Happy Easter especially to those who have fallen away!

From the Pastor: Happy Easter especially to those who have fallen away!

    Easter Sunday is one of the biggest days of the Church year in more ways than one. First of all, it is the day proof positive that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the One who fulfills all of the prophecies of the Old Testament, the Savior of the world. He was not simply resuscitated, coming back to the same life as He had before, but rather Resurrected, coming back, in His humanity, to a whole new manner of life. This new life is one that we all plan on participating in, one with a completely glorified human body and a perfect human soul, sharing in His divinity for all eternity in the splendor of Heaven.
    But Easter is also one of the biggest days of the Church year as far as bringing back fallen away Catholics. This column is specifically aimed at you if you fall into that category. Perhaps you don’t consider yourself a fallen away Catholic, though, unless you have been away from the Church and Her sacraments for a period of years or even decades. I, however, am including you in this category if you have been away from the Church and Her sacraments for “only” a few weeks!
    You see, it is only by remaining in direct contact with God in this life that we can possibly hope to be in direct contact with Him in the next. He unites Himself with us totally in the seven Sacraments. These channels of grace are the primary paths of supernatural love, mercy, and strength that He has given us. Rejecting them by, say, purposefully missing Mass for even one Sunday or Holy Day of Obligation, not to mention years at a time, says without words, “God, I do not want Your grace; I reject Your supernatural love; I choose my will over Yours, even if it costs me my soul.” Faking a sacrament says the same thing. Instances of this would include faking the sacrament of Holy Matrimony through sex outside of marriage (with others or self) or faking the sacrament of Confession by pretending to “go directly to God” while rejecting the absolution He offers through His priests.
    Many more instances of rejecting or faking sacraments could be pointed out (failing to Baptize your children or receive Confirmation yourself, receiving Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin, rejecting God’s call to Holy Orders or the religious life, or delaying the Sacrament of the Sick to avoid scaring the dying loved one). But why point out these dangers to the soul on such a holy day? Because there is an incredible means of repairing any damage to your relationship with God coming up next week. I want to reach the “fallen aways” present today and invite all of you to next week’s Divine Mercy celebration.
    Next Sunday, Low Sunday, is also called Divine Mercy Sunday. Last century our Lord Jesus appeared to Sister (now Saint) Faustina and told her of an incredible outpouring of His Mercy that He would make available to anyone, even the most hardened of sinners or the most naively innocent “fallen away” Catholic, on the Sunday after Easter. He will offer complete remission of sin (and even its due punishment!) to all who will spend just a little bit of time meditating on—and praying for—His Mercy. He has made it so easy to get back into His grace (and thereby headed for Heaven once again) that it would seem too ridiculously easy to be true if it weren’t Jesus who made the promise, and His Church now offering a plenary indulgence.
    Hardened sinners, those who have knowingly committed grave sins for long periods of time, may have despaired of ever being able to become a Saint. Divine Mercy Sunday is God’s gift to them so that they can be forgiven, healed, and made holy. Other fallen away Catholics, those who don’t see much wrong with their immoral actions, even those the Church calls mortal sins, can also find the supernatural graces that they have been unwittingly missing out on.
    Come back to Mass next Sunday and stay for the afternoon prayers. Confess your sins. Pray for Divine Mercy. Then the next time you attend Mass (assuming that you don’t fall back into mortal sin before then!) you will be able to receive Holy Communion—that is, Jesus Christ Himself—in a State of Grace. Jesus promises, through His Church, that your soul will be pure once again. He loves you that much.
    Before ending, I want to make one very important item clear. Some people don’t believe that Saint Faustina’s Diary, regardless of what was proclaimed by the now-Sainted John Paull II, is a trustworthy source of Jesus’ Divine Mercy message and they not only avoid participating in Divine Mercy devotions but also do a good job convincing others to refrain from participating as well. The clarification that I wish to impress upon you is that the plenary indulgence attached to participating in Divine Mercy Sunday prayer services and confession is specifically promulgated by the Church, note this well, without any demand that you do anything more than accept that the Church can make such a proclamation! Just as you can receive a plenary indulgence by praying a family rosary (along with the other usual conditions) even if you don’t believe that St. Dominic received the rosary from the Blessed Mother, so, too, with the Divine Mercy indulgence and St. Faustina. Yes, Holy Mother Church has said so and that should be enough for any Catholic to accept it as true.

With prayers for your holiness,
Fr. Edwin Palka