Second Sunday of Easter

Thanks to Pope JP2 who was impressed by the 1930s visions of St Faustina Kawalska, a Polish nun – “Divine Mercy Sunday”.. The pope canonised her and made the feast global.

“Peace be with you.” 

This phrase, in Hebrew, “shalom Aleichem”, is still used in Israel as a greeting and a goodbye, In Greek, the word Eirene, contains a wish not only for a peace of mind, but also wholeness and harmony. Early Christians used pax vobis and pax vobiscum in their liturgies; praying not only for spiritual peace but peace within their community.

After his resurrection Jesus used this greeting time and time again because he knew that his followers were not only scared of what the Jewish and Roman authorities might do to them, but to assuage the guilt they felt due to the way they abandoned him after his arrest in the Garden of  Gethsemane.

Nowadays, when living in close contact with Jesus in our hearts, we discover we are at peace because, due to the divinity of Jesus Christ we know that death is birth into divine eternity and that right now we are beloved: appreciated and respected by God.

In response to God’s love, every morning having got out of bed and on my way to the bathroom, I always say “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you. Thank you for today.”

It sets me up for the day. 

Aged 13, I first heard the 1952 song “why worry? worry gets you nowhere at all" by the Andrews Sisters which taught me -  at an early age - the futility of worrying and encouraged me to have a more positive outlook on life. Then, when aged 15 I fell in love with God, that freedom from worry and inner peace took hold of my heart. – which gets you no where at all?