II
Sunday of Easter- Divine Mercy Sunday (A)
Mass Readings: Acts
2:42-47 Ps 118 1 Pet 1:3-9
Jn 20:19-31
Key Verse to Meditate:
Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed
are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." (Jn 20:29).
My dear brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
On this Second Sunday of Easter, the Church celebrates the boundless mercy
of God, traditionally known as Divine Mercy Sunday, as instituted by St. Pope
John Paul II in 2000. Divine Mercy Sunday is rooted in the private revelations
of Saint Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938) who shared Jesus’ request to establish a
Feast of Mercy on the Sunday after Easter. Thus, on April 30, 2000, Pope John
Paul II canonized her and officially instituted this feast for the entire
Church. The Risen Jesus comes to reveal to us the depth of God’s love and
compassion for every human being. Through the shedding of His precious Blood,
He assures us that every sin can be forgiven. God desires that all people
experience His mercy and be renewed by His love.
The First Reading: The Early Christian Community: A Living Witness of Mercy
The Liturgy of the Word today presents to us the life of the early
Christian community after the Resurrection. In the first reading, we see how
the apostles, under the leadership of Peter, formed a vibrant and faith-filled
community. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to
the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Their
life together became a powerful witness to others. Many were amazed at the
unity, love, and simplicity of this new community. As the Acts of the Apostles
beautifully summarizes: “Day by day, as they spent much time together in the
temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous
hearts… and day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being
saved” (Acts 2:46–47). This community was a living expression of God’s
mercy—shared, experienced, and proclaimed.
The Second Reading: A Living Hope Through the Resurrection
In the second reading, St. Peter praises God for the gift of the
Resurrection, which gives us a new birth into a living hope: “By His great
mercy He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet 1:3). He also highlights a profound truth
of Christian faith: believing without seeing: “Although you have not seen Him,
you love Him… you believe in Him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious
joy” (1 Pet 1:8). This prepares us to understand the Gospel, where faith is
tested and deepened.
The Gospel Reading: The
Gift of "Shalom": Peace Over Fear:
After the death of Jesus, the apostles were
filled with fear and confusion. They locked themselves in a room, afraid of
what might happen to them. Though they had spent three years with Jesus, they
had not fully understood His words and promises. Yet, in their moment of fear,
Jesus comes to them. He does not abandon them. Instead, He stands among them
and offers His first and greatest gift: “Peace be with you” (Jn 20:19, 21). It
is exactly as Scripture says: when the disciples were hiding for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood among them, announcing peace and offering the gift of His
presence.
Similarly, when the disciples were overwhelmed by
the troubling winds of the sea, Jesus stood up and said, “Peace! Be still!” (Mk
4:39), and there was a great calm. The peace of Christ is not the absence of
conflict, but the presence of God in the midst of it.
The phrase ‘Closed doors’ could be a sign of
fear, guilt, sin, discouragement. But these do not prevent Christ from coming
in. This fear of the Jews was also the fear born of the absence of their Lord—a
fear of life, despair, and uncertainty that locked them within the safety of
four walls. But Jesus does not allow us to remain in fear and despair. He comes
to meet us in our concrete situations of sin, loss, and hopelessness. He enters
into our fear. Mercy begins where human strength ends. The Risen Lord came not
to condemn their unfaithfulness or their lack of courage and love for their
Master, but to restore peace.
The Wounds that Heal: Mercy is Visible:
For the first time, the evangelist clearly presents the details of the
crucified Jesus: “He showed them His hands and His side” (Jn 20:20). Jesus did
not hide the wounds of His suffering; rather, He transformed them. The wounds
were not erased but became the source of mercy and healing. This is the
biblical foundation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The first
"task" of the Risen Lord is the institutionalization of mercy and
forgiveness.
On Divine Mercy Sunday, we emphasize that God’s
mercy is an active force intended to restore the community. Thus, forgiveness becomes
the "breath" of the Church. The wounds were the sign of Christ’s
sacrificial love on the Cross. In fact, in the image of Divine Mercy, the rays
of blood and water flow from these very wounds. The wounds of Christ are the
source of our healing.
By revealing His wounds, He assures them that it
is truly He—the same Lord who was crucified, now risen and alive. The disciples
come to understand that the wounds of Christ are not signs of defeat, but doors
of mercy. This encounter transforms their fear into joy: “The disciples
rejoiced when they saw the Lord” (Jn 20:20). Where there is fear, Christ brings
peace and where there is sin, Christ brings mercy.
Our wounds, when united with Christ, do not
disappear but are transfigured. They become signs of victory and empathy rather
than shame. Like the apostles and like St. Thomas, We often try to hide our
brokenness from God. Yet, it is through the wounds of Jesus that Thomas found
faith, and it is through our own "healed scars" that we often become
witness to others.
Mission Flows from Mercy: After
showing His wounds, Jesus once again shared the gift of peace with His
disciples and said, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (Jn 20:21).
Until now, they were behind closed doors; but having encountered the Risen
Lord, they must now return to their mission. The encounter with the Risen Lord
leads us to mission. It is the same Jesus who once sent the Twelve Apostles and
the seventy-two disciples; now, as the Risen Saviour, He sends them again on a
clear mission, accompanied by the Holy Spirit.
After Pentecost, these fear-filled apostles are
transformed into Spirit-filled disciples who boldly bear witness to the Risen
Lord. “We cannot encounter the Risen Lord, receive His mercy, and remain
unchanged—we must become mercy.”
The Gift of the Holy Spirit and the Sacrament of Mercy
Jesus then breathes on them and says: “Receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn 20:22).
With this gift, He entrusts them with a profound mission—the forgiveness of
sins: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them” (Jn 20:23). This
is the biblical foundation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The first
"task" of the Risen Lord is the institutionalization of mercy. Through
the apostles and their successors, Christ continues to forgive, heal, and
restore His people. Forgiveness is the "breath" of the Church. The
Divine Mercy Sunday rests on this aspect of unconditional forgiveness for the
sinner as did the earthly Christ. Through the forgiveness of the sins and
healing, Christ restored people back into the believing community (Mk 2:5; Mt
9:2; Lk 5:20).
Thomas: The Journey From Doubt to Faith
The Gospel then presents us with the well-known
figure of Thomas. Often called “Doubting Thomas,” he was, in fact, a sincere
and courageous apostle who longed for a personal encounter with the Risen Lord.
When told about Jesus’ resurrection, he insisted, “Unless I see… I will not
believe” (Jn 20:25). In this, Thomas reveals not stubborn disbelief, but a deep
sincerity in matters of faith. This very quality moves him from merely hearing
about a “ghost” to personally encountering and touching the reality of God.
The Apostle Thomas represents many of us—honest,
searching, wounded, and sincere in our desire to encounter Christ and
experience His healing touch. “Unless I see… I will not believe” echoes the cry
of every human heart that seeks certainty in faith. Yet doubt in itself is not
the opposite of faith; rather, it can become a path to a deeper relationship
with God. Even those called by God have experienced moments of doubt—Moses, the
prophet Samuel, the Judges, and the prophets of the Old Testament; and in the
New Testament, Zechariah, Joseph, and even Mother Mary.
God does not simply remove our doubts; He
strengthens us to understand them and to respond with trust. Jesus meets Thomas
where he is—without rejection or condemnation. His invitation to Thomas to
touch His wounds is, in fact, an invitation into intimacy. He does not dismiss
Thomas, but gently calls him forward: “Do not doubt but believe” (Jn 20:27). In
this profound encounter, Thomas makes one of the most beautiful professions of
faith in the Gospel: “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28). His doubt is transformed
into a deeper, more personal faith—a faith born not merely of seeing, but of
encountering the living Lord.
Blessed Are Those Who Believe
Jesus then proclaims a blessing that reaches across time to each one of us:
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (Jn 20:29). We
may not see Jesus with our physical eyes, yet through faith, through His Word,
and through the Sacraments, we encounter Him in a real and living way—most
especially in the proclamation of the Word and in the celebration of the
Sacraments. This is the beauty of Christian faith—we believe, and therefore we
rejoice.
Conclusion: Living the Mercy, We Receive
Dear brothers and sisters, Divine Mercy Sunday reminds us that no sin is
greater than God’s mercy, and no situation is beyond His healing love. Like the
apostles, we may experience fear, doubt, and confusion. Like Thomas, we may
struggle in our faith. Yet the Risen Lord comes to us again and again, saying: “Peace
be with you.”
He does not reject us in
our weakness; rather, He meets us there, transforms us, and sends us out as
witnesses of His mercy. Today, let us ask ourselves:
- Do I trust in God’s mercy in my life?
- Do I bring my doubts and struggles to Jesus?
- Do I become an instrument of mercy to others?
Let us not only receive
God’s mercy but also share it—with forgiveness, compassion, and love.
May the Risen Lord fill
our hearts with His peace, strengthen our faith, and make us living witnesses
of His Divine Mercy-Amen.
