Psalm Reflection: The Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Cycle A)

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting. - Psalm 118

Do you ever get sick of a certain food, a song, or even a person? 

If you had to eat the same thing every day for the rest of your life, how long would it take until you were completely unsatisfied by it?

If you could only listen to one album that became perpetually stuck in your head (welcome to the life of every parent), how many times on repeat would it take for you to feel like you were going to lose it? 

And sadly enough, two people who were once happily married can end up resenting each other to the point of wanting to permanently separate, because things became too mundane or routine.

They say that variety is the spice of life, and it proves to be true when we honestly look at ourselves. Look back at old pictures, trends, friendships and interests, and you will find that we could be completely devoted to something in one moment, and so quick to jump ship and abandon it completely in the next as soon as we lose interest. And we lose interest pretty quick.

I am SO thankful that God is not like us.

To tell you the truth, I bet we are pretty annoying. We come to God with the same requests, the same plans, thinking we know better or that we will change His mind to bend to our will. On top of that, we continue to fall into the same sins and temptations over and over again no matter how much we are told they are destructive and won’t make us happy. If I were God, I probably would have jumped ship on humanity like five minutes after the Garden of Eden.

What we celebrate and remember this weekend is the fact that God is Divine Mercy. We deserve God’s justice, and yet He pours out undeserved love and mercy time and time again. We don not have to earn it, we simply have to accept it. God is unrelenting is His pursuit of us, despite our lack of commitment and our unwillingness to change. That is something you and I should be immensely thankful for on a daily basis, because it is completely undeserved on our part. God loves us foolishly, lavishly, passionately, and without reservation. Our temporary commitments make us completely unable to fathom such a love, and yet God offers it to us anyway.

This week, I invite you to receive this love and mercy from God by practicing gratitude. Find three unique things you are thankful for each day and write them down. They can’t be things that repeat every day like “family” or “friends”, but unique and specific ways in which you are grateful for them that day, or simple things you are grateful to have experienced that day. I guarantee that if you develop the habit of practicing gratitude, you will be more joyful, loving, generous, positive and peaceful person. 

We are praying for you!

See you in the Eucharist.