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,
We continue our Easter Celebration with this Second Sunday of Easter, which is named Divine Mercy Sunday. In the year 2000, at the canonization Mass for St. Faustina, Pope Saint John Paul II announced that the Second Sunday of Easter would now be known as Divine Mercy Sunday. It must be made clear that this was not done in order to establish a way of honoring St. Faustina, but to emphasize the meaning of the Resurrection and the depths of God’s great mercy and love that is made available to all of His creation. Divine Mercy Sunday is not a new feast day because the Second Sunday of Easter has always been a solemnity known as the Octave Day of Easter. Saint Faustina was a Roman Catholic Nun who was visited by Jesus and had many conversations with Him, which led to the publication of her diary. It was also through these conversations that we received the gift of the Divine Mercy painting, and this Divine Mercy Sunday. Jesus emphasized to Faustina this His mercy was boundless and continuously pours out into the world. It permeates throughout God’s creation with His love.
We are receivers of this mercy and love, for we are His children, and we are saved. Salvation is not earned. It is freely given, and it has been given to us. As Paul wrote so beautifully in his letter to the Colossians,
“If, then, you have risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your hearts on heavenly things, not the things that are on earth.”
If we seek these things, we will find them as Jesus promised. We will also be able to experience this life the way God intended us to, bathed in His love. Saint Peter tells us that our faith is more precious than gold and that what awaits us is beyond comprehension. With that in mind, we must encourage each other in our faith, spread the good news, pursue wisdom, and perform acts of charity in the name of Jesus. These things, done in reaction to our faith, will open the door of our hearts and will let the Holy Spirit wash over us. We were created out of love to be loved and to love. When we love and are open to being loved, then we are working with God’s creation. When we do negative things or think negatively, we are working against God and His entire creation.
In the Gospel Reading today, Jesus gave His Apostles the Gift of the Holy Spirit. It was an intimate moment. He breathed on them gently and gave them the encouragement and strength that they were going to need to carry on their mission. This is the type of relationship that we can have with our God and should have. There will be times, just as it was with the Apostle Thomas, that we will display a lack of faith or be negatively challenged in some sort of way. Being open to the same Holy Spirit working in all of us, we will be able to have our faith strengthened and can triumph over all that opposes us. Thomas, doubtful and more than a little envious of his friends because of his own absence, became the first one to exclaim the divinity of Jesus, “MY LORD AND MY GOD!” We are all capable of having that moment where our doubts and shortcomings can be washed away by Jesus’ love and Divine Mercy.
Jesus further demonstrates that, as Christians, failure becomes an opportunity. Failure 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 between 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.
Deacon Tom
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