I saw a movie on television about the Nuremburg Trial that tried twenty German officers who participated in the killing of millions of Jews. A psychiatrist who was an U. S. army officer and a Jew interviewed each of the convicted German officers to see why they would commit such a crime. He shared with his commanding officer that he realized that they had lost empathy. They had lost the sense of putting themselves in the shoes of the Jewish people who were being slaughtered. He then said that the root of evil is the loss of empathy.

During the same Second World War our Risen Lord appeared to St. Faustina in Poland to speak about his Divine Mercy. An Icon was made depicting how the Lord appeared.

The white ray of light that came from the heart of the Lord is the gift of Baptism and the Sacrament of Penance. In these two Sacraments our sins are washed away.

The red ray of light is the gift of the Eucharist. In this Sacrament we taste and receive the death and Resurrection of Jesus for us.

These are the ways that Jesus breathes us into his new creation.

These Sacraments make us recipients of Divine Mercy and givers of Divine Mercy.

We live the Lord’s Resurrection.

When we need to forgive someone, we are filled with hurt, shock, anger and so many other feelings. We can easily lose our empathy. We forget what they who have offended are feeling.

We can forget how we feel when we do something wrong.

As Thomas touched the wounds of Jesus, we touch the passion and death of Jesus for us when we receive the Eucharist. We enter into Jesus’ life. We feel what Jesus feels. He feels love for us who have been hurt. He feels love for those who caused the hurt. He feels our hurt. He feels the hurt of those who are sorry for what they did or feels the turmoil inside that made them do the wrong.

We are impelled to forgive because the Risen Lord forgives. The Risen Lord has forgiven us.

On this Divine Mercy Sunday, Faustina wrote that the Lord opens his mercy to all in a very special way. Those who go to the Sacrament of Penance within eight days before or after this Sunday and go to Communion today will have all their sins wiped away.

That is the greeting that the Risen Lord gave to his apostles. "Shalom," he said.