This was the final prayer prepared by Pope John Paul II before he passed away:
Dearest brothers and sisters! The joyous hallelujah of Easter resonates today, too. Today's page of John's Gospel emphasizes that he who was resurrected, the evening of that day, appeared before the Apostles and "showed them his hands and his side" (John 20:20), that is, the signs of the painful passion that were marked indelibly onto his body even after the resurrection. Those glorious wounds, which eight days later he made the unbelieving Thomas touch, reveal the mercy of God who "so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son" (John 3:16).
This mystery of love is at the center of today's liturgy of Sunday in Albis, dedicated to the cult of Divine Mercy.
To humanity, which at times appears lost and dominated by the power of evil, of selfishness and fear, the Lord resurrected offers as a gift his forgiving love, reconciles and reopens the spirit to hope. It is a love that converts hearts and gives peace. How much need the world has to understand and receive Divine Mercy!
Oh Lord, who with your death and resurrection reveal the love of the Father, we believe in You and with confidence we repeat today: Jesus, I trust in You, have mercy of us and the entire world.
The liturgical solemnity of the Annunciation, that we will celebrate tomorrow, pushes us to contemplate with the eyes of Mary the immense mystery of this merciful love that springs from the Heart of Christ. Helped by Her we can understand the true sense of the joy of Easter, which is based on this certainty: He whom the Virgin carried in her womb, who suffered and died for us, is truly resurrected. Hallelujah!
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