2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)
(Sunday 23rd April 2017)
Jesus invites us to receive His fount of Mercy – (John 20:19-31)
This Sunday we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. We see in the Gospel for today the wonderful mercy of the Lord when He comes back and appears to Thomas. Thomas was not with the others when Jesus appeared first and so He refused to believe until He could see Jesus for himself and touch the wounds on Christ’s body. When Jesus appeared eight days later, Thomas was with the others and Jesus greeted them with the same greeting: “Peace be with you.” Then turning to Thomas He invited him to touch His wounds and place his hand in His side. In this we see the great and infinite mercy of Jesus. He went to meet Thomas where he was at in his own life. In the midst of Thomas’ struggles and doubts there Jesus stood among Him and showed Him His wounds to remind Thomas just how much He loves him.
For us, Thomas stands as a wonderful example. No matter where we are in our own lives, no matter what doubts or struggles we have to face in life, there in that place Jesus stands with you as He did with Thomas. No matter what it is that holds you back in any way from God, there Jesus stands and says to you: “Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.” Jesus holds onto His wounds as a mark of the great love that He has for each one of us.
We are invited to respond to this invitation from the Lord with the same response that Thomas gave: “My Lord and my God.” Thomas saw the man Jesus but with the eyes of faith He professed Him as his Lord and God. We too are asked to open our eyes of faith, that we may come to see our Lord and God before us when we meet Him in His Church and in His sacraments. Today in the Gospel we hear of how Jesus instituted the sacrament of confession when He said to the Apostles: “Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained. In this sacrament we come to meet Christ Himself who meets us as He did Thomas. He meets us where we are at in our lives and invites us to receive form His fount of mercy, that infinite mercy that bring us the peace that Jesus offers in the Gospel today and a mercy too that brings us on a journey with the Lord where we come closer to Him.
Fr. Eoin Casey O.P.