On Sunday, April 27, Father Joseph Illo, pastor of Star of the Sea in San Francisco, gave a 13-minute homily.

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday. In Confession, the priest mentions mercy twice. We begin Mass with “Lord have mercy.”

Today is also the day after we buried our Pope. John Paul II, the one who instituted Divine Mercy Sunday, died the day before Divine Mercy Sunday.

Our Lord’s peace is different. Long-lasting deep well-being. Thomas, in today’s Gospel, is the opposite of peace. Christ makes us emissaries of peace.

I lost my peace yesterday. I had said Mass for the Missionaries of Charity. I was in a hurry. The car is front of me was not moving. I pulled up and did a road-rage dance. My pro-life bumper stickers on the car. I had to throw myself on the mercy of the Lord.

Thomas Aquinas says mercy is heartfelt sympathy for another’s distress. A simple gesture. Years ago I was in the hospital myself with a serious condition. The Protestant chaplain came in and listened to my symptoms with sympathy. It meant so much.