Sunday 7th of April 2024 - Second Sunday of Easter - Divine Mercy Sunday

Acts 4:32-35/ Psalm 117(118)/ 1 John 5:1-6/ John 20:19-31

On the 25th of August 1905 the third of ten children was born into a poor Polish family. She was named Helena by her parents but today we know her as Saint Faustina Kowalska. We might never have heard of St Faustina, who only lived for 33 years, but for the fact that she became a nun and had a series of revelations from Jesus concerning the Divine Mercy offered to us through his life, death, and resurrection. Faustina revealed that Jesus had asked that a specific feast day for Divine Mercy be instigated but also that it should be on the Sunday after Easter. The Gospel passage for the second Sunday of Easter recounts Jesus appearing to the disciples after his resurrection, and his institution of the sacrament of reconciliation by giving the disciples the power to forgive sins on his behalf. By the sacrament of confession Jesus ensures that his church is a constant source of his Divine Mercy in a godless and sinful world. This Sunday is therefore a most fitting day on which to celebrate the Divine Mercy offered to us by Jesus. The image of Divine Mercy was not painted by Sister Faustina because she did not have the skills to interpret her message through art. Instead, the image was produced by an artist working under her direction. It depicts Jesus walking towards the viewer, his right hand raised in blessing with streams of red and white light pouring from his heart.

The Divine Mercy of God, won by Jesus on the cross, is so desperately needed by the world today as it was in the first days of Christianity. Those early times are recounted in the Acts of The Apostles and reveal to us some of the energy and excitement that went with the emergence of the early church. From the execution of Jesus and the fear of his leaderless followers it might be expected that nothing more would be heard of him. The fact that we are here today celebrating Easter and the mercy of God is testament to the fact that the power of the Holy Spirit was breathed into the church, and it was impossible for it not to grow. The first disciples witnessed this and were part of the excitement in those early years.

What emerged, as we hear in the first reading, is a church of prayerful and dedicated followers determined to live in the way Jesus had taught them, an example to all, loving God and loving their neighbours, resulting in their numbers increasing daily. The enthusiasm of new beginnings is not easy to maintain and with time it wanes. It is necessary to renew and begin again, repeatedly, if necessary. The church is in a constant state of renewal which is a good thing. It encourages us to see things from a different perspective and put real meaning into those things that may have become mere habits or have fallen away completely.

The vast numbers drawn to follow Christ in those early days had never met him or heard him preach. They were drawn by the Holy Spirit and convinced by the powerful teaching of the first disciples. We are the descendants of these disciples; we are the followers of Jesus today. The Holy Spirit is still poured out on us through the sacraments, and we have the power to spread the mercy of God in our own times. The Gospel today has a message to us who have not seen and yet believe. For Thomas, as for so many people, seeing is believing. Our faith takes us beyond simply seeing with our eyes. As we know our eyes can be deceived, images can be altered and manipulated, seeing is not believing. Thomas saw but he saw beyond what his eyes told him. He was able to see Jesus as Lord and God, something that was not visible to the naked eye but was visible through the power of the Holy Spirit working within him.

We, like Thomas, can struggle with doubt and uncertainty but through our faith, through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit we can also make the pronouncement made by Thomas, My Lord, and My God.

God Bless Brendan.