Belief and Divine Mercy

Today, as we celebrate the liturgy for the second Sunday of Easter, we are also celebrating the end of the Easter Octave and Divine Mercy Sunday.  Devotion to Divine Mercy is devotion to Jesus Christ.  This particular devotion is associated with a series of apparitions of Jesus, granted to Saint Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun who lived the final years of her life in Kraków during the last century.

Pope John Paul II canonized Saint Faustina on the second Sunday of Easter in the year 2000.  In fact, he himself had begun her process for Canonization while he was Archbishop of Kraków, and many years later, he was the one who presided over the moment when she was numbered officially among the Saints.  He himself had a great affinity towards this devotion.

There are three main themes to the Divine Mercy devotion: first, to ask for and obtain the mercy of God; second, to trust in Christ's abundant mercy; and third, to show mercy toward others and to act as a conduit for God's mercy toward them.  This devotion highlights the role of mercy as a key element in God's plan for salvation.

It is fitting that the Second Sunday of Easter has been chosen as the day when we focus on the gift of Divine Mercy.  The gospel passage for this celebration places us in the room with the disciples in the evening on the day Jesus rose from the dead (Jn 20: 19).  We have heard the story before: how the disciples were gathered, and even though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you'.  That must have been a wonderful moment of joy for all the disciples who were there, but the gospel writer is careful to point out the fact that Thomas, who was called the Twin, ... was not with them when Jesus came (Jn 20: 24).

There is a part of each one of us that is like Thomas.  No matter how many times we may have experienced the great joy of Jesus' presence in our lives, there is always an element of doubt that remains in our hearts.  When troubles arise, there is always a temptation to doubt that Jesus is truly present.  There is always a part of us that refuses to believe until we too are able to see for ourselves that what we have heard is true.  At such moments, if we could, we would all be like Thomas.  We would all react to the Apostles' joyful proclamation by saying: Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails, and my hand in his side, I will not believe (Jn 20: 25).

The good news is that Jesus returned.  Eight days after this first apparition, he came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you' (Jn 20: 26).  Then he turned his attention to Thomas, the one who needed the most help at that particular moment so that he could come to believe.  Jesus invited him to touch the places where the nails had left their marks in his body.  He knew that Thomas needed some encouragement ... just as he knows that we too need some encouragement from time to time so that we can be free of the temptation to doubt ... so that we can come to believe.

Today, let us give thanks for God's great mercy.  Because He is merciful, he is always with us, willing to help us by strengthening our faith, especially in times when we are weak.  Let us ask Him to help us to grow in our trust in His abundant mercy ... and let us also ask Him to teach us how to show mercy toward others and to do what we can to help others to recognize and to celebrate mercy in their lives as well.