Second Sunday of Easter (or Sunday of Divine Mercy)
Lectionary: 43
Reading 1
They devoted themselves
to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life,
to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.
Awe came upon everyone,
and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
All who believed were together and had all things in common;
they would sell their property and possessions
and divide them among all according to each one’s need.
Every day they devoted themselves
to meeting together in the temple area
and to breaking bread in their homes.
They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart,
praising God and enjoying favor with all the people.
And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
Responsorial Psalm
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 2
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ,
who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,
kept in heaven for you
who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith,
to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time.
In this you rejoice, although now for a little while
you may have to suffer through various trials,
so that the genuineness of your faith,
more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire,
may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Although you have not seen him you love him;
even though you do not see him now yet believe in him,
you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,
as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord;
blessed are they who have not seen me, but still believe!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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.
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
CHRIST HAS RISEN!
HE HAS TRULY RISEN!
Today we celebrate the Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday. As it is written on the Divine Mercy Website:
In a series of revelations to
St. Maria Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s, our Lord called for a
special feast day to be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. Today, we
know that feast as Divine Mercy Sunday, named by Pope St. John Paul II at
the canonization of St. Faustina on April 30, 2000.
The Lord expressed His will with regard to this feast in His very first
revelation to St. Faustina. The most comprehensive revelation can be found
in her Diary entry 699:
My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and a shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day are opened all the divine floodgates through which graces flow. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My mercy.
So, it is through our Lord Savior Jesus Christ that we arrive at this day, and it is through Him that we are invited to partake in His mercy. Jesus, who gave up everything so that our sins may be forgiven and that we may obtain eternal life, now beckons us constantly and endlessly to come forward and take more: to receive His Divine Mercy and constant flow of grace that pours down us, only interrupted if we decide to prevent in from cascading our bodies and entering our souls. This is how awesome our God truly is: where mercy is the key element, coupled with love, that defines the perfect relationship that He wants with us. It is not only something that He wants but is something that He pines for.
Divine Mercy Sunday is a befitting celebration for the Easter Season, for it reminds us that, if we truly seek forgiveness, it will be freely given, since Jesus Christ died for us and was then resurrected from the dead, thus conquering death and bringing us eternal life. Henceforth, we can be counted among the Children of the Resurrection if we choose to do so. This takes action on our part. Yes, we have already done a lot: carrying our own crosses throughout the Lenten Season, uniting ourselves to the Crucified Christ, contemplating our brokenness, all the while confronting our sinful nature. Then came the Resurrection. It is through the Resurrection that we found joy. The darkness was overcome by the light. That light was Jesus Christ. Through the Resurrection, we not only became witnesses to the light, but are invited to walk into it and become part of it. As Jesus said,
“Remain in me and I will remain in you.”
The kingdom of God is truly inside of us, for we are God’s children created in His image. Jesus has also told us that He remains inside of us, thus we become vessels for the Holy Spirit also. The Love of God can and will inflame us, setting us on fire during our spiritual journey to him on this earth, just as Thomas was the first of Jesus’ followers to exclaim the full divinity of Jesus Christ with the words, “MY LORD AND MY GOD.” This was a short time after Thomas jealously rebuked the other disciples when they tried to tell him that the Resurrected Jesus appeared to them. It was the Holy Spirit that opened his eyes and led Him to believe that which, ironically enough, no one else could see. That same Holy Spirit, the love of God, is at work inside all of us and has the capacity to transform ourselves into something greater than we can ever realize as a result.
As the apostle Peter reminded us in his letter today, there is cause for rejoicing here. Know that all the good stuff comes from God, so there must be some sort of joy when entering relationship with Him. It is impossible not to experience it when the scales finally fall from our eyes and we then become witnesses to what has been revealed to the Apostles, disciples, and ultimately to all of God’s creation. We are receivers of everything: God’s love, God’s Grace, Jesus’ Divine Mercy, and eternal life. Nothing can compare to that which has been given to us freely. And so, let us continue the Resurrection Celebration as a result and journey with Jesus into Eternity.
Deacon Tom
