put it in your home. Ask for the protection of this incredible
Image.
Again, if the lamb slain in the Old
Testament - whose blood was put on the doorposts - caused the Angel of
Death to pass by; we think, and we know, that the Precious Blood of the
Real Lamb - the Real Sacrificed Lamb - will offer protection.
Now,
as we said in the video, this doesn't mean that the virus may not
strike you or your loved ones. This is not a magic wand, or a rabbit's
foot. But what it does mean, is the protection of God's Mercy is with
you. It may not be physically; it may be more spiritually. But we know
that God is offering protection through this Image. And you know, it all
ties to Divine Mercy.
A good friend of mine,
Denis Nolan, and his wife, Cathy, just sent me an email this morning.
They run, MaryTV; it's a beautiful ministry. We've been connecting the
messages of Fatima and Medjugorje and Divine Mercy into this meaning of
today's times. And they said, remember what Saint Faustina said in the
Diary, that when the angel was ready to strike at a particular city in
Poland - and we believe, Father Seraphim says, that that may have been
worse off for the sins of abortion - that all of her prayers were
ineffective, until she prayed the words Jesus gave her of The Divine
Mercy Chaplet. And in those words, the angel was rendered helpless.
Now,
again, I'm not saying if you pray the chaplet, or have the image, you
may not be stricken; you may be. But remember, Jesus wept. He doesn't
want this. But He does allow it sometimes. But I'm telling you, we can
help. By the more we pray, the more we trust - remember, trust is a
vessel by which all grace is received - the more we can invoke the power
of the Mercy of God upon ourselves and the whole world.
And
for those who believe this is punishment, that is addressed in the
prayer as well. "Eternal Father, I offer you the Body, Blood, Soul and
Divinity of Your dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ in atonement
for our sins and the sins of the whole world." So, it does make
reparation. This is a powerful image. This is a powerful prayer.
And,
so, we invite all of you to please share. If you want to find this
video that tells you how to place the image and bless it; again, https://www.thedivinemercy.org/.
Please join us. Right now, more than ever - even if we're forced to be
Mary's and we can't be Martha's - we can make a huge difference in the
world. And, in fact, I think that's why God's allowing it. Time for our
prayers. Time for our family. And, most importantly, time with God.
So,
let us make the most of a difficult situation, and use the tools of the
Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and the Image of Divine Mercy, to help you in
that process. May God bless all of you. Stay hopeful. And, most of all,
Trust in God's Divine Mercy!
May we all draw very near to Jesus, Divine Mercy, and Mary, Mother of Mercy!!
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
(c) Mary TV 2020
