27 April 2026, Divine Mercy Sunday
Unless I See - I Will Not
Believe
Introduction: May
you continue to rejoice in the Risen Lord Jesus and be visible reminders to
others that Jesus is constantly extending Divine Mercy and Love and Shalom to
all people.
Reading the books about individuals who have experienced what is commonly called “a
near-death experience,” people have clinically died, but have been brought back
to life. Of the many common experiences they share, they seem to be aware that
they are on a mission from GOD. They must proclaim the Good News of life, joy,
and Shalom, since they have had a glimpse of what eternal life is like and what
waits for other people on the other side of the door of death. That is part of
the reason that Jesus appeared to His followers following His death and
resurrection. He was giving them a foretaste of the glory of life after death
and challenging them to go out and proclaim this message to all.
Although we may
not have had a near-death experience or been visited by the glorified and
Risen Lord Jesus, we are still called to be on a mission to proclaim that Jesus
has died, Jesus is Risen, and Jesus will come again to take all the faithful
into eternal life.
Today, we
continue our celebration of Easter. Our Gospel relates the events of both
Easter Sunday and the Sunday after it. In the thought process of the Church,
today is still Easter Sunday since this majestic feast cannot be celebrated in
only one day. The readings speak of the response of those who experience the
Risen Lord Jesus. They are changed individuals who are on a mission, being sent
– “apostled” – to continue the ministry of the Risen Lord.
First Reading Acts 5:12-16: The
number of men and women who came to believe in the Lord increased steadily
Commentary: Before
he tells us of the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth, Luke, the
author of the Acts of the Apostles, tells us about the ideal community in
Jerusalem. He stresses their unity, their prayer together, their common
ownership of all their possessions, their generosity to those in need, and
their steadfastness under the persecution by the authorities who refused to
accept their message. It is the model for any Christian community, which all
our Christian communities need to strive to imitate, a real centre of the love
and confidence of Christ. In today’s reading, he tells how in the early
community the same signs and wonders of healing which Jesus himself had worked
were also worked by the apostles, and especially by Peter. It is a theme
throughout the Acts that the followers of Jesus, filled with his Spirit,
continue his work and live with his life, expressing the power of the Risen
Christ, who remains with them always. Luke also wants to underline that
Jerusalem is being given a second chance: they had rejected Jesus, but now are
given a second chance at the hands of his apostles, the witnesses to his
resurrection. Hence the comment that the number of believers increased
steadily. The martyrdom of Stephen will mark the end and the failure of this
second chance.
Responsorial Psalm 118:2-4,22-27: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his love has no end.
Psalm 118 is
used frequently during the Easter Season since it is a joyful hymn of praise
and thanksgiving to GOD, recalling the key attributes of GOD: enduring and
perpetual mercy. It also refers to the rock rejected by the builders that
becomes the cornerstone, alluding to Jesus’ death and resurrection, which become
the foundation of the new edifice of GOD.
Second Reading Apocalypse
1:9-13,17-19: I was dead, and now I am to live forever and ever
Commentary: The
Book of Revelation, the last Book of the Bible, was written to assure
Christians, struggling under persecution from the Roman Empire, that the Risen
Christ would eventually bring his Church to triumph and release them from all
sorrow and sadness. It uses extravagant cosmic imagery to emphasize God’s total
control of the universe, heaven, and earth, and all that is in them. It is very
imaginative, drawing heavily upon the imagery of the Old Testament and upon the
symbolism of numbers. The narrator is the Apostle John, exiled to the Greek
island of Patmos, and it begins with a vision of the Risen Christ in all his
glory. ‘Son of man’ was Jesus’ favourite way of referring to himself. Here, the
‘Son of man’ is also reminiscent of the Son of man in the prophet Daniel’s
vision, to whom God gives all power over the universe. The seven lampstands
(seven is the perfect number) represent the seven local Churches of Asia to
whom the Book was primarily addressed.
Gospel John 20:19-31: Eight days
later, Jesus came again and stood among them
Commentary: This
passage from John’s Gospel has all the more significance because it brings the
Gospel to a close. The story of the breakfast party with the Risen Christ on
the shore of the Lake of Galilee is a sort of appendix. The story-line of the
main Gospel ends with Thomas blurting out ‘My Lord and my God. The Gospel, therefore, ends as it began with the only two unmistakable declarations in the
New Testament of the divinity of Jesus. ‘The Word was God’ and ‘My Lord and my
God’ bracket the Gospel, showing the purpose and angle of the whole, to show
that Jesus is God. It complements the other Gospels: they show a man who is
also God, whereas this Gospel shows a God who is also man. It is with the
divine authority that Jesus confers on his Church the divine power to forgive.
Real forgiveness is indeed Godlike. It is not simply ‘forgive-and-forget’, but
forgiveness in the knowledge that a hurt has occurred. Just as a bone, broken
and merged together again, can be stronger than it was before it was broken, so
forgiveness can create a real link of love on both sides, a treasured secret of
divine graciousness between forgiver and forgiven.
Reflection: Do you know the joy of the
resurrection? The Risen Lord Jesus revealed the glory of his resurrection to
his disciples gradually and over a period of time. Even after the apostles saw
the empty tomb and heard the reports of Jesus' appearance to the women, they
were still weak in faith and fearful of being arrested by the Jewish
authorities. When Jesus appeared to them, he offered proofs of his resurrection
by showing them the wounds of his passion, his pierced hands and side. He
calmed their fears and brought them peace, the peace which reconciles sinners
and makes us friends of God.
Live and proclaim the Gospel of mercy in the power of the
Holy Spirit: Jesus did something which only love and trust can do.
He commissioned his weak and timid apostles to bring the good news of the
Gospel to the ends of the earth. This sending out of the disciples is parallel
to the sending out of Jesus by his heavenly Father. Jesus fulfilled his mission
through his perfect love and obedience to the will of his Father. He called his
first disciples, and he now calls each one of us to do the same. Just as he gave
his first disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit, so he breathes on each of us
the same Holy Spirit who equips us with new life, power, joy, and courage to
live each day as followers of the Risen Lord.
The last
apostle to meet the resurrected Lord was the first to go with him to Jerusalem
at Passover time. The apostle Thomas was a natural pessimist. When Jesus
proposed that they visit Lazarus after receiving news of his illness, Thomas
said to the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him"
(John 11:16). While Thomas deeply loved the Lord, he lacked the courage to
stand with Jesus in his passion and crucifixion. After Jesus' death, Thomas
made the mistake of withdrawing from the other apostles. He sought loneliness
rather than fellowship in his time of trial and adversity. He doubted the women
who saw the resurrected Jesus and he doubted his own fellow apostles.
Through the gift of faith, we recognize the Risen Lord and
receive new life. When Thomas finally had the courage to rejoin the
other apostles, the Lord Jesus made his presence known to him and reassured him
that he had indeed overcome death and risen again. When Thomas recognized his
Master, he believed and exclaimed that Jesus was truly Lord and truly God!
Through the gift of faith, we, too, proclaim that Jesus is our personal Lord and
our God. He died and rose that we, too, might have new life in him. The Lord
offers each of us new life in His Holy Spirit that we may know him personally
and walk in this new way of life through the power of his resurrection. Do you
believe in the good news of the Gospel and in the power of the Holy Spirit to
bring you new life, hope, and joy?
Lord Jesus
Christ, through your victory over sin and death, you have overcome all the
powers of sin and darkness. Help me to draw near to you and to trust in your
life-giving word. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and strengthen my faith in your
promises and my hope in the power of your resurrection.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Touching the Flesh, He Invokes the Word, by Augustine
of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"But when
Jesus showed Thomas the very places where he had his doubts, Thomas exclaimed,
'My Lord and my God." He touched his flesh, he proclaimed his
divinity. What did he touch? The body of Christ. Was the body of Christ the
divinity of Christ? The divinity of Christ was the Word; the humanity of Christ
was soul and flesh. Thomas could not touch the soul, but he could perceive it,
because the body that had been dead was moving about alive. But that Word is
subject neither to change nor to contact, it neither regresses nor progresses,
neither fails nor flourishes, because in the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. That is what Thomas proclaimed. He
touched the flesh, he invoked the Word, because the Word became flesh and dwelt
among us." (excerpt from Sermon 145A)
Passing on mercy
“Let those who
fear the Lord say, ‘His mercy endures forever.’ ” —Psalm 118:4
Fr. Al Lauer,
founder and longtime author of One Bread, One Body, would often on these pages
define mercy as treating someone better than they deserve. On the first Easter
evening, Jesus treated His apostles with great mercy. Though they had fled from
Him when He was arrested, Jesus did not lay a guilt trip on them. Instead, His
first words to them were, “Peace be with you” (Jn 20:19).
It would be
understandable if Jesus were reluctant to entrust His disciples with any
responsibility. Nonetheless, Jesus still sent them out (Jn 20:21), entrusting
them with His power, though they were still fearful (Jn 20:19). He gave them
the Holy Spirit (Jn 20:22). He gave St. Thomas a second chance to undo his
earlier doubts (Jn 20:27); later, He gave St. Peter a second chance to undo his
earlier denials (Jn 21:15).
How “rich in
mercy” Jesus is! (Eph 2:4) Jesus gives us, His disciples, incredible mercy. Now
He has entrusted us with the opportunity to pass on His mercy to others. Who in
your life needs a second chance after letting you down miserably? Can you pass
on the mercy of God to this person and treat him or her better than they
deserve? On this Divine Mercy Sunday, be merciful, as the Lord is merciful (see
Lk 6:36, RSV-CE).
Prayer: Jesus, I trust in You. Mercy of God, I
trust in You. “There is nothing to fear.” —Rv 1:17. Praise the risen Jesus, Who
in His great mercy revealed His heart for all to see!
The personal action for today: How is my life a proclamation that Jesus is risen and
has shared with us the gift of Shalom? Do I constantly need some sort of
“proof” of the Risen Lord, or can I believe without “seeing”? Who might benefit
from my sharing the gift of Easter Shalom – peace and reconciliation?
*Divine Mercy Sunday: In
2000, Pope John Paul II canonized the great 20th-century visionary of Divine
Mercy, Sister Faustina Kowalska, and proclaimed the Sunday after Easter to be
celebrated annually as Divine Mercy Sunday. In 2006, Pope Benedict stressed
that "Divine Mercy is not a secondary devotion, but an integral dimension
of Christian faith and prayer." Now Pope Francis has proclaimed an
extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, which began on December 8, 2015. These
three Popes have made it very clear that Divine Mercy is a major part of the
Christian faith.
During the
course of Jesus' revelations to Saint Faustina on the Divine Mercy, He asked on
numerous occasions that a feast day be dedicated to the Divine Mercy and that
this feast be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. Whoever approaches the
Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and
punishment. (Diary 300). The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy
Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. Mankind
will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. (Diary 699)