Sunday, April 27, 2014

Divine Mercy Sunday

The second Sunday of Easter is called 'Divine Mercy Sunday' in the Roman Catholic Church. It is a very special day. Here's The Divine Mercy website for further info.

Interestingly, back in 2008, a leading Russian Orthodox Bishop, Hilarion Alfeyev, was invited to deliver a speech to the Catholic Church's first World Congress on Divine Mercy. In his speech, Bishop Alfeyev discussed St. Isaac of Syria's writings on the mercy of God. It's interesting because Isaac, a 7th century saint, was a Christian universalist who believed that Hell was limited in its duration and expressly for the purpose of cleansing, reforming, and restoring the sinner to God's good graces. As a Christian universalist, St. Isaac believed that through Christ's unfathomable mercy, all mankind would eventually be saved. While this is not the official view of the Roman Catholic Church, the Bishop's speech was still relatively well-received.

Ironically, if one closely evaluates many of the prayers associated with Divine Mercy, there is certainly a spirit of 'hopeful universalism' permeating them as Christ's redemptive sacrifice is repeatedly asked to mercifully extend to all of mankind.

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