GIVE THANKS TO GOD FOR HIS MERCY ENDYRES FOREVER(Acts 5:12-16/Psalm 118:2-4,22-27/Revelation 1:9-11,12-13,17-19/John 20:19-31)

GIVE THANKS TO GOD FOR HIS MECRY ENDURES FOR EVER

(Sunday April 28, 2019 Divine Mercy Sunday)

Today the second Sunday of Easter universally known as Divine Mercy Sunday, the account of the appearance of Christ on the same evening He resurrected was presented according to St. John. This account is also very important in the life of the Church. This is because it is in this gospel narrative that the Sacrament of Reconciliation that depicts the depth of God's mercy and love for sinners was instituted. The three important sacraments which were instituted during the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ are The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, the Sacrament of the Holy Orders and the Sacrament of the Reconciliation.

The first two was instituted on Holy Thursday during the Last Supper and the last one was instituted on the evening of Easter Sunday as we have it today in the gospel account which has a direct link to the Feast of today. These three Sacraments are interconnected and we see the importance of the action of a priest in both the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and that of Reconciliation. Again, for the Sacraments of Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation to be effective in the life of the Church, that of the Sacrament of the Holy Orders is indispensable. To show how important the sacrament of Reconciliation is in our Christian lives, the Holy Mother Church deemed it fit to celebrate today the Feast of the Divine Mercy because it is in this Sacrament that we see the Mercy of God in action.

Yesterday in the gospel of Mark, we saw how Christ mandated His disciples to go out to the whole world and preach the Good News to all creation and today He imparted on them peace and at the same time breathed on them saying "‘As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.’ After saying this He breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained" By this very statement of Christ, we can see that the Church is officially commissioned to forgive sins and no one can take it away from her because it is a divine mandate. The Church did not take upon herself this divine task of forgiving sins but Christ did give her the power to do so. In this gospel also, Christ imparted His blessing on those who never saw Him and yet believe that He resurrected.

This blessing comes to us because Thomas one of the apostles doubted what others told Him about the Risen Christ. He doubted because He wanted to see Christ himself since Christ has not yet ascended to the Father. The Risen Christ was indeed a blessing for those who saw Him when He Resurrected and so, Thomas wouldn't want to receive second-hand information but the message of the Resurrection directly from Christ Himself. We can see here that the second visit of Christ was not only beneficial to Thomas so as to strengthen His faith and reproach his incredulity but also for us too because it was on this second visit that Christ added the clause "You believe because you can see me. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe". Again the second visit of Christ to His apostles alongside Thomas is very significant because had it been that Christ didn't visit, Thomas would have been a serious obstacle for other apostles and disciples of Christ in disseminating the Good News of the Resurrection.

Thomas would have contradicted all that others would have said concerning the Risen Christ because he didn't see Him when He Resurrected. Christ foresaw the harm this would have caused the nascent Church of the early Christians and the future Church of ours and He deemed it fit to visit again and to clear the doubts in Thomas. As Christ imparted the blessing on us today who never saw Him and yet believe, let us like the disciples in the first reading set out in full force to preach Christ without fear. Again, as we mark the Feast of the Divine Mercy today let us not take this Mercy of God for granted. Today's celebration is indeed a clarion call to reflect deeply on this Mercy of God and for us to be merciful to others as God is always merciful to us!

Let Us Pray: Lord Jesus, give me grace to be merciful to others as you have shown me mercy and may your glory rest upon me always. Amen.