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Several years ago, around the time that Covid broke out, I was planning a pilgrimage to Poland. This country is not necessarily the first place people put on their list to visit for pilgrimage but for me, it had several key draws. First, it is the home of John Paul II, one of the most transformative popes in the last 500 years. Secondly, it is where the Auschwitz concentration camp is located, a site of terrible human suffering and evil but also a place where goodness, holiness, and courage triumphed over the forces of darkness. Last, and most importantly of all, Poland is where St. Faustina lived, the humble nun who received the message and vision of Jesus’ Divine Mercy and shared it with the world through a devotion that offers a remedy to the many spiritual troubles that afflict humanity. Unfortunately, the pilgrimage was cancelled but the feast of Divine Mercy, the feast we celebrate today, remains one of my favorites.
Divine Mercy is something I have received throughout my life; God has been so good and patient with me, in the sacraments of the Church and also through the goodness of others who have forgiven my faults and failings. I am continually humbled by the way I get to be a minster of mercy as a priest, offering God’s forgiveness through the sacrament of confession. But sometimes Divine Mercy is scandalous. We humans have a limit to our mercy; there are some sins we simply cannot forgive. This feast day reminds us that this is not the case with God, who gives his mercy to those who need it the most but deserve it the least.
Consider the story of Rudolf Hoess. Hoess was raised Catholic but as a young man he renounced his Faith and pledged his allegiance to Nazism after hearing one of Hitler’s speeches. He was one of the earliest members of the Nazi party and made a name for himself by his ruthless oversight of Dachau concentration camp. In recognition of his complete allegiance to Nazi views, he was named the commandant of Auschwitz, a living hell of darkness, cruelty, and evil where as many as 2000 innocent people an hour were put to death. It is estimated that Hoess was responsible for the death of 2.5 million people. Auschwitz is also where St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, and many other priests and nuns were martyred for their Catholic faith. The sins of Hoess continue to affect families and countries today and his evil choices changed world history and created wounds that will never fully heal.
After the Nazi regime fell, Hoess was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death. He spent his final days in a prison in the same city in Poland where Pope St. John Paul II was born and raised. During his imprisonment, Hoess experienced his first taste of Divine Mercy from the guards who watched over him. They were men, chosen from the friends and family members of those who died at Auschwitz. Hoess expected to be tortured and beaten as retribution for what he had done but was instead shown a kindness and dignity he had not earned or deserved. This mercy led to a conversion of heart. He wrote: “In Polish prisons I experienced for the first time what human kindness is. Despite all that has happened I have experienced humane treatment which I could never have expected, and which has deeply shamed me.”
In prison, Hoess came to realize that everything he had lived, worked, and killed for was based on a hateful lie and he repented. He said: “I have inflicted terrible wounds on humanity. I have caused unspeakable suffering for the Polish people in particular. I am to pay for this with my life. May the Lord God forgive one day what I have done.”
On Good Friday, April 4, 1947, awaiting execution, Hoess asked to see a Catholic priest. The authorities had trouble finding one who spoke German, but Hoess happened to remember the name of one: Fr. Władysław Lohn. Years ago, the Gestapo had arrested several Jesuits and sent them to Auschwitz. Fr. Lohn, the community’s superior, happened to be absent at the time of the arrest. When he found out what happened to his brothers, he snuck into Auschwitz to find them. When the guards noticed Fr. Lohn, they took him to Hoess to decide his fate. Impressed by his bravery, Hoess released the priest unharmed.
Though it took many days, Fr. Lohn was located in nearby Krakow. He happened to be praying at the Shrine of Divine Mercy, where St. Faustina was buried. On April 10, 1947, three days before Divine Mercy Sunday, Fr. Lohn heard Hoess’ Confession. The next day, Hoess received Holy Communion. Afterward, he knelt in his cell and wept. Five days later, he was executed, dying in God’s grace.
Isn’t God’s mercy scandalous? I think so! Did Rudolf Hoess deserve the mercy he was given? Absolutely not! This man was responsible for the death of millions of people. He oversaw one of the darkest and most evil places that ever existed. And yet he repented. Can we doubt the sincerity of his repentance? Maybe. But that must be left to God. What we cannot doubt is that God can and will forgive any sin if we are truly sorry, if we truly desire his mercy. The only sins which cannot be forgiven are the ones we hold on to and hide, the ones we refuse to confess. What actually changed the heart of this mass killer was mercy, first from his guards who represented his victims and then from God in the sacrament of confession. Mercy and grace achieve things that no court, punishment, or human effort can. Divine Mercy makes possible the impossible, it heals in ways that no one and nothing else can.
This is the message of Divine Mercy. No sin is unforgivable. No sin is greater than God’s mercy. Even the commandant of Auschwitz can be forgiven. This is the scandal of Divine Mercy. This is the infinite depth of God’s love. This is God’s unquenchable desire that all people be saved and live with him in eternal happiness. And while none of us have sinned in the way Rudolf Hoess did, we have each received the Lord’s mercy long before we did anything to deserve it. In fact we can never earn or deserve it; it is always a gift.
Let us praise God who loves us so generously and mercifully. Let us receive Divine Mercy humbly and often. And let us make sure and show the same mercy to those around us, even to those who have hurt us deeply. Perhaps God will use us to begin their conversion and bring them back to life and friendship with Him!
