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We have all followed closely the suffering and death of the Pope, as we all followed the suffering and death of Jesus during Holy Week. We had a wonderful Lent – and I am a witness to the spectacular effort our parish put into this period of conversion, with true conversions, many penances offered to the Lord, serious efforts to overcome defects and to acquire virtues, what a wonderful lent it was, and I congratulate you all!

Yet, after we celebrated the joy of the resurrection, our hearts are once again sorrowful as we say goodbye to this great man, this holy saint, this wise leader, this high priest, Pope John Paul the Second. He was our spiritual father, the vicar of Christ, the visible head of the Church on earth, who acted on our behalf before God, and on God’s behalf before us. Let us mourn him and pray with tears of true love, trusting him to Divine Mercy, which is this Sunday.

We are all following the suffering and agony of the Pope, as we all followed the suffering and death of Jesus during Holy Week. We had a wonderful Lent – and I am a witness to the spectacular effort our parish put into this period of conversion, with true conversions, many penances offered to the Lord, serious efforts to overcome defects and to acquire virtues, what a wonderful lent it was! After we celebrated the joy of the resurrection, our hearts are sorrowful as we prepare to say goodbye to this great man, this holy saint, this wise leader, this high priest. He is our spiritual father, the vicar of Christ, the visible head of the Church on earth, who acts on our behalf before God, and on God’s behalf before us. Let us pray for him with tears of true love, and profound compassion, trusting him to Divine Mercy, which is this Sunday.

What does it mean, to trust in mercy? What is God’s mercy? It consists in Christ’s promise of the forgiveness of sins through the Catholic Church. For the Lord breathed on the Apostles, his first priests, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”[1] And the Lord put no limit on this forgiveness.

But Satan is just the opposite. He accuses the saints, day and night.[2] Fear not, his accusations hold no sway over the mercy of God. In fact, in the Gospel of John, chapter 16, we see how God has put Satan to the trial, and we were the ones who were freed. What was this trial like? This is one trial that interests us all, because the fate is in the balance is our own.

Jesus: Your Honor, Most Holy Spirit, All holy Angels of the Jury: the Plaintiff, the fallen angel Lucifer also known as Satan,[3] Beelzebub,[4] the Adversary,[5] the Dragon,[6] Belial,[7] the Tempter,[8] and other such despicable names, has filed a suit against the human race, claiming total ownership of all flesh. This claim has been filed on the grounds that all those who have descended from Adam and Eve have been born into sin.

Satan: Yes, give me them all, they belong to me, all born into sin, and I am the Father of Sin. This miserable race couldn’t stop sinning if it tried. From your first model and first edition, Creator, you have seen them disobey you, kill their siblings, rob, cheat, lust, and flee from your demands. Even this one who claimed to be your Son, who now interrogates me and defends all humanity, was sold by one of his friends, abandoned by his closest followers, and doubted by all who knew him. Oh yes, all have sinned, not one is just, not one,[9] so give them all to me.

Satan: I wander the world, seeking the ruin of souls.[10] But my home is hell, there is my throne and kingdom.

Jesus: A kingdom is a place where there is order, and subjects obey. But there is no obedience in hell, and there is only chaos.

Satan: Then let us be satisfied that it is my home. But no one else lives there who is more powerful than I.

Jesus: Satan, you just told the Jury, the Angels, that all flesh belongs to you. Is this right?

Satan: Yes, and my hunger for them all grows every moment. It is a hunger that can’t be satisfied, and its name is hatred.

Jesus: Thank you. And all flesh belongs to you, you claim, because all have sinned. Is this also right?

Satan: Yes, for all those who sin against God deserve eternal punishment, like me. Nothing sinful can be in the presence of God.

Jesus: Your Honor, Most Holy Spirit of the Father, I will now prove to you that the defendant is guilty of perjury in the worst degree. And I will do this on three accounts.

First, Satan says that there is no one who is righteous, not one. I call you, judge and Holy Spirit, to condemn Satan and to free all human beings, because there were in fact two human persons who were sinless, one man and one woman.

Jesus: I, who am the Son of God, the Word, the Alpha and the Omega, yes, I am both God and man, and there is no sin in me. Furthermore, the mother I was born of, Mary of Galilee, was conceived without sin, and never committed sin. I bore the price sin of all flesh upon myself, I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star,[11] and I have overcome sin, for I have risen from the dead. All who live in me are sinless. Satan, do you believe in the Incarnation, in God made man?

Jesus: Your Honor, this proves my first point. Since Satan does not believe in the incarnation, he does not believe in redemption. Since there is sinlessness among men, Satan has no hold. I proceed to my second point.

I share my life of grace with all those who are regenerated in the waters of baptism, and eat my body and blood the Eucharist. And I am with the Father. Therefore, so are all those who live in me by grace. I have made all the saints righteous, I have justified them. Satan, do you believe that the Son of Man is sitting at the right hand of God?

Jesus: Your Honor, this proves my second point. Since Satan does not believe this, he attempts to claim all flesh. But he does not believe what is true, that I am at the Right hand of the Father, therefore he has no claim.

Third, this wicked creature was condemned and cast in to hell before the material world was created. The one and only thing he deserves is the punishment of eternal isolation, pain and the loss of the power to love. He does not deserve anything else, much less dominion over all flesh. Satan, do you believe you have been condemned for your sin?

Satan: I do not, I reject everything you say! No one can condemn me, for I have decided to be my own god!

Jesus: Your Honor, most Holy Spirit, worthy Jury, Angels of heaven, here I rest my case. By his own words, Satan has proved that he has no power over all flesh.

Holy Spirit: My judgment is this, and I shall fill the whole world: I convict Satan concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because he does not believe in the incarnation; and concerning righteousness, because the Son is with the Father; and concerning judgment, because Satan has already been judged.[12]

Jesus: When I rose from the dead, oh most Holy Judge, Holy Spirit, Spirit of Love, I conquered evil. I will not give all humanity over to the vile sinner named Satan. For each soul, let as much mercy be given as that soul wants. Let any sinner come to wash himself clean in my blood. Let anyone who is weak find strength in my flesh in the Eucharist. Let anyone who is discouraged see that I have defended him from his only real Enemy. Let the sinful repent, let the faithless believe, let the despairing have hope, let the hardened of heart love, let the needy cry out, let the dying trust, let the lonely feel the power of my presence in their lives.

With that, St. Michael the Archangel took the devil away in bondage, while he screamed and howled more barbaric accusations against the saints. And the more he accused, the more Jesus’ mercy was poured fourth upon the descendents of Adam and Eve.

This is the judgment that the Holy Trinity has delivered to us: a judgment of mercy. Today is Divine Mercy Sunday. May God have mercy on us all, starting with our beloved Holy Father.

Have Mercy, Holy Trinity, on us, starting with our Father on earth, the Pope. Show him the excess of your love and reward him with eternal life. And have mercy on us, freeing us from sin. Lord Jesus, I trust in you.

[1] Jn 20:23.

[2] Rev. 12:10.

[3] Job 1:6.

[4] Matthew 12:24 Mark 3:22 Luke 11:15.

[5] I Peter 5:8.

[6] Revelation 12:9 and 20:2.

[7] II Corinthians 6:15.

[8] Matthew 4:3.

[9] Cf. Ps 143:2; Ps 14:1-3; Rom 3:9-12.

[10] 1 Peter 5:8.

[11] Rev 22:16.

[12] Jn 16:8-11.