God does not choose the perfect—he chooses those who trust in him.’ Those were the words of Bishop René Ramirez RCJ, who celebrated Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral on Divine Mercy Sunday. Thousands of devotees gathered at parishes across the Archdiocese to mark Divine Mercy Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter, and the culmination of a nine-day novena that begins on Good Friday.
At the Cathedral, Bishop Ramirez was the main celebrant of the Divine Mercy Sunday Mass, with music led by members of the Filipino Chaplaincy Choir.
In his homily, Bishop Ramirez reflected Jesus’ response to their abandonment of their friend and master, Jesus.
‘On that first Easter evening, the disciples are gathered behind locked doors—afraid, uncertain and burdened by their failure. They had abandoned Jesus. In his hour of suffering, they ran away,’ he said. And yet, Jesus’ first words to his disciples were not ones of reproach but rather of mercy. There was no rebuke or condemnation, ‘only peace’, the bishop said.
‘This moment brings to mind the parable of the Prodigal Son. There, Jesus tells us about a father whose son had walked away, squandered everything and returned home in shame. The son prepares a speech of unworthiness, but before he can even finish it, the father runs to him, embraces him and restores him.
‘No punishment. No interrogation. Only mercy.’
In that parable, Bishop Ramirez said, Jesus revealed ‘the heart of the Father’. ‘In today’s gospel, the risen Christ becomes that Father, and the disciples are like the prodigal son.’ Having failed, they are now in hiding, and Jesus comes to them not to demand an account ‘but instead to restore them’. ‘He does not ask, “Why did you abandon me?” He simply says, “Peace be with you.”
‘This is Divine Mercy. Not an idea, but a reality. It is how God meets us, especially in our weakness.’
The bishop also reflected on his recent appointment to the Diocese of Sandhurst.
‘The Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has appointed me as the ninth Bishop of the Diocese of Sandhurst,’ he said, recalling how it was only 14 months ago that he had been made an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Melbourne.
‘I must admit, like the disciples in the gospel, my heart is filled with many emotions: gratitude, but also a certain fear, a sense of unworthiness and the awareness of my own limitations.
‘In many ways, I feel like the prodigal son, or like the disciples behind locked doors. And yet, in prayer, I hear those same words of the risen Lord: “Peace be with you.”
‘I was only able to say “yes” to this appointment because of one thing: trust. Trust in God’s plan. Trust in God’s providence. Trust in God’s mercy. Not because I feel ready. Not because I feel capable on my own, but because I believe that the same Lord who calls also accompanies. The same Lord who sends also strengthens. The same Lord who forgives also sustains.
‘In the gospel, Jesus does not just forgive the disciples; he entrusts them with a mission: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And then he gives them the power to forgive sins—to continue his work of mercy in the world.
‘This is what humbles me the most: That God does not choose the perfect; he chooses those who trust in him. That God does not call the qualified; he qualifies those he calls. That God works not despite our weakness, but often through it.’
This article originally appeared in Melbourne Catholic and is republished with permission.
Photograph courtesy of Melbourne Catholic.
