As we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter, we find inspiration in these two stories. We hope you find inspiration in them as well.
One night in 1935, Fiorello H. La Guardia, Mayor of New York City, showed up at Night Court in the poorest ward of the city. He dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench. One case involved an elderly woman who was caught stealing bread to feed her grandchildren. Mayor La Guardia said, “I’ve got to punish you. Ten dollars or ten days in jail.” As he spoke, he himself threw $10 into his hat. He then had the bailiff pass the hat around the courtroom, saying he was fining everyone present 50 cents for living in a city “where an old woman had to steal bread so that her grandchildren should not starve.” The hat made its way around the courtroom and the woman made her way outside – with her fine paid and an additional $47.50!
The Emperor Napoleon was ready to pass sentence on a young soldier who had deserted the front lines of battle. The soldier’s mother went to the front to make a plea for her son. The Emperor was moved by a mother’s plea for a pardon, but he said that justice demanded his death. “I do not ask for justice,” implored the mother, “I plead for mercy.” “But,” said the Emperor, “he does not deserve mercy.” “Sir,” cried the mother, “it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for.” The compassion and clarity of the mother’s logic prompted Napoleon to respond, “Well, then, I will have mercy.”
The Second Sunday of the Easter season and the entirety of these Fifty days invite us to reflect on God’s infinite love and mercy for His people, as detailed in the Bible and as lived and taught by Jesus. And then, we are to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy each and every day – whether in the Easter season or not!
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The Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy: https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/jubilee-of-mercy/the-corporal-works-of-mercy
