Mercy Triumphs: Weekly Homilies of a Catholic Priest

A few years ago, I asked my pastor whether Jesus will be happy or not when He returns. And, without hesitation, he said Jesus will be very happy because Jesus is the God of joy.   And, I believe that’s true: Jesus is the God of joy. But, for those who do not follow Jesus, and are unrepentant, they, sadly, will not be as happy as our Lord. And that’s why the second reading from Saint Paul and our Gospel offer words of warning: Paul says that, if we are asleep spiritually, it’s time to awake. And, Jesus said, don’t ignore the spiritual reality of my return because you will end up like the people in Noah’s day who ignored God until it was too late. …Advent begins with this wake-up call, which is not just about preparing for Christmas or family gatherings; it’s also about preparing our souls to meet Jesus, whether He comes at the end of our lives or at the end of time. …One of the many blessings of being a priest is witnessing people sincerely preparing to meet Jesus. For example, ...

Normally, when I have a funeral, the family of the deceased chooses the scripture readings for the Mass, and, sometimes, the family lets me choose the Gospel reading. And, almost every single time, I will choose the passage we just heard, recounting Jesus on the cross forgiving a criminal. …And I choose it for a couple reasons. First, it gives me a lot of comfort knowing that Jesus so easily forgives a soul who cries out to Him for mercy. The second reason is: I think it gives a lot of comfort to the people who hear this.  And, before these funerals, sometimes, families will tell me their loved one wasn’t very religious and didn’t seem to have much of a relationship with Jesus. And I’m really saddened when I hear that. But, even so, that man on the cross didn’t have much of a relationship with Jesus either. Not to say that’s what Jesus wants…but how did Jesus treat that man? Very well. Jesus treated that man like he was his closest follower, giving him Paradise that very day. F...