SPEAKER_00: Last Sunday was Easter, and I asked you a question that required honesty.
SPEAKER_00: Today I'm going to ask you one that requires courage.
SPEAKER_00: Because if you answer it truthfully, it might change everything.
SPEAKER_00: Here it is.
SPEAKER_00: What is the one part of your life you hope stays hidden forever?
SPEAKER_00: That thing you hope that nobody ever finds out about.
SPEAKER_00: That moment, that decision, that relationship, that failure, that huge mistake, that thing that it, if it ever came to light, you might think it would change the way people see you.
SPEAKER_00: Now I want you to hold on to that, because that's exactly where the gospel brings us today.
SPEAKER_00: The disciples are locked in a room for fear of the authorities that at any moment that could come and arrest them.
SPEAKER_00: The doors are shut, windows closed, not because they're tired, again, because they are afraid.
SPEAKER_00: They're ashamed, confused, still carrying the weight of what they did.
SPEAKER_00: They ran, they abandoned him, Peter denied him, and now they're in hiding.
SPEAKER_00: And here's the moment that changes everything.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus comes anyway.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't wait for them to get their act together, he doesn't wait for them to fix themselves, he doesn't wait for them to come looking for him.
SPEAKER_00: He walks through a locked door.
SPEAKER_00: And what are his first words?
SPEAKER_00: Not, where were you?
SPEAKER_00: Not, how could you do this to me?
SPEAKER_00: How could you leave me alone?
SPEAKER_00: He says, peace be with you.
SPEAKER_00: That's what divine mercy is all about.
SPEAKER_00: Not that God ignores your sins, but he walks straight into it and refuses to leave you in those sins.
SPEAKER_00: And then he does something even more shocking.
SPEAKER_00: He shows them his wounds, the very wounds they caused.
SPEAKER_00: And he doesn't hide them.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't erase them, he brings them forward.
SPEAKER_00: But listen carefully, your wounds do not disqualify you from God.
SPEAKER_00: They are the very place where God wants to meet you.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you here today come to Mass out of habit.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you because it's the Easter season.
SPEAKER_00: And perhaps some of you came because someone invited you.
SPEAKER_00: But some of you came carrying something.
SPEAKER_00: And you know exactly what that something is.
SPEAKER_00: That thing you told yourself, well, I'll deal with it later.
SPEAKER_00: I've gone too far.
SPEAKER_00: God doesn't want anything to do with me.
SPEAKER_00: And to my mercy, Sunday says, that's a lie.
SPEAKER_00: Don't fall into that lie.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus told Saint Faustina Kowalska, the greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to my mercy.
SPEAKER_00: Understand this.
SPEAKER_00: In God's world, the worst sinners are first in line.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I don't want you to think that mercy is pretending sin doesn't matter.
SPEAKER_00: No, mercy is not saying it's fine, don't worry about it.
SPEAKER_00: Mercy looks at sin honestly and then says, I love you too much to leave you in that sin.
SPEAKER_00: And that's why Jesus does something very concrete in the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: He breathes on them and then says, Whose sins you forgive are forgiven.
SPEAKER_00: He gives them the power to forgive sins.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Well, because he knew we wouldn't just need inspiration.
SPEAKER_00: We would need a real encounter with his mercy.
SPEAKER_00: Not in our imaginations, not in a nice story, not in some vague feeling, but a real sacrament.
SPEAKER_00: Where Christ becomes present, where you hear the word spoken through his church that says, I absolve you of your sins.
SPEAKER_00: That's the sacrament of confession.
SPEAKER_00: That's divine mercy made visible and concrete.
SPEAKER_00: But here's the part nobody wants to talk about.
SPEAKER_00: We love the idea of mercy.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, give me all the mercy you got.
SPEAKER_00: We just don't like to step the step it requires.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, mercy is free, available to all, but it's not automatic.
SPEAKER_00: There's one condition, and it's a simple condition.
SPEAKER_00: It's a hard condition.
SPEAKER_00: That condition is trust.
SPEAKER_00: Not understanding everything, not fix everything, not clean everything up, trust.
SPEAKER_00: Those five words, Jesus, I trust in you.
SPEAKER_00: We have to really put it in our minds that that is the bridge.
SPEAKER_00: That is the door that opens up.
SPEAKER_00: That's the moment where everything changes.
SPEAKER_00: Because if you can sit in that locked room your whole life, or you can let him in.
SPEAKER_00: Because the reality is that some are still living behind locked doors.
SPEAKER_00: They go about their business, go back their daily day, but that door is locked.
SPEAKER_00: Doors of shame, doors of resentment, doors of fear.
SPEAKER_00: And you convince yourself, well, this is just who I am.
SPEAKER_00: These are the mistakes that I've made.
SPEAKER_00: No.
SPEAKER_00: That's not who you became.
SPEAKER_00: That's not who you are.
SPEAKER_00: Because the resurrection didn't just open a tomb, it opened your future.
SPEAKER_00: And it opened the future in the here and now, in this very moment, not next week, not next Sunday, right now.
SPEAKER_00: So the question is, what door are you keeping locked?
SPEAKER_00: And are you finally ready to let him walk through it?
SPEAKER_00: Because he will come.
SPEAKER_00: Not with anger, not with disappointment, but with the exact same words, peace be with you.
SPEAKER_00: And if you let him in, not halfway, not on your terms, trying to control everything, but if you let him in with honesty, something in your life will begin to change.
SPEAKER_00: Not all at once, but for real.
SPEAKER_00: And it won't just stay inside of you, it will begin to show.
SPEAKER_00: In the way you speak, in the way you respond, in the way you carry yourself, people will begin to notice that something is different.
SPEAKER_00: A patience that wasn't there before, a kindness that doesn't make sense, a generosity that goes beyond what's expected, a way of living that says, This person has encountered Christ.
SPEAKER_00: I want to know that Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: How is it that you have this Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: I want that.
SPEAKER_00: Not just believing in Jesus, but living in such a way that others can see that he lives inside of you.
SPEAKER_00: So don't leave here untouched.
SPEAKER_00: Don't go back to your Monday routine being ugly and miserable and talking in place with people about things that really should not take place, reacting and behaving in ways that disappoint the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Don't walk out the same way you walked in today.
SPEAKER_00: Let this moment of mercy really truly change you.
SPEAKER_00: Because the thing you thought needs to stay hidden is the exact place where His mercy wants to find you.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.