Series of Reflections on Divine Mercy (10)

Easter Joy and the Heart of Mercy

Imagine your worst moment. The time you really messed up, let someone down, or felt completely alone. Now imagine the person you hurt most showing up — not to lecture you, not to say "I told you so" — but just to say your name. To say: I'm still here. It's okay.

That's Easter. And that's mercy.

Here's what actually happened on the first Easter morning.

Mary had watched Jesus die. She'd lost everything she believed in. She went to the tomb expecting to find a dead body — and instead found nothing. She was crying, confused, done.

And then someone said her name. Mary.

That moment — just her name, spoken by someone she thought was gone forever — that's where the joy came from. Not from fireworks or a big announcement. From being known and found by someone who came back for her.

That's mercy. Showing up for someone even when they didn't deserve it. Meeting them right in the middle of their worst moment.

So what does that have to do with us?

We all carry stuff. Guilt, regret, the feeling that we've gone too far to be forgiven. Easter says: no, you haven't. The whole point is that the worst thing didn't win. Death didn't win. Shame didn't win.

And here's the wild part — the risen Jesus still had his scars. He didn't come back pretending nothing happened. Mercy doesn't erase the hard stuff. It just refuses to let it be the final word.

Joy and mercy aren't opposites. They work hand in hand.

Real joy — not just happiness when everything's going well, but deep joy that holds even when life is hard — comes from knowing you are found. Forgiven. Called by name.

And once you've felt that? You start seeing other people who are still lost, still crying, still convinced nobody's coming back for them. And you have something to give them.

Mercy received becomes mercy given. That's how Easter keeps going — not just one morning two thousand years ago, but every time someone chooses to show up for another person instead of walking away.

Fr Jude Mukoro (4/4/2026).