Be witnesses of God’s mercy

Evangelii Gaudium invites the whole Church to rejoice and transform. We, sometimes, do not see the joy in us, only the sorrow, said Fr Albet Arockiasamy to the parishioners of the Church of the Divine Mercy (CDM). The parish priest of the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Puchong added that the disciples witnessed the Risen Christ, but locked themselves in the room for fear of the Jews. Pope Francis asks us to have this pragmatic view of the Risen Lord and to be witnesses of Him.

“When we face a situation, God showers us with His mercy and Holy Spirit.

“As a Church, we must become merciful, as the Church is merciful and hospitable. Pope Francis said the Church must not become like a museum but, rather, those who come to the altar to receive the mercy of God must be transformed because Our God is full of mercy,” said Fr Albet.

Touching on Amoris Laetitia, the post-synodal apostolic exhortation by Pope Francis, Fr Albet said there must be joy in life. “To have this love of God, to radiate this love of God. Look at those people going through difficult times, those who are separated, divorced, single mothers. How do we treat them? With love, mercy or cynicism? The Church calls us to be open.”

Going to confession is asking for forgiveness for our sins. “As disciples of hope, trusting in the Lord, we need to give hope to one another. The Risen Christ comes to us and forgives our sins. And we must, therefore, be merciful to others. Jesus showers us with his mercy. Let us come, like Thomas and the others, to the Lord who breathes into them, and into us, empowering them and us, forgiving us all.”

After Mass, parish priest Fr Gerard Theraviam thanked all the celebrants and concelebrants for sharing the joy of the Risen Lord and the joy of Divine Mercy. He also expressed his appreciation to those who came from other places and invited them for tea fellowship.

There were five Masses on April 8, 2018, being the Divine Mercy Sunday. Archbishop Julian Leow was the preacher at the 11.30am Mass in Bahasa Malaysia.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online