Deacon Tom Anthony

 

Second Sunday of Easter

 

Sunday of Divine Mercy

 

Lectionary: 44

 

 

Reading I

 

Acts 4:32-35

 

The community of believers was of one heart and mind,

 

and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,

 

but they had everything in common.

 

With great power the apostles bore witness

 

to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,

 

and great favor was accorded them all.

 

There was no needy person among them,

 

for those who owned property or houses would sell them,

 

bring the proceeds of the sale,

 

and put them at the feet of the apostles,

 

and they were distributed to each according to need.

 

 

Responsorial Psalm

 

118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24

 

R.  (1) Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.

 

or:

 

R.  Alleluia.

 

Let the house of Israel say,

 

    “His mercy endures forever.”

 

Let the house of Aaron say,

 

    “His mercy endures forever.”

 

Let those who fear the LORD say,

 

    “His mercy endures forever.”

 

R.  Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.

 

or:

 

R.  Alleluia.

 

I was hard pressed and was falling,

 

    but the LORD helped me.

 

My strength and my courage is the LORD,

 

    and he has been my savior.

 

The joyful shout of victory

 

    in the tents of the just:

 

R.  Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.

 

or:

 

R.  Alleluia.

 

The stone which the builders rejected

 

    has become the cornerstone.

 

By the LORD has this been done;

 

    it is wonderful in our eyes.

 

This is the day the LORD has made;

 

    let us be glad and rejoice in it.

 

R.  Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.

 

or:

 

R.  Alleluia.

 

 

Reading II

 

1 Jn 5:1-6

 

Beloved:

 

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God,

 

and everyone who loves the Father

 

loves also the one begotten by him.

 

In this way we know that we love the children of God

 

when we love God and obey his commandments.

 

For the love of God is this,

 

that we keep his commandments.

 

And his commandments are not burdensome,

 

for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.

 

And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.

 

Who indeed is the victor over the world

 

but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

 

 

This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ,

 

not by water alone, but by water and blood.

 

The Spirit is the one that testifies,

 

and the Spirit is truth.

 

 

Alleluia

 

Jn 20:29

 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord;

 

Blessed are those who have not seen me, but still believe!

 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gospel

 

Jn 20:19-31

 

On the evening of that first day of the week,

 

when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,

 

for fear of the Jews,

 

Jesus came and stood in their midst

 

and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

 

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

 

The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

 

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.

 

As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

 

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,

 

“Receive the Holy Spirit.

 

Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,

 

and whose sins you retain are retained.”

 

 

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,

 

was not with them when Jesus came.

 

So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

 

But he said to them,

 

“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands

 

and put my finger into the nailmarks

 

and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

 

 

Now a week later his disciples were again inside

 

and Thomas was with them.

 

Jesus came, although the doors were locked,

 

and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”

 

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,

 

and bring your hand and put it into my side,

 

and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”

 

Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

 

Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?

 

Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

 

 

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples

 

that are not written in this book.

 

But these are written that you may come to believe

 

that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,

 

and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

 

 

 

 

As the faithful prepare to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, it is important to review the meaning and historical significance of the day. On the Second Sunday of Easter of the Jubilee Year 2000, at the Mass for the Canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska, Pope John Paul II declared the Sunday after Easter be called “Divine Mercy Sunday.”

 

St. Faustina was a Polish nun who received visions from Jesus, including one of Jesus wearing a white garment with beams of red and white coming from His heart, which came to be known as the image of Divine Mercy. She wrote in her diary that He said:

 

I want the Image to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it…

 

My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy.

 

Divine Mercy Image According to the vision, those who receive communion and attend confession on the Feast of Mercy receive total forgiveness of sins.

 

Pope John Paul II discussed the significance of the image of Divine Mercy in his homily for the canonization of St. Faustina:

 

From that Heart [of Christ], Sr. Faustina Kowalska, the blessed whom from now on we will call a saint, will see two rays of light shining from that heart and illuminating the world. “The two rays”, Jesus Himself explained to her one day, “represent blood and water” (Diary, entry 299).

 

Blood and water! We immediately think of the testimony given by the Evangelist John, who, when a soldier on Calvary pierced Christ’s side with his spear, sees blood and water flowing from it (see Jn 19:34). Moreover, if the blood recalls the sacrifice of the Cross and the gift of the Eucharist, the water, in Johannine symbolism, represents not only Baptism but also the gift of the Holy Spirit (see Jn 3:5; 4:14; 7:37-39).

 

Divine Mercy Sunday focuses on the gift of mercy and love given through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. As Pope John Paul II stated, “Divine Mercy reaches human beings through the heart of Christ crucified.”

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

 

We are now in the midst of The Easter Season which lasts for fifty days. Fifty days of celebrating The Resurrection of Our Lord Savior Jesus Christ. During this season the standard greeting is, “CHRIST IS RISEN!”  From which comes the response, HE HAS TRULY RISEN!” Even though we are already encouraged to focus on Jesus Christ all of our days it is during this season where we are engaged more fully. Just like in Lent where the focus was on The Crucified Christ we are now completely focused on The Resurrected Christ. Our sins are washed away. We have been redeemed and resurrected with Christ. We have stepped out of the darkness and into the light!

 

On this Second Sunday of Easter, which is Divine Mercy Sunday, our attention is brought to Jesus’ everlasting mercy, His Divine Mercy, which continuously pours forth into all of creation. To receive the blessings of Jesus’ Mercy and His love we only have to be open to receive it. There are no preconditions. Jesus offers it. All we have to do is take it. Jesus instructed Saint Faustina to spread the message of His Divine Mercy to the entire world and to remind everyone of His crucifixion, death, and resurrection. He did this all for us and the giving does not stop there. As Jesus told His disciples: “Remain in me and I will remain in you.” He will never abandon us and He will always be at our side to offer comfort, hope, mercy, and love.

 

 

Just as Jesus Christ has given everything to us we are asked to live our lives after His example. As God’s Children we must treat our fellow brothers and sisters as Jesus has treated us: with love, tenderness, compassion, and above all mercy. Acts of charity and love are a necessity in our lives as a reaction to our faith. Christ was the perfect example of charity, and even though we are not perfect, we need to use His example to structure our lives. We cannot keep Jesus separate from our daily living. Those who do so display a type of faith that is dead; far from being alive. As the Apostle James said, “ Faith without works is dead.” The Divine Mercy of Jesus pours over us and it is our duty to let it flow out of us and over all those whom we interact with. These actions invite all peoples within God’s Creation into Christian Community; a shared experience that leads all to salvation. This is what Jesus wants for all of God’s Children: salvation and eternal life.

 

As Christians we live in this world but are indeed separate from it. There is a definite divide between what God offers and what society, created by man, offers. The lesser is pretty obvious and I feel that we all can agree that we have witnessed some pretty bad things that have happened in this world. Aligning ourselves with Jesus Christ immediately puts us above all of the disarray and chaos in the world. We become victors over all that is evil by just following Jesus Christ. Being claimed by Christ means that we will be drawn towards Him and drawn to doing the right thing: obeying God’s commandments, loving our neighbor, and loving God. When we are drawn to the good it is easier to dispel that which is bad.

 

This will not always be easy. A relationship with Jesus Christ can be as difficult as any relationship. Overcoming these barriers between us and a closer relationship with Him takes a lot of time and dedication; but it is indeed worth it. We can find comfort in the fact Jesus’ disciples were challenged in many of the same ways that we might find ourselves at one time or another. Jesus knew this early on and offered many insights and miracles for them to be witness to so as to strengthen their faith. This is why He appeared to them several times after His resurrection: they needed enforcement, strengthening of their faith, and hope. Was it wrong that they doubted the divinity of Jesus? I would say no. It was human nature and it was expected. Jesus forgave Peter for His doubts. Jesus forgave those who fled during His crucifixion. Jesus also forgave Thomas for His denial. At the core of all of these actions was Jesus’ love and mercy. What He did becomes an example to us all: love and mercy.

 

Jesus further demonstrates that, as Christians, failure becomes an opportunity. Failure actually puts us in a better position to serve Jesus. Jesus does not want us to enter service in a perfected state. Far from that, He wants us to come forward scarred by sin and broken. It is where we can encounter the healing love that Jesus has for us and His Divine Mercy. We can then see the obvious difference of a life with Him and a life without Him. Us, being soldiers of Christ, are of the veteran sort who have been tried and hardened by the evils that we have battled. It is Jesus’ preference that He does the work of healing and molding of us into new creations. Our job is to react to the healing then act upon His presence. We ourselves become shining examples of Jesus’ Mercy.

 

Take a moment to consider how dismissive The Apostle Thomas was of the resurrection testimony of the other disciples. After all of the time and experiences they had together and there was still an immediate distrust of what they had to say. Furthermore, Thomas could not fathom The Resurrected Christ. He was still a work in progress and possibly needed a little push over the top to achieve full enlightenment. He even made the fairly brash statement, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” In much the same way we all will need a little push when it comes to our faith at one time or another. Jesus understands this and is willing to give us that push. With the push He gave to The Apostle Thomas he was able to be the first exclaim the divinity of Jesus Christ, “My Lord and my God!” Instead of rebuking Thomas for his unbelief Jesus showed Him mercy and love, giving Him what he needed to overcome his unbelief. Imagine what Jesus has in store for us who did not have the opportunity to break bread with The Human Christ! Through His personal interaction with His disciples before and after the resurrection we are given a glimpse of what we can expect from Him. He loves us all and is not afraid to show it.

 

The Resurrected Christ is with us. We are receivers of the Holy Spirit through our baptism, The Eucharist, and Confirmation. The Kingdom of God is within us and Jesus remains with us. Keeping focus on The Resurrected Christ while remembering The Crucified Christ gives us the opportunity of putting Jesus Christ first in our lives. This will clear away all of the obstacles that we have stacked us between us and Jesus. The result will be the shower of Divine Mercy that will rain down upon us every moment of our lives. We will then embrace the words of the Easter Hymn:

 

 Psalm 136

136:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

136:2 O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.

136:3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.

136:4 To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.

136:5 To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.

136:6 To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.

136:7 To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:

136:8 The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:

136:9 The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.

136:10 To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever:

136:11 And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever:

136:12 With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.

136:13 To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever:

136:14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever:

136:15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.

136:16 To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever.

136:17 To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:

136:18 And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:

136:19 Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever:

136:20 And Og the king of Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever:

136:21 And gave their land for an heritage: for his mercy endureth for ever:

136:22 Even an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy endureth for ever.

136:23 Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever:

136:24 And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever.

136:25 Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.

136:26 O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.

 

 

 

Just as it was with the first Christian Communities we all must be of one mind and one spirit. Everyone needs to be welcomed and loved through our actions and our words.  To be Christian means to live our lives according to Christ and this must be taken seriously. No, we are not perfect. Yes, we are sinners, but that does not excuse ourselves from opening our minds, hearts, and spirit to Jesus Christ. Together we all can become exemplars of the faith; overcoming any obstacle that we are confronted with through prayer, devotion, and love.

 

Working together without judgment creates the necessary support unit to overcome the influences of Satan and a society that offers too many pathways to sin and destruction. When someone finds themselves in crisis he or she can find the necessary help and love to subvert a moment of weakness to continue forward in their journey of faith. Through a community of believers Christianity becomes a lifestyle instead of a destination one only goes to on a given Sunday. Successes are celebrated while failures are corrected through prayer and hard work. There is no judgment; only assistance and love.

 

Our faith must become the pinnacle of our existence and needs to influence everything in this life of ours if we are to be truly known as Christian. There can be no limits to our faith set by judging other people or choosing when to help or love someone in need. We must be open and accepting just as Jesus Christ who made it a point to say, “For I did not come to call the righteous but sinners…” We come to him as sinners; each and every one of us. There is no one who is truly righteous. That was the point Jesus was making. Those who think they are righteous are truly blind. Gathering in a community of sinners with each person trying to lift the other one up offers all an opportunity at a better life through Jesus Christ and a better way to live by acting out the Living word of God. To fulfill our duty as Christians we must participate in our community and serve our community as well as be served. It is when we give everything in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and share in the experience of being unburdened by materialism and the dictates of society that the full revelation of Jesus Christ can be experienced. Living and growing with Jesus is how God wanted us to participate in this gift of life of ours.

 

We learn of Thomas’ revelation in the Gospel Reading today. Even though his faith was tested by the news of Jesus’ Resurrection, he was the first disciple to recognize Jesus for who he was as he exclaimed, “My Lord my God!” It should be comforting to us all that Thomas, a following of Jesus and one who witnessed most of Jesus’ miracles and teachings can easily lose faith yet gain it once again and be the first to testify to the divinity of Jesus. We all should be able to relate to this through our own life experiences. I feel that we can all talk about times when we have turned away from God

then returned to him broken, bewildered, yet overcome with emotion at the opportunity of redemption.

 

It is our duty to take these experiences and the wisdom gained from our journey and share them with others within our community. Nothing should remain private. Christianity is not only a personal experience but a community one. It is through the community that we can then build up the Kingdom of God one person at a time.

 

Deacon Tom

 

My sisters and brothers in the Lord,

 

Blesses are those who have not seen and have believed!  Jesus is clear in his words to Saint Thomas.  On the other hand, he accepts the doubts of Thomas, allows Thomas to touch Him and continues to be the friend of Thomas.

 

There are so many ways in which we could be closer to our Lord Jesus.  We cannot do everything at once.  Like Thomas, we must accept our defects and also acknowledge them before the Lord.

 

The first reading today is from the Acts of the Apostles and the basic teaching is this:  The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and they had everything in common.

 

We also know that this ideal state did not last for long before some began to withdraw from it or even to misuse it.  There are still religious communities today which try to live this way.  Most of us, however, share our goods with the causes that we find to be good.  Sometimes it is good to reflect that God shares Himself with both the good and the evil.  God gives to all.

 

The second reading is from the First Letter of Saint John.  The words that might touch us deeply today are these:  “The love of God is this, that we keep his commandments.”  Today so many people reject any kind of commandment, any kind of imposition from without.  If we ever want to know God, we must be open to allowing Him into our hearts.  God always brings commandments of one type or another.  If there are no commandments, then we are deluding ourselves about God.

 

Today’s Gospel is from Saint John.  Jesus has just been raised from the dead.  Now Jesus begins to appear to various of his followers.  He appears to His disciples and gives them the Holy Spirit.  This Gospel relates to us that Thomas was not present and would not believe the testimony of those who were.  This Thomas is hard headed.  So are so many of us today.  We find it difficult to accept the testimony of others, especially if we have doubts about what they are saying.  We want to see and touch and decide on our own and not just believe because someone else told me so.  This lack of faith has always been present, both within the Church and outside the Church.

 

Our Christian faith is handed down by others.  We come to know Christ, normally, from the testimony of others.  We can accept the New Testament writing about Christ, but all of them are the testimony of others.

 

This first week of the Resurrection, we place our lives and our faith in the hands of others and ask that they may learn and we may learn:  all for the glory of God.

 

Your brother in the Lord,

 

Abbot Philip