Second Sunday of Easter ( Divine Mercy Sunday)
Misericordia sicut pater!
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 Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name (Jn20:19-31). Taken from today’s Sunday gospel for Mercy Sunday C.
1. The Divine Mercy Sunday became an official celebration in the Catholic Church in the year 2000 with the canonisation of St. Maria Faustina by Pope John-Paul II. Between the First and the Second World War, a polish nun, Faustina received a series of apparitions of Jesus. In these apparitions Jesus revealed his attribute as merciful God who wants humanity to have recourse to his mercy for forgiveness of sins. He revealed that his mercy can forgive every sin. This teaching was not favourably received by the Church. In 1950 the message was officially banned by Rome. However with the papacy of John-Paul II, a Polish like Faustina who personally experienced the power of the Divine Mercy devotion, the message came back to life. He canonized Faustina and approved Jesus’ request through her that every second Sunday of Easter be celebrated as Divine Mercy Sunday.
2. Today’s first and second readings put forward God’s abundant mercy for humanity through the ministry of the apostles. He bestowed on the apostles the power to heal every sickness. Through them, the early christians lived in love and solidarity, mercifully sharing their goods with those in need (Act2:42-47). They were merciful like the Father. These actions were the visible signs of their faith (1Pet1:3-9).
3. The Gospel shows that the mercy of God goes beyond the relief of physical sufferings. After rising from the dead his first word to his disciples was: peace be with you. But peace can only abide with hearts that are free from sin. That was why the Angels’ song at the night of nativity was : “peace to people of God will whose conducts are pleasing to God.” Jesus knew how difficult it would be for sinful humanity to be truly pleasing to God. Consequently he he instituted the sacrament of reconciliation by conferring on his apostles the power to forgive sins: “receive the Holy Spirit, whoever sins you forgive are forgiven.”
4. God’s mercy wants people to have access to forgiveness simply by personal confession of their sins to his ministers. Personal confession of sin to priests is not new. It was already there in Leviticus 5:5ff. The teaching of Christ only simplified it. Some people, like Thomas in today’s gospel still doubt the intention of Christ in giving the power to forgive sins to his apostles. So many arguments are put forward against it. But Jesus said it clearly that he is the Alpha and Omega (Rev1:8). Who then can disprove what he has approved? Those who put up the arguments against confession forget that every other sacrament of the Church, be it Catholic, Protestant or Pentecostal is given by a minister of the Church: Baptism, Confirmation, Anointing of the sick, Holy Orders, Eucharist and that Matrimony require the presence of a minister for its validity. So why do such people think that penance should be an exception?
5. The merciful Jesus desires that you pray for his mercy especially through the three o’clock prayer for mercy. He desires that you understand that he is so merciful that none of your sins is beyond his mercy if you have recourse to him. He desires that you have simple access to his mercy through the sacrament of reconciliation. Over and above all, the merciful Jesus wants you to be merciful to your brothers and sisters in humanity: caring forothers and sharing your goods with the needy. Be merciful like your heavenly father. Misericordia sicut pater!
