The feast of the Divine Mercy is marked on the Sunday after Easter also known as ‘White Sunday’

Celebrating the day reminds Catholics of the reason Jesus Christ gave himself up for the world by the will of God the Father.

This year’s celebration fell on 19th April 2020 and was marked across the globe by the clergy with the faithful joining from their homes due to restrictions on public worship as a result of the Coronavirus Pandemic ravaging the world.

Below is a summary of the homily if Most Rev. John Bonaventure Kwofie, CSSp. the metropolitan archbishop of the Accra Archdiocese on Divine Mercy Sunday.

Homily

• we need to continue praying the Divine Mercy Prayer to help invoke the Mercy of God on the whole World.
• The greatest attribute of God is Mercy so we must be an instrument of Mercy. Pope Benedict XII makes us understand that The essence of Easter is Mercy.
• God is the Father of Compassion and the God of all comfort (2nd Cor 1:3). In our anxiety and hopelessness, we cry to Him as in Psalm 57:1 (Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.) We pray to God in Humility and turn to Him. When we pray, it brings God’s Mercy on us (Lk 13:13). In Lk 6:36, Jesus addresses us the disciples of today to be Merciful as our Father in Heaven.
• We need to be there for each other. The Christian Fraternity is not complete without Mercy. Jesus Demonstrated the Mercy of God when He prayed that God should forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.
• The power of the Resurrection brings us an inheritance that will never perish.
• Our Charitable act during this pandemic is an act of Mercy and humanity is at its best when we show empathy and Love. Matthew 25:35-36 (NIV) 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,36. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
• The stigmatization of Patients with Covi-19 and their family members must stop. We need to show mercy at this time of need.
• Continue to observe all protocols especially in public and we should also be our brother’s keeper.

The archbishop used the day to express deep appreciation to all individuals and associations in the church who have donated both in cash and in kind to support the charity efforts of the archdiocese and to the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference COVID-19 response fund.

He entreated Ghanaians and the faithful to remain compassionate and be each other’s keeper.

Source: Theresa Akomah