Second Sunday of Easter
Sunday of Divine Mercy
Apr 3, 2016
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 disciple 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!”
Maze Puzzle
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