Ogden area offers first Divine Mercy event

IC photo/Marie Mischel

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Bishop Oscar A. Solis incenses the image of the Divine Mercy during the April 28 Mass at St. James the Just Catholic Church.

OGDEN — More than 500 people in the Ogden area attended the inaugural Northern Utah Divine Mercy Celebration at St. James the Just Catholic Church on April 28.

Bishop Oscar A. Solis presided at the Mass, which was preceded by the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy.  The Sacrament of Reconciliation was offered beginning two hours before the Mass started. Three priests were available for Confession, and the lines were so long that they were still being heard even after Mass began.

Divine Mercy Sunday is celebrated on the Octave of Easter at the decree of Pope John Paul II. The feast commemorates the appearance of Jesus Christ to St. Faustina Kowalska. During one visit, the risen Lord appeared with two rays shining from his heart; at the bottom of the image were the words, “Jesus, I trust in you.” Christ asked that the image be painted and venerated throughout the world.

In his homily at the Mass, Bishop Solis said Divine Mercy Sunday is not only a celebration of a particular devotion, it is also a celebration of the manifestation of God’s love, which endures despite humankind’s constant sinfulness.

Mercy is the very essence of God, the bishop said.

“Despite our endless litany of sins and transgressions against God’s commandments, Our Lord never gets tired of forgiving us,” he said.

“And so today, Christ invites us to renew our trust in him and to open our hearts to receive his merciful and saving love in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or Confession,” he added.

The sacrament is significant because it “calls us to renew our faith and trust in a God who is merciful, in a God who loves us so much that he offered his Son to be our savior and redeemer, who gave up his life on the cross that we might be saved from our sins and receive the gift of salvation and redemption,” he said.

The Gospel reading for the day’s Mass, about the risen Lord appearing to the disciples shortly after the Resurrection, highlighted the feast day’s message of mercy, the bishop said.

Although the disciples had abandoned Christ after his arrest, “Jesus our Lord appeared before them, with no bitterness, no anger, no resentment, but only offering them his infinite love, compassion and forgiveness of sinners,” the bishop said.

Although people are sinful, God knows their weaknesses, “and when we least expect it, Jesus breaks through the locked doors of our hearts and offers his compassion and mercy, forgiveness and reconciliation. This is the beautiful message of Easter; this is the beautiful message of Christ on this feast of Divine Mercy,” the bishop said.