Jesus: God's Divine Mercy

The gospel for this second Sunday of the Easter season places us with the disciples in the house where they had met (Jn 20:19).  The gospel writer tells us that it was evening on the day Jesus rose from the dead ... and the doors of the house ... were locked for fear of the Jews. At this point in the story, they had already heard the testimony of Mary of Magdala and the other women who had gone to the tomb early that morning. Peter and John had run to the tomb and confirmed the fact that the stone had been rolled away. Yet, despite these hope-filled experiences, the disciples still feared for their lives.  If the Jewish authorities had put their Teacher, their Master, to death, perhaps they too would be killed if they dared to show their faces.

What about us? Have we ever experienced such fear? Have we ever known a time when we had good news to share, but we were afraid to speak for fear that we would be ridiculed or judged for speaking. Have we ever chosen to remain silent, with the doors of our hearts locked for fear of being ridiculed?

Even though the doors of the house were locked, and even though the disciples were fearful, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you' (Jn 20:19). Even in the moments when they were most filled with doubt and fear, Jesus stood among them and offered them the gift of his peace, his reassurance and his mercy ... and these gifts were also offered to Thomas, even though he was not with the other disciples when Jesus came (Jn 20:24).

Jesus knows our hearts even better than we do. He knows that no matter how fervently we may believe all that we have heard about him, there is always a part of us that remains imprisoned by fear and doubt, but even in situations where we are paralyzed by doubt, Jesus still stands in our midst and says to us: Peace be with you!  It is this powerful gift of his peace, the beautiful gift of his mercy at work within us that allows us to discern, to witness and to appreciate how patient he is with each one of us.

On the second Sunday of Easter in the year 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized Saint Faustyna Kowalska and established the annual celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday. Since that day, the Church has continued to observe this feast day.  Maria Faustyna Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament (1905-1938) was a Polish nun and a mystic who received visions of Jesus.

Like the disciples gathered in the house on the evening hours of the day when Jesus rose from the dead, Saint Faustyna shared the details of her visions and as a result, even today, the experiences that are described are as fresh and life-giving for us as they were for those who first read them.

Through the intercession of Saint Faustyna Kowalska, may we be attentive to the many signs and wonders (Acts 5:12) that continue to be accomplished among God's people. Renewed by the light of the risen Lord, may we proclaim in Word and deed: Jesus, my risen Lord, I trust in you.