This weekend Jesus appears to His disciples after His resurrection and immediately offers them PEACE! The Gospel passage goes on to describe how Jesus entrusted to His apostles His mission of preaching the “good news” of God’s love, mercy, forgiveness and salvation. Jesus intends to use “the Church” now (that means YOU AND ME!!!) as the earthly means of continuing his mission. To do this, we must recognize Jesus as our source of power and spirit. Jesus also gives the apostles the authority to remit sins in his name. He gives the apostles the power of God’s mercy for the sinner…the gift of forgiving sins from God’s treasury of mercy. We have a part in this as well. The clearest way of expressing our belief in the presence of the risen Jesus among us is through our own forgiveness of others. We can’t form a lasting Christian community without such forgiveness. Unless we forgive others, our celebration of the Eucharist is just an exercise of liturgical “walking in place.” Mercy and forgiveness are SO important in our individual living out of the Gospel message. The Gospel command, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful," demands that we show mercy to our fellow human beings always and everywhere. We radiate God's mercy to others by our actions, our words, and our prayers. It is mainly through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy (you remember these from your youth, don’t you?) that we practice mercy in our daily lives and become eligible for God’s merciful judgment. Living faith enables us to see the risen Lord in everyone and gives us the willingness to offer to each person our loving mercy, forgiveness, and service. If we are serious about living the Gospel’s “Good News,” we know that we may not keep the gift of faith locked in our hearts, but rather share it with our families, our coworkers, our friends, and our neighbors…indeed, EVERYONE WE MEET, always remembering the words of Pope John XXIII: “Every believer in this world must become a spark of Christ’s light.” It’s Easter! “Light up…your heart!” Emperor Napoleon was moved by a mother's plea for pardon for her soldier son. However, the emperor said that since it was the man’s second major offense, justice demanded death. "I do not ask for justice," implored the mother, "I plead for mercy." "But," said the emperor, "he does not deserve mercy." "Sir," cried the mother, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for." The compassion and clarity of the mother's logic prompted Napoleon to respond, "Well, then, I will have mercy." The Second Sunday of the Easter season invites us to reflect on God’s infinite love and mercy for His people, as detailed in the Bible and as lived and taught by Jesus…and to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy on a daily basis. Question for the Week: Are you stingy with your mercy and forgiveness? Where does that get you?