Second Sunday of Easter year A
Acts 2:42-47 1 Peter 1:3-9 John 20:19-31
Theme: The Abundance of God’s Mercy
The church celebrates the Divine Mercy Sunday on the second Sunday after Easter every year. According to the diary of St. Faustina, it is a request that was made by the Lord, and she was asked to make it known to the whole world. This feast was named by Pope St. John Paul II at the canonization of St. Faustina on April 30th, 2000. There is no better time to appeal to the mercy of God than currently, when the world is faced with the challenges of the corona virus pandemic. We need to appeal to the mercy of God and his intervention in our situation in the world presently. In the diary of St. Faustina, the Lord said, “I desire that the feast of mercy be a refuge and a shelter for all souls and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depth of my tender mercy is open”. In view of this, there is a plenary indulgence for all those who can confess their sins and receive the Eucharist on this Sunday. Thus, we all must embrace the mercy of God for our personal healing and the healing of our world from this corona virus pandemic. It is an opportunity for us to plead for the mercy of God in a very special way, believing that he will show us mercy and answer our prayers.
The response to our Psalm on this Divine Mercy Sunday invites us to “give praise to the Lord, for he is good: his mercy endures forever”. Today is that great day of God’s mercy and an opportunity that we must make good use of, for ourselves, our families, and the world at large. We all need the healing mercy of God; if not for ourselves, then for our world. This healing mercy of God will strengthen more the newness of life that comes with the resurrection of the Lord, as presented to us in the second reading of today. This is an empowerment that comes to us as a people who believe in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are the Easter people, the people of the resurrection. Let our lives reflect this newness that comes from people who truly believe in the mystery of the resurrection of Christ. Let us make it our own by becoming through witnesses of the resurrection of Christ by our words and deeds. This is one of the ways through which we can make our witnessing to the resurrection of Christ count in our world today.
We can do this by emulating the first Christian community as presented to us in our first reading. Their bond of love and unity attracted others to Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Also, our Christian attitude could also lead others to the merciful saviour who has called us to be his ambassadors. Therefore, let turn away from those attitudes that contradict the new nature of Christ in us. Attitudes like envy, jealousy, backbiting, evil plans, divisions, and so forth. These are what tears us apart and make us unworthy witnesses of Christ. If we claim that we are the people of the resurrection, let us live as such. May God grant us the grace to be true witnesses of his presence in our world. Amen. Peace be with you!