Divine Mercy Sunday, Death of Pope Francis

Catholics around the world mourn the death of Pope Francis and we pray for his soul, that he may rest in peace. Today, (Yesterday) was the funeral of Pope Francis.

The pope is our spiritual father. The word “pope” (papa) means “father”. The pope is the successor of St. Peter and there is a line of men, who held the office from Peter unto today. In Eucharistic prayer 1, are some of the early popes: Peter, Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius. Pope Francis was the 266th pope.

The day after the pope dies, the Church begins a Novena for the soul of the pope and for the cardinals who will elect the next pope. We are currently praying the Rosary Novena in our parish for his soul.

The primary purpose of a cardinal is to elect a pope. There are currently 252 cardinals, only 135 can vote, because those over 80 are not allowed to vote. The conclave begins 15 to 20 days after the death of the pope, which means they probably won’t begin until after May 5th. It’s called conclave, which is Latin or “with the keys”, meaning the room in which they vote is locked and no one may enter or leave during voting. The conclave is held in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

The duty of the pope is to protect the faith and boldly announce the Gospel to the world. The man in white represents the leader of the Church. We honor the office of the pope given to us by Jesus to guide and lead the Church. We love our pope despite his weaknesses and failings.

Pope Francis was a very controversial pope. 

First, we must admit it has to have been very difficult for an 88 year old man, with health problems, to guide and lead a Church with 1.4 billion Catholics. We also have to take into consideration, his personal background, being a member of Jesuit order, not known for their faithfulness to the Church and joining them when he was a young man.

One of his controversial actions was when he renounced the title “Vicar of Christ”, meaning one who acts in the person of Christ and is the supreme head of the Catholic Church.

He was a pope of the peripheries by appointing new cardinals from countries from the edges of the world, that never had them before. He was often seen with the poor and was a great defender of the unborn saying to kill an unborn child was murder.

He allowed women to be involved in Church governance but would not allow women to deacons-- nor priests.

He believed in climate change and wanted to protect the earth. He was present in the Vatican gardens when a group of Catholics bowed down & worshiped a wooden fertility goddess, called Pachamama, representing mother earth. After the idol was placed on the altar at St. Peter’s Basilica, a young man from Austria, took the idol and tossed into the Tiber River, because of the sacrilege.

Pope Francis requested that priests bless homosexual couples. All bishops from the entire continent of Africa refused to obey, saying that it would be sinful to bless them.

Pope Francis was in favor of immigration, including illegal immigration.

Under his leadership an agreement was made with China allowing the communist government to appoint Catholic bishops, rather than the Catholic Church, which caused faithful Catholics in China to be persecuted by the Chinese government.

He attempted to change the structure of the Church through the synod of synodality by allowing lay people to be part of what priests and bishops have traditionally took part.

He gave the Argentinian Conference of Catholic bishops permission for the divorced and remarried civilly, without changing their life, to receive Holy Communion, which contradicts thousands of years of Church teaching. Morality can’t be different from country to country.

He said all religions are pathways to heaven. But, Jesus Himself and His Church is the only pathway to heaven. Our Lord said, “I am the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to Father, but through me.”

Pope Francis is quoted as saying, “What I am going to say is not a dogma of faith but my own personal view: I like to think of hell as empty; I hope it is...”  

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that Catholic teaching “affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, ‘eternal fire.’ The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.” 

We have to remember, every word any pope speaks is not infallible. Only when he clarifies faith or morals binding the entire Church to believe it, are the pope’s words infallible.

For example, Pope St. John Paul II restated the infallible teaching that women cannot be priests in 1994. On Nov 1st 1950, Pope Pius XII declared Mary’s Assumption an infallible dogma. In 1854, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was proclaimed by Pope Pius IX.

It is rare when a pope makes an infallible statement. The many controversial statements by Pope Francis are not infallible and there may have doctrinal mistakes within them, as well as other popes too in their writings and words. During the pontificate of Pope Francis, he never officially made an infallible proclamation.

As Catholics we obey the Pope in all things except those which may contradict the Deposit of Faith (Scripture and Tradition) and or if we are asked to do something sinful, we refuse, like the bishops of Africa who said it would be sinful for them to bless a homosexual couple. However, we honor and respect the pope, as the successor of St. Peter.

We trust in the mercy of Jesus, and Our Lord’s words, “Peter, you are rock and on this rock, I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall never prevail against it.” We trust Jesus, that the Catholic Church will continue until Jesus comes in all His glory, although the Church will go through Her passion before the 2nd coming.

On Feb 22nd, of 1931, the feast of the chair of St. Peter, when Jesus appeared to St. Faustina, he held one hand raised-- in blessing and the other hand touching his garment at his chest. From the point on his garment two rays of light emanated (one red and the other white).

Jesus said, “Paint a picture according to the vision you see and with the signature, ‘Jesus I trust in You!’ I desire that this picture be venerated first in your chapel and then throughout the whole world.” 

Since Jesus appeared to St. Faustina giving her the image to paint on February 22nd, the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, perhaps, Our Lord wanted us to trust in God’s mercy with regard to popes. Perhaps, He also wanted us to have mercy on popes, realizing they are human and can make mistakes.

The feast of the Chair of St. Peter is a reminder that the pope is the Vicar of Christ on earth and that he acts for Jesus through the Church.

In the Gospel today, the disciples were gathered in the Upper Room and were afraid. But Jesus came to them with his message of peace. He said, “Peace be with you!” They were no longer afraid. It is like that for us too. We will not find peace until we find it in Jesus. Jesus’ message for each of us today is to find our peace in Him. In the Gospel, He also breathed on them, and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained'. By these words Jesus inaugurated the Sacrament of Confession.

Jesus asked Sr. Faustina that the Sunday after Easter be celebrated as a Feast of Mercy and be preceded by a novena beginning on Good Friday. Jesus promised those who go to confession and receive Holy Communion on Divine Mercy Sunday would obtain a complete remission of all sin and all punishment due to sin.

The cardinal of Poland- at the center of the devotion said, the Lenten confession is sufficient for the requirement of the devotion, as long as one is not currently in mortal sin.

Canon Ignacy Rozycki from Poland came to the conclusion that the extraordinary grace promised by Jesus on the Feast of Mercy is a gift of grace equaled only by the grace of Baptism. Therefore, today, if we have the intention of having all our sins forgiven and all the punishment due to our sins washed away, our soul will become like it had been at baptism. And, if we were to immediately die after receiving Holy Communion, we would go straight to heaven. There would be no purgatory time at all. All sins and punishment due to our sins will be completely washed into Our Lord’s infinite ocean of mercy.

Jesus said, “Let no soul fear to come to me, even if its sins be as scarlet. This feast emerged from the bosom of my mercy and is founded in the depths of my mercies.”

Sr. Faustina was given the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Jesus said, “Say unceasingly this chaplet. Anyone who says it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as a last hope. If the most hardened sinner recites this chaplet even once, they will receive grace from my infinite mercy. I want the whole world to know my infinite mercy. I want to give unimaginable graces to those who trust in my mercy.” Jesus also said, “I desire the confidence of my people. Let not even the weak and very sinful fear to approach me, even if their sins be as numerous as all the sand of the earth all will be forgiven in the fathomless pit of my mercy.”

St. Faustina said, God’s infinite divine mercy is given to the world today, to prepare for the second Coming of Jesus.

This Sunday (today), we will celebrate Divine Mercy Devotions, with a Eucharistic Holy Hour at 3pm. Please come and pray for God’s mercy for the Church, our country and our families. I encourage you to daily pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and the Rosary for the upcoming conclave when the cardinals will gather to elect the next pope.

Next Sunday will be our Eucharistic Festival. Two priests will hear Confessions beginning at 4pm, at 4:50pm Fr. Michael Kerschen will give a talk on the Eucharist. We will have an extra Mass at 5pm on Sunday and we will have hamburgers and hot dogs at the Parish Hall. We will then watch the video “Jesus Thirsts” a powerful movie on the Eucharist. After the movie we will have a Eucharistic Procession and then go to Jon and Laurie’s farm for outdoor Eucharistic Adoration under the Stars. Singer and musician Chris Rowden from Wichita will be here to sing and play music for the procession and for Adoration Under the Stars.

Three of our children will make their First Communions at the 6:30pm Mass Saturday. Next Sunday at the 8am Mass we will have the Crowning of Mary and a Living Rosary outside by the statue of Mary at the Parish Hall.

Next weekend will be grand weekend, a weekend of joy and glory. Please sign up on the paper at the entrance of the church or notify Susan Wempe so she will know how much food to make.

Let us rejoice and give thanks today for God’s mercy, on this Feast of Divine Mercy. When we receive Holy Communion today, we will be free from sin, and the punishment due to sin (all our purgatory time washed away). No matter which pope leads the Church, we will trust in God’s unfathomable mercy. And let us pray much for the soul of Pope Francis and for the college of cardinals, who elect the next pontiff, that he may be a man who will lead the Church as Jesus desires.