Second Sunday of
Easter
Sunday of Divine Mercy
Apr 12, 2015
Gospel Jn 20:19-31
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 (1) are forgiven
them, and whose sins you retain (2) 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 Christ, the Son of God, and
that through this belief you may have life in his name.
The difficult words
(1) The Holy Spirit empowers the apostles to forgive sins. In the name of Jesus,
they are given the power to forgive the bad things that someone has done.
(2) To retain means to keep
or remember of something. Hence, to retain a sin
means not to forgive it.
This week’s spotlight
Divine Mercy Sunday
This feast was established
by Pope John Paul II when he declared Sister Faustina a saint in 2000. In her
diary, Faustina wrote what Jesus had told her: “It is my desire that the feast
of the Divine Mercy be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday following
Easter." During this Easter season, Jesus wants to remind us that he rose
from the dead to save us because his love for us is infinite, despite all of
our sins. Today the Church encourages us to ask for forgiveness through the
sacrament of reconciliation so that we may become even closer to Jesus' heart.
We believe in God
"We believe in
one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is
seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ...” These are the first
words of the prayer we say after the priest's homily. Together, we profess our
faith before receiving the body of Christ. There are two versions of this
profession of faith: the short one is called the Apostles' Creed, and the long
one is the Nicene Creed. These two prayers are based on the three most
important beliefs we hold as Christians: we believe in God the Father, in his
Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit.
Reflection
If Thomas
the apostle had seen Jesus on Easter Sunday, he would have believed that he had
risen from the dead. However, Thomas was not there when Jesus appeared before
the apostles. So when they told him the good news of the resurrection, Thomas
didn’t believe it, even though he had lived, eaten, prayed, and traveled with
Jesus. A week later, Jesus once again comes before his friends.
He
invites Thomas to touch his wounds. At that moment, Thomas recognizes Jesus as
the Son of God. Overwhelmed with emotion, he falls to his knees saying, “My
Lord and my God!” From that moment on, Thomas knows that even if Christ is no
longer present in the same way as before, he is living among them. Today we can
learn from Thomas’ example and say: “I cannot see Jesus, but I believe that, he
is risen from the dead and that he is with me every day of my life!” Although
we don’t see him with our eyes, he is indeed living among us, especially in the
Eucharist. Just like Thomas, let’s learn to say to Jesus with love: “My Lord
and my God!"
Discussion
questions
1. When did Jesus come
to see the disciples after his resurrection?
2. What did Jesus say to
them?
3. What did Jesus show
them after that?
4. How did the disciples
feel when they recognized Jesus?
5. What did Jesus give
the disciples?
6. What does the Holy
Spirit empower the disciples to do?
7. Who was not there
when Jesus came the first time?
8. As Jesus said to
Thomas, who are blessed?
Praying after Communion
After receiving Holy Communion, you can
say this prayer silently to yourself. If you
have not yet
received your First Communion, you can still say this prayer because of your desire to
receive Jesus.
Father, through Jesus, in
communion with the whole Church, I thank you for coming into my heart. You know
how difficult it is sometimes to believe. May this communion in the body and
blood of your Son reaffirm my faith, and help me to say with Saint Thomas: ‘'My
Lord and my God!”
Crossword Puzzle
Source: http://www.usccb.org - Magnifikid - Living liturgy for Sundays and
Solemnity - www.sermons4kids.com