Christ Does Not Abandon His Church – Divine Mercy Sunday – Sermon by Father Levine

Fr. Joseph Levine; Holy Family Catholic Church and Missions, Burns, Oregon; April 27, 2025

Pope Francis is now dead and buried. 12 Years ago, when asked if he accepted the election to the papacy he replied, “I am a sinner, but having relied upon the mercy and infinite patience of our Lord Jesus Christ and in a spirit of penance, I accept.” Beautiful words. So also the words of his pontifical motto, a quote from St. Bede, referring to the call of St. Matthew: “By having mercy and choosing.” May we truly know Jesus Christ who has mercy on us and chooses us.

Now, however, the time of mercy has come to an end for Pope Francis, but we can still be merciful to him through our prayers. As we must do one day, he has now gone before the judgment seat of Christ to render an account of his life and his ministry. Given the burden of responsibility he bore, the greatest burden on earth, that is a fearsome thought. It is our duty, as children of the Church, to pray for the repose of his soul.

The Holy See is now vacant; we do not have a Pope, but please God, we shall have a new Pope before long. The present moment is a time of great vulnerability and peril for the Church, but it is also a reminder that the true Head of the Church is Jesus Christ; the Pope is merely the Vicar of Christ on earth. Jesus Christ has not abandoned his Church and will not abandon his Church. In the meantime, it is our duty to pray for the Cardinal Electors, that they may truly open themselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that through them our Lord might, in his mercy, provide for his Church not the Pope we deserve in justice – that would be a disaster – but the Pope we most truly need.

As I said, the interregnum between two Popes is a reminder that Jesus Christ himself is the head of the Church. The vision given to us in today’s 2^nd reading conveys this same message. Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, appears in majesty as high priest and king, walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands, representing seven churches of ancient Asia Minor, the cradle of Christianity, which symbolize the Catholic Church in every time and place. Remarkably, the seer John, who lived with Jesus when he walked the earth, reclined on his breast at the last Supper and saw him risen from the dead, falls as one dead when he beholds him in glory; he needs to be reassured by the gentle touch and the words, Do not be afraid.

Were we to continue reading the next two chapters of the Book of Revelation, we would hear how Jesus addresses each local church, represented by each lampstand, showing that he knows exactly the situation of each church, her trials and sufferings, her fidelity or infidelity, the virtues of some and the sins of others. We would hear his calls to repentance, his encouragement to stand firm and be faithful, his promise of reward.

Yet, the majesty of the ruler of all (the Pantocrator) is always permeated by mercy. We were already reminded that he is the one who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood. (Rev 1:5) Even to the faithful of the seventh church, the lukewarm Laodicea, whom he threatens to vomit from his mouth, even these he invites saying, Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten; so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Rev 3:20) The invitation to the intimacy of communion is for now; for the promise of glory he says, He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. (Rev 3:21)

Even in his majesty at the right hand of the Father, Jesus Christ is still the one who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, our High Priest who lives always to make intercession for us, displaying before the Father the wounds he suffered for our sake. (He 7:25) He is the one who having risen from the dead, greets his Apostles with the words ‘Peace be with you’, bestows the power to forgive sins on his Church, and demonstrates the reality of his resurrection through the nail marks in is hands and the wound in his side.

The one who appeared to the Apostles in the upper room, the one who appeared to St. John in the vision, is the same, in his majesty and in his mercy, as the one whom we recognize in the Holy Eucharist, in the intimacy of holy communion, to whom we should say with St. Thomas, My Lord and my God!

He loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and he wants to pour out his mercy on us and on the whole world.

In today’s 1^st reading, we heard about great numbers of men and women, who experiencing the mercy of Jesus Christ, were added to the number of believers. That is not our typical experience of the Church these days, but reports have it that for some unexplained reason record numbers were joining the Church in the United States this year. Nor is it just the United States, record numbers were joining the Church in France. This is not so much evidence that we are doing anything right, but rather that the Lord has not abandoned his Church.

Indeed, in France, large numbers of Muslims were seeking baptism, but the Church in France was hardly seeking to convert Muslims. The French bishops were ready to “dialog” with representatives of Islam but were surprised and unprepared when Muslims began asking to be baptized. To their credit, they recognized the sincerity of the request and sought to provide for their needs.

Jesus Christ is Lord of his Church, and despite our bumbling efforts at evangelization he gathers his people into the Church. I can speak from experience; 44 years ago, I literally walked off the street and rang the doorbell of a rectory, asking to become Catholic. Yet, if my conversion was not due to my interaction with any Catholic, it did not take place without the historical visibility of the Church and the actual prayers and sacrifices of Catholics, living in the grace of God. These prayers and sacrifices are more important than the work of evangelization, because all the fruitfulness of evangelization depends upon them. That is why the cloistered Carmelite nun, St. Therese of Lisieux, can be the patroness of the missions. That is why the message of divine mercy was given to another cloistered nun, St. Faustina Kowalska. In the words of St. Catherine of Siena, the medicine by which God wills to heal the whole world … is humble, constant, holy prayer. (Dialogue 19)

So it seems that more people are turning to the Church, but it is still no more than a trickle. Through prayer and sacrifice, through the mercy of God, that trickle can become a stream and the stream a torrent. All things are possible to God.

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever!